The International Institute for Management Development (IMD) recently published the IMD Smart City Index 2024. Out of 142 cities, the latest rankings indicate that Taipei City has climbed to the 16th position worldwide and 5th in Asia. Compared to the 2023 ranking, Taipei has made significant gains by moving up 13 places. The results indicated that the City’s effort in pursuing smart city development has won international acclaim.
The annual index released by IMD is one of the most highly regarded smart city rankings in the world. The evaluation process is based upon the two pillars of ‘Structure’ and ‘Technology’. For the 2024 report, IMD conducted surveys for 142 cities around the world. Taipei’s performance across the board has been well-received by its residents – especially basic sanitation, recycling services, and medical services, which fall under the ‘Structure’ pillar. As for the ‘Technology’ pillar, apps allowing online ticketing services for cultural events and making medical appointments were also popular among respondents.
In addition to the aforementioned global smart city evaluations, Taipei City Government has also achieved high marks at various rankings and awards with City projects related to smart city governance and transformation. For example, among the six direct-rule municipalities, Taipei took first place at the 2023 Government Open Data Golden Quality Award. In the same year, the City’s submission for ‘Taipei Government Enterprise Architecture – Evolution of TaipeiPASS as an Example’ won the Award of Distinction at the Open Group India Awards. Furthermore, the “Data-driven City Governance – Taipei Urban Information Center” also claimed the Innovation Application Award at the 2024 Smart City Summit and Expo.
As it continues to pursue smart city transformation and digital equality, the Taipei City Department of Information Technology remains dedicated to the policy of open sourcing the Taipei City Dashboard at the same time. The agency first held the “Taipei Codefest and City Dashboard Competition” in 2023, which received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the community. In 2024, it plans to organize Codefest events in during both the spring and fall seasons, starting with the Spring Season Codefest Workshop today (April 21). There is also a “Grand Hackathon Competition” slated for May 11 and 12. By increasing interaction with the civic community through the organization of similar contests, the city government seeks to implement its vision of “co-creation, co-benefits” by garnering the innovative energy of the private sector while boosting the transparency of city management.
In the future, DOIT will continue to work on promoting private-public-partnership and strengthening digital resilience. It has adopted “AI-driven Smart City” as its focus of development to create an AI-driven, futuristic Taipei. Through the integration and utilization of AI, the city government hopes to increase the efficiency of city operations and improve the quality of citizens’ daily life, as well as enhancing smart city innovative technology and introducing them into more applications. These initiatives will significantly contribute to Taipei’s endeavor to distinguish itself as an innovative and visionary capital for the future.
Sources: Taipei City Government
