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Bristol leading the smart city way
The UK’s first Smart Cities Index has named Bristol as the country’s leading smart city outside London.
The report, by global information and communications solutions company Huawei, said Bristol is particularly strong in the digital innovation category, which evaluates the city’s strategy to develop and exploit digital technologies and services.
Smart Cities is a term which is used to describe a city which uses technological innovation to deliver services in an economically viable and environmentally sustainable way.
Rick Chapman, high tech sector specialist at Invest Bristol and Bath – the inward investment agency for the region, said the news is “fantastic”.
“This is testament to the city’s extensive smart city strategy and ambitious goals but also to its commitment to delivering on projects and working well with communities and stakeholders to make them happen.
“Bristol is fast becoming known as a national and international digital hub and this report cements our position as leading the UK in this sector,” he added.
Earlier this year, Bristol was identified as the most productive digital tech cluster in the UK according to the Tech Nation report. It was also named the only fast-growing and globally-significant high tech cluster in the UK by McKinsey & Co/Centre for Cities in 2014.
The new report highlights Bristol’s strengths in open data access, energy innovation and community engagement and cites its Playable City initiative which brought together artists and designers from the UK and beyond to experiment and prototype playful interventions that use creative technologies to rethink public space.
Clare Reddington, creative director at Watershed – Bristol’s cultural and digital creativity centre, says: “All over the world governments and technology companies are investing in smart systems for cities, using networks and sensors to join up services and collect data, as a drive for efficiency.
“Playable City is born out of Bristol’s unique take on people-centred technology solutions and the belief that our future cities need to be democratic, surprising and inclusive to remain relevant and engaging. We are delighted we have been able to take this uniquely Bristolian way of thinking and share it with the world.”
Read more: Bristol is Open – a revolution beneath the streets
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