Latin America is considered the region with the highest urban concentration on the planet. This reality imposes new challenges on national and local governments to incorporate innovative actions that move the large cities of the region towards more sustainable, resilient and intelligent dynamics.
These efforts have allowed important Latin American cities to be part of the IESE Cities in Motion Index, a research platform launched jointly by the Center for Globalization and Strategy and the Strategy Department of the IESE Business School.
This index has been designed with the objective of constructing a standardized indicator, which evaluates nine fundamental dimensions for a city: human capital, social cohesion, economy, governance, environment, mobility and transportation, urban planning, international projection and technology.
The deployment of these nine dimensions makes it easier for global cities to promote a different economic and social development, which boosts innovation, sustainability and social justice.
Top: Smart city in Latin America
For the calculation of the ICIM, 174 cities from the five continents were included, and 26 are from Latin America. Among the 10 most innovative cities in the region, it stands out that the capitals of the southernmost countries in Latin America are the first to appear on the list. Another notable fact is that Colombia manages to position two of its urban centers (Bogotá and Medellín) among the first 10 cities of the subcontinent. Finally, it is striking that the most populated city in the entire region is at the bottom of the ranking.
- Santiago de Chile occupies 68th place in the world ranking, being the best positioned Latin American city. Its economic dimension stands out over the other factors measured, achieving 103 points.
- Buenos Aires occupies position 90 in the world ranking, and second in Latin America. Its economic dimension is also the highest of those evaluated, with 166 points.
- Montevideo occupies position 110 in the global ranking, and its economic dimension is the highest with 144 points
- Panama ranks 113th worldwide, and its technological dimension stands out from the other dimensions, obtaining 151 points.
- San José de Costa Rica is positioned in box 114 worldwide, with human capital represented in 155 points, thus surpassing the other dimensions evaluated.
- Bogotá is the 120th city in the global ranking, with a social cohesion dimension that is located at 162 points.
- Sau Paulo is the 123rd city on the world list, with social cohesion represented in 156 points.
- Medellín occupies box 126 on the general list, with 142 points of international projection.
- Mexico City is the 130th city in the world, with 168 points in the environmental dimension
- Asunción occupies position 131 in the world ranking, and in the technological dimension it has 167 points.
Characteristics of a smart city
Currently, global trends are guiding countries and regions to make decisions aligned with intelligent and sustainable development, in order to face the different challenges that emerge every day in the territories. Proof of this is the need to have comprehensive economic development that is sustainable in the long term and improves the quality of life of citizens.
In summary, a smart and sustainable city incorporates technologies that facilitate mobility, the use and exploitation of public spaces, energy and water efficiency and the management of the services provided by cities, placing people at the center of development.
With that in mind, some characteristics that make a smart city stand out:
- Use of information and communications technologies
- Infrastructure automation and control
- Efficient urban planning
- Mobility and sustainable public transport
- Solid waste management
- Care and improvement of urban ecosystems
- Care of the social environment
- Technologies applied to education and health
- E-commerce systems
- Efficient and transparent governance
- Shared data: open data, artificial intelligence
People as the epicenter of development
Urban centers face increasingly complex challenges due to their constant expansion. This reality contrasts with the growing limitations in the resources demanded by the millions of people who inhabit the main cities of the world.
Cities that seek to make their processes more efficient through intelligent systems try to respond to these demands, so that citizens and their quality of life in society are the driving force behind the transformations that the main cities in Latin America are currently undergoing. just.
Intelligent solutions that offer citizen security, educational management platforms, connectivity, internet of things and digital transformation of processes are technological resources offered by Technological Investments of America – ITA, whose starting and ending point is the satisfaction of the needs of global citizens who demand from their authorities and strategic allies increasingly efficient alternatives to interact in a respectful and sustainable manner with the environment.
