Ranking North America's Smartest Cities

For those of you who've been anxiously waiting since Boyd Cohen published his list of Europe's smartest cities last month...wait no longer, North America's top 10 smartest cities have been revealed.

1 minute read

December 3, 2012, 12:00 PM PST

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


Once again, Cohen has applied the new metric he's developed to help bring clarity and measurability to the growing discussion of "smart cities." This time, he turns his attention to North America's cities for evaluation.

Perhaps it shouldn't surprise anyone to learn that the home of Harvard and MIT has been named the continent's "smartest city." But it's more than just the accumulated brain power of Boston's numerous institutions of higher learning that have earned it this accolade. According to Cohen, Boston's "impressive entrepreneurial ecosystem, which is supported by the mayor through the city’s Innovation District initiative," have helped it develop "a world-class innovation system."

San Francisco, with its "high quality of life and...thriving entrepreneurial economy" finished second, and Seattle's pioneering smart governance initiatives helped earn the city third place on Cohen's list.

Monday, December 3, 2012 in Fast Company Co.Exist

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

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