AI and Culture Key to Innovation: Tokyo Dominates 16th Annual Innovation Cities Index, Dubai, Doha on the Rise

BRISBANE, Australia, March 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tokyo again topped 2ThinkNow's list of the world's most innovative cities on Thursday, ahead of past winners London and New York.

The Japanese capital repeated its 2021 feat, with the same placings as first managed in 2018. To be a winning city repeatedly, a city requires strong cultural assets. Beyond technology, the Japanese capital also has a burgeoning food, music and cultural creative scene.

Resurgent Paris (4), and rock-steady perennial Singapore (5), were other cities to use culture and advanced technology to innovate.

All top five winning cities had dominant Artificial Intelligence (AI) tech firms, as well as robotics programs. With over one-hundred AI startups, Silicon Valley (9) re-entered the global top-ten, despite its ongoing socio-economic, banking and urban problems.

"What really surprised us this year was the resilience of big cities slammed by lockdowns. Many of these cities created entirely new business areas in 12-months, in unexpected ways, and were first to bounce back," said Christopher Hire, director of city data provider 2ThinkNow, which publishes the annual city ranking. "AI is one of those exciting sectors."

Cultural capitals to bounce-back included Munich (16), Vienna (17), Amsterdam (20) and Montreal (24). Melbourne (23) lead by its top regional arts and cultural programs, and food and wine creative scene. Although Sydney (18) remained slightly ahead this year, through greater global connectivity as a business capital.

Los Angeles (6), Berlin (11) and Stockholm (13) rose sharply in the index, which judges cities on 162 indicators including technology, economic, social, smart, cultural and sustainability indicators.

Large cities continue to dominate the global economic system, overcoming Covid-19 challenges.

Mid-Eastern capitals of Dubai (14) and Doha (162) rose rapidly, with Dubai closing in on the global top-ten for the first time. Doha's rapid rise was attributed to infrastructure built during its World Cup host role. 

Spanish capital Madrid (19) beat grand rival Barcelona (26) for the first time in several years. Both rose rapidly to return to pre-Covid results. Lisbon (60) rose 98 places since Covid, on the back of favourable tech and golden-visa programs.

United States results were subdued but strong, with Boston (7) down but San Diego (37), Newark (50) and Tampa (69) up. In Canada, Toronto (15) returned to form ahead of a resurgent Vancouver (29). Quebec City rose 113 places in a highly positive result for French-speaking Canada.

In Asia, Seoul (8) challenged Singapore, while Beijing (28) remained strong, ahead of Osaka (35). Australia and New Zealand saw Brisbane (38) move upward steadily, along with Perth (63). A massive bounce-back occurred in Auckland (77) on the back of easing Covid-19 measures.

"What is fascinating is how much results vary on a city basis from national results," Hire added. "This rewards mayors and cities that are bold and take action, rather than waiting for federal programs."

2ThinkNow's authoritative ranking is one of the most comprehensive of its type in the world. The algorithmic ranking enables researchers in over 180 countries, a means to measure cities innovation conditions.  Higher conditions for innovation are tied to lower unemployment and higher income for cities over time, as well as culturally more successful cities that attract talent.

This year, 2ThinkNow published separate rankings for G8, G20, ASEAN, NAFTA and regional groupings. All rankings are on the Innovation Cities Index website.

In addition to valuable data on innovation, 2ThinkNow city rankings help listed cities throughout the world assess and plan their performance over time. Underlying data used is available for commercial purchase by businesses to compare cities.

SPOKESPERSON
Mr Christopher Hire
Director Data, 2ThinkNow
[email protected]
+61730126723
+16692413435
+443300270203
Timezone Brisbane

EMAIL FOR COMPREHENSIVE EXCEL RANKINGS FILE 

SOURCE 2THINKNOW