Kuala Lumpur Ranks 73rd Smartest City In The World

According to the 2024 Smart City Index, Kuala Lumpur did well in areas such as accessibility to look for jobs, ease of purchasing tickets to shows, and health and safety structures.

Credit: Pexels & Malay Mail

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Kuala Lumpur is the world’s 73^rd smartest city out of 142 cities according to the 2024 Smart City Index released by the Institute for Management Development (IMD) Smart City Observatory.

The report assessed each city based on residents’ perceptions of issues related to the infrastructure and technology in their cities.

These perceptions are measured under two pillars:

The Structures pillar, which refers to the cities’ existing infrastructure
The Technology pillar, which refers to the technological services available to residents

Each pillar is further evaluated in five key areas: Health and Safety, Mobility, Activities, Opportunities, and Governance.

Last year, Kuala Lumpur was ranked 89^th. The city climbed 16 spots this year thanks to its commendable performances in various areas such as the ease of purchasing tickets to shows and museums, and the accessibility of online job postings to make it easier to find work.

The city also did well in terms of health and safety structure. The report stated Kuala Lumpur scored high in categories such as “arranging medical appointments online has improved access” and mobility structures such as “online scheduling made public transport easier to use.”

Meanwhile, the concern areas in the city are the problems we know well such as traffic congestion, corruption, air pollution, and affordable housing.

P.S: Did you know Kuala Lumpur’s nickname is The Garden City Of Lights? It was first coined in 1990 at the launch of the first Visit Malaysia year. Do you think the nickname still best describes the city?

AI may help improve things

Smart City Observatory president Bruno Lanvin said cities must adopt strategies to resist the test of a future plagued with growing uncertainties.

He added that the significance of artificial intelligence (AI) in city design and management is set to increase.

Counterintuitive as it may sound, AI can help cities to become more human-centric.
Smart City Observatory president Bruno Lanvin in a statement published on IMD website.