ASTANA – The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), a New York-based global network and think tank, listed Astana among the world’s Smart21 Communities of 2023, the organization announced during a Feb. 23 virtual conference.
Astana. Photo credit: Shutterstock.
“This may be ICF’s most ‘youthful’ and diverse group of cities,” said ICF co-founder Lou Zacharilla. “As we continue to move to a post-COVID era, more places see a pathway to creating a better place to work and to call ‘home.’ We may have entered a new moment in the smart city and Intelligent Community project.”
The list of smart cities includes Belfast (United Kingdom), Curitiba (Brazil), Durham Region (Canada), Greater Geelong (Australia), Hilliard (United States), Townsville (Australia), Whanganui (New Zealand), and others.
These cities, including Astana, can be crowned the 2023 Intelligent Community of the Year at the ICF Summit in October. Last year’s winner was New Taipei City (Taiwan).
Each city, town, or region included in the Smart21 list fulfilled six principles of the Community Accelerator Strategy to begin building inclusive economic prosperity, social health, and cultural richness. They include broadband connectivity, knowledge work, innovation, sustainability, digital inclusion, and community engagement.
It took several years for most to work on their programs.
Last year, the Kazakh capital for the first time entered the list of the most investment-attractive cities, according to the Smart Centres Index (SCI 6) published by London-based commercial think tank Z/Yen.
