When it comes to being ready for the future, Dallas ranks among the best-equipped cities in the country.
According to a study conducted by ProptechOS, a real estate software company based out of Sweden, the Big D lands at No.7 on the index of U.S. cities best prepared for a “smart city” future, scoring 69.6 out of a possible 100 points.
To conduct the study, 100 U.S. and European cities were analyzed, initially using the standard measurements and indicators inspired by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) recommendations for smart cities. A narrower set of factors were used to generate the final list to “ensure like-for-like comparison between cities,” according to the report.
The equally-weighted measurements that defined the index fell into three broad categories:
1. Tech Infrastructure and Connectivity
- Free WiFi access
- Download speeds
- Availability of airports
- Prevalence of Internet of Things (IoT) companies
- 5G access
2. Green Infrastructure
- The number of public EV charging stations
- Public EV charging stations per capita
- The number of ‘green certified’ buildings
3. Tech-Driven Job Market
- The number of tech jobs
- The number of tech jobs per capita
Dallas was not the sole Lone Star State representative on the list. Austin landed at number one, scoring 75.4 points. Austin was followed by Los Angeles (74.5) in second and Seattle (73.3) in third place.
Dallas owes much of its impressive overall ranking to its high scores in the tech infrastructure (81) and green infrastructure (80) categories. The city’s robust tech job market did not hurt either, even beating out Austin in this category (48 to 47). Interestingly, no U.S. city obtained a score above 60 in this particular sector.
The report also looked overseas at European cities. London was crowned with the top spot in Europe, considered the best-prepared for a “smart city” future. At 95 points, green infrastructure, in particular, was exceptionally high for the United Kingdom’s capital.
Overall, however, European cities scored lower than their U.S. counterparts in terms of smart city potential, according to the report.