City assessment
How smart is Cologne?
Cologne scores 72.4% against the ISO 37120-series aligned smart city framework in 2026, ranked #89 of 386 by smart reach and #134 on the evidence alone, with every finding traceable to a public source.
Each criterion counts in full where the evidence shows it present, half where partial and nothing where absent, weighted by its category. 12 of 86 are not yet assessed and count as nothing until a finding is made either way. Last assessed 24 Oct 2026.
Smart reach rank
#89 / 386
Smart score
72.4%
Evidenced rank
#134 / 387
Criteria present
54 / 86
Evidence coverage
81.4%
Cologne's smart city score by area
12 present · 3 partial · 0 absent
11 present · 1 partial · 0 absent
10 present · 0 partial · 0 absent · 3 not yet assessed
4 present · 3 partial · 1 absent · 3 not yet assessed
8 present · 3 partial · 1 absent · 1 not yet assessed
5 present · 3 partial · 0 absent
4 present · 3 partial · 2 absent · 5 not yet assessed
Where Cologne is strong
- ▸Open Data & Transparency
- ▸Digital Government Services
- ▸Active & Shared Mobility
- ▸Smart Traffic & Electric Vehicles
- ▸Climate Action & Emissions
Where the evidence shows gaps
- ▸Climate Adaptation & Heat · 2 absent
- ▸Solid Waste & Circular Economy · 1 absent, 2 partial
- ▸Public Safety & Emergency · 1 absent, 2 partial
- ▸Urban Data Platform & Digital Twin · 2 partial
- ▸Innovation & Economic Development · 2 partial
Not yet assessed
12 of 86 criteria have no finding yet, either way. They count as nothing in the score until one is made, and they are not gaps.
- Air Quality & Monitoring2 of 3
- Disaster Risk & Resilience2 of 4
- Governance & Smart-City Operating Model2 of 4
- Housing & Urban Planning2 of 3
- Climate Adaptation & Heat1 of 3
- Energy & Smart Grid1 of 4
- Public Safety & Emergency1 of 4
- Water & Sanitation1 of 4
Evidence highlights
Open Data & Transparency · Official open data portal
The city of Cologne operates an official open data portal, "Offene Daten Köln," which provides open administrative data from the city and its partners.
https://offenedaten-koeln.deOpen Data & Transparency · High-value datasets published
The city publishes high-value datasets including environmental data like the tree catalog ("Baumkataster Köln") and transport data such as elevator locations and bike-sharing station information.
https://offenedaten-koeln.deOpen Data & Transparency · Programmatic API access
Programmatic API access is available for certain datasets, such as elevator locations from KVB and bike-sharing station data, which are exposed via JSON and XML endpoints respectively.
https://data.webservice-kvb.koeln/service/opendata/aufzuege/jsonDigital Government Services · Citizen reporting / 311 channel
Cologne operates a 'Sag's uns' (Tell us) portal where citizens can report issues such as 'Wilder Müll, defekte Beleuchtung und mehr' (wild garbage, defective lighting and more) to the city administration, with reports being publicly viewable.
https://www.stadt-koeln.de/service/index.htmlAbout this assessment
Cologne was assessed against the 86 criteria of the ISO 37120-series aligned smart city framework on 24 Oct 2026 by AI agents gathering evidence from official public sources. Each criterion is marked present, partial or absent, or left not yet assessed, and every finding links to where it was found. Cities are re-assessed in runs, not continuously: the latest finished on 24 Oct 2026.