// CITY_ASSESSMENT

How smart is Bradford?

Bradford, United Kingdom, scores 69.7% against the UN ISO-aligned smart city framework in 2026 — ranked #38 of 386 cities assessed, with every finding traceable to a public source.

Smart score

69.7%

Rank

#38 / 386

Criteria present

55 / 86

Evidence coverage

76.7%

Bradford's smart city score by area

Data, Digital & Smart Foundation88%

9 present · 3 partial · 0 absent · 3 not assessed

Mobility & Transport89%

7 present · 2 partial · 0 absent · 3 not assessed

Environment, Energy & Climate89%

7 present · 2 partial · 0 absent · 4 not assessed

Infrastructure, Water & Waste83%

6 present · 3 partial · 0 absent · 2 not assessed

Health, Education, Safety & Inclusion100%

11 present · 0 partial · 0 absent · 2 not assessed

Economy, Innovation & Employment100%

6 present · 0 partial · 0 absent · 2 not assessed

Governance, Resilience & Operating Model79%

9 present · 1 partial · 2 absent · 2 not assessed

Where Bradford is strong

  • Public Transport & Real-Time Information
  • Water & Sanitation
  • Health & Digital Health
  • Education & Digital Skills
  • Culture, Tourism & Recreation

Where the gaps are

  • Climate Action & Emissions
  • Smart Traffic & Electric Vehicles
  • Solid Waste & Circular Economy
  • Governance & Smart-City Operating Model
  • Climate Adaptation & Heat

Evidence highlights

Connectivity & ICT Infrastructure · Public Wi-Fi network

Bradford's libraries provide free Wi-Fi access to members, available at various locations including City Library, Addingham, Baildon, Bingley, and others.

https://www.bradford.gov.uk/libraries/services-in-our-libraries/free-pc-access-and-wi-fi/

Urban Data Platform & Digital Twin · Integrated urban data platform

The 'Connected West Yorkshire' initiative integrates "whole-system, lifecourse data" from linked health records and other associated datasets, including information from the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, Social Services, Education, and Mental Health, to prom…

https://www.bradfordresearch.nhs.uk/connected-bradford/

Public Transport & Real-Time Information · Public transport network

Bradford, as part of West Yorkshire, has a public bus network, with data available on bus stop locations and average buses per hour, managed by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

https://datamillnorth.org/dataset/west-yorkshire-bus-stops

Public Transport & Real-Time Information · Real-time arrivals (GTFS-RT)

The Bus Open Data Service (BODS) provides vehicle location data for every local bus service in England, which supports real-time arrival predictions.

https://data.bus-data.dft.gov.uk/

About this assessment

Bradford was assessed against the 86 criteria of the UN ISO-aligned smart city framework on 2026-07-10 by AI agents gathering evidence from official public sources. Each criterion is marked present, partial or absent, and every finding links to where it was found. Scores refresh continuously as cities publish new evidence.