// CITY_ASSESSMENT

How smart is Bristol?

Bristol, United Kingdom, scores 71.8% against the UN ISO-aligned smart city framework in 2026 — ranked #29 of 386 cities assessed, with every finding traceable to a public source.

Smart score

71.8%

Rank

#29 / 386

Criteria present

50 / 86

Evidence coverage

86%

Bristol's smart city score by area

Data, Digital & Smart Foundation65%

5 present · 7 partial · 1 absent · 2 not assessed

Mobility & Transport88%

10 present · 1 partial · 1 absent

Environment, Energy & Climate95%

9 present · 1 partial · 0 absent · 3 not assessed

Infrastructure, Water & Waste75%

5 present · 5 partial · 0 absent · 1 not assessed

Health, Education, Safety & Inclusion69%

8 present · 2 partial · 3 absent

Economy, Innovation & Employment81%

5 present · 3 partial · 0 absent

Governance, Resilience & Operating Model81%

8 present · 5 partial · 0 absent · 1 not assessed

Where Bristol is strong

  • Smart Traffic & Electric Vehicles
  • Air Quality & Monitoring
  • Food Security & Urban Agriculture
  • Active & Shared Mobility
  • Energy & Smart Grid

Where the gaps are

  • Climate Action & Emissions
  • Open Data & Transparency
  • Public Safety & Emergency
  • Education & Digital Skills
  • Inclusion & Civic Participation

Evidence highlights

Digital Government Services · Unified online services portal

Bristol City Council provides a central 'Your accounts' section on its website where residents can choose and log in to various digital services, including housing benefit, council tax, parking permits, and planning applications.

https://www.bristol.gov.uk/

Digital Government Services · Online payments for taxes & fees

Bristol offers online payment options for a wide array of council bills, fines, and invoices, including council tax, business rates, penalty charge notices (parking fines), planning fees, and housing rent.

https://www.bristol.gov.uk/pay

Digital Government Services · Citizen reporting / 311 channel

Bristol provides an online service to report various street issues such as dumped rubbish, litter, graffiti, potholes, blocked drains, abandoned vehicles, and problems with street or traffic lights.

https://www.bristol.gov.uk/report-a-street-issue

Public Transport & Real-Time Information · Public transport network

Bristol operates a bus network, as evidenced by the mention of 'Bus passes' and 'Older person's and disabled person's bus passes' on the city's official 'Streets and travel' page.

https://www.bristol.gov.uk/streets-travel

About this assessment

Bristol 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.