// CITY_ASSESSMENT

How smart is Edinburgh?

Edinburgh, United Kingdom, scores 79.6% against the UN ISO-aligned smart city framework in 2026 — ranked #10 of 386 cities assessed, with every finding traceable to a public source.

Smart score

79.6%

Rank

#10 / 386

Criteria present

60 / 86

Evidence coverage

89.5%

Edinburgh's smart city score by area

Data, Digital & Smart Foundation86%

8 present · 3 partial · 0 absent · 4 not assessed

Mobility & Transport88%

9 present · 3 partial · 0 absent

Environment, Energy & Climate85%

9 present · 4 partial · 0 absent

Infrastructure, Water & Waste70%

5 present · 4 partial · 1 absent · 1 not assessed

Health, Education, Safety & Inclusion92%

12 present · 0 partial · 1 absent

Economy, Innovation & Employment100%

8 present · 0 partial · 0 absent

Governance, Resilience & Operating Model81%

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

Where Edinburgh is strong

  • Digital Government Services
  • Public Transport & Real-Time Information
  • Air Quality & Monitoring
  • Health & Digital Health
  • Education & Digital Skills

Where the gaps are

  • Solid Waste & Circular Economy
  • Climate Adaptation & Heat
  • Public Safety & Emergency

Evidence highlights

Open Data & Transparency · Official open data portal

The City of Edinburgh Council maintains a GitHub repository specifically for 'Open Data for Edinburgh', which serves as a platform for publishing datasets.

https://github.com/edinburghcouncil/datasets

Digital Government Services · Unified online services portal

The City of Edinburgh Council provides a unified online portal and a new Council App for accessing various digital services, including options to pay, report, and request services.

https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/

Digital Government Services · Digital identity / single sign-on

Residents can register for and sign in to online accounts, such as the Council Tax online account, using a username and password to view summaries, balances, instalments, and paperless bills, indicating the use of digital identities for accessing services.

https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/counciltaxonline

Digital Government Services · Online payments for taxes & fees

The City of Edinburgh Council offers online payment options for various municipal services, including Council Tax, Council bills, Council rent, parking tickets, and LEZ penalty charges.

https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/

About this assessment

Edinburgh 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.