// CITY_ASSESSMENT
How smart is Preston?
Preston, United Kingdom, scores 75.1% against the UN ISO-aligned smart city framework in 2026 — ranked #45 of 388 cities assessed, with every finding traceable to a public source.
Smart score
75.1%
Rank
#45 / 388
Criteria present
58 / 86
Evidence coverage
82.6%
Preston's smart city score by area
12 present · 0 partial · 0 absent · 3 not assessed
5 present · 2 partial · 1 absent · 4 not assessed
9 present · 3 partial · 1 absent
7 present · 3 partial · 0 absent · 1 not assessed
9 present · 2 partial · 0 absent · 2 not assessed
6 present · 2 partial · 0 absent
10 present · 1 partial · 2 absent · 1 not assessed
Where Preston is strong
- ▸Open Data & Transparency
- ▸Digital Government Services
- ▸Health & Digital Health
- ▸Culture, Tourism & Recreation
- ▸Critical Infrastructure Resilience
Where the gaps are
- ▸Active & Shared Mobility
- ▸Smart Traffic & Electric Vehicles
- ▸Governance & Smart-City Operating Model
- ▸Air Quality & Monitoring
- ▸Climate Adaptation & Heat
Evidence highlights
Open Data & Transparency · Official open data portal
Preston City Council publishes content on data.gov.uk, which is described as the 'National Data Library' and 'the home of UK public data', indicating it is a government-run open data portal.
https://data.gov.uk/search?filters%5Bpublisher%5D=Preston+City+CouncilOpen Data & Transparency · Clear open licensing
All content published on data.gov.uk, including that from Preston City Council, is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, unless otherwise stated.
https://data.gov.uk/search?filters%5Bpublisher%5D=Preston+City+CouncilOpen Data & Transparency · High-value datasets published
The Bus Open Data Service publishes high-value transport datasets, including bus timetable, vehicle location, and fares data for every local bus service in England, which covers Preston.
https://data.bus-data.dft.gov.uk/Open Data & Transparency · Programmatic API access
The Bus Open Data Service provides programmatic API access to its datasets, allowing users to experiment with interactive API services for bus data relevant to Preston.
https://data.bus-data.dft.gov.uk/Funding Preston can bid for
125 open calls — grants, tenders and innovation competitions Preston is eligible for, including UK-wide schemes any place can apply to. Every entry links to its source.
- NationalgrantCloses 15 Sept 2026Help The Homeless Grant Scheme
Help the Homeless
up to £5kApply → - NationalcompetitionCloses 16 Sept 2026Accelerating adoption of quantum enabled sensing and PNT
Innovate UK
up to £14.3m24 month projectEnds 30 Nov 2028 - NationalgrantCloses 16 Sept 2026Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure 2: Energy Efficiency
Innovate UK, Department for Transport (DfT)
- NationalgrantCloses 16 Sept 2026Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure 2: Electric Power
Innovate UK, Department for Transport
- Nationalinnovation-callCloses 16 Sept 2026Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure Two (ZEVI 2): Alternative Fuels
Innovate UK, Department for Transport
- Nationalinnovation-callCloses 16 Sept 2026Quantum computing applications for large scale impact: CR&D
Innovate UK
up to £13m - NationalgrantCloses 16 Sept 2026Healthy Heart Grants 2026
Heart Research UK
- This citygrantCloses 17 Sept 2026Crowdfund Lancashire - Autumn 2026 Funding Round
Lancashire County Council
up to £15kEnds 31 Jan 2027 - NationalgrantCloses 17 Sept 2026Researcher Challenges Grants 2026
British Council
- NationalgrantCloses 18 Sept 2026Coastal Communities Fund Grant Scheme 2026
Moray Council
£10k–£50kApply → - NationalgrantCloses 18 Sept 2026Lowland Peat Water Implementation Grant
Environment Agency
- NationalgrantCloses 18 Sept 2026Second Year Of Moray Coastal Community Fund Opens For Bids
Moray Council
£10k–£50kApply →
Showing 12 of 125 — see them all in the explorer.
About this assessment
Preston was assessed against the 86 criteria of the UN ISO-aligned smart city framework on 2026-09-03 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.