City assessment
How smart is Chicago?
Chicago scores 74.2% against the ISO 37120-series aligned smart city framework in 2026, ranked #41 of 386 by smart reach and #106 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. 4 of 86 are not yet assessed and count as nothing until a finding is made either way. Last assessed 22 Oct 2026.
Smart reach rank
#41 / 386
Smart score
74.2%
Evidenced rank
#106 / 387
Criteria present
46 / 86
Evidence coverage
95.3%
Chicago's smart city score by area
11 present · 4 partial · 0 absent
9 present · 3 partial · 0 absent
6 present · 5 partial · 0 absent · 2 not yet assessed
4 present · 5 partial · 0 absent · 2 not yet assessed
7 present · 6 partial · 0 absent
6 present · 2 partial · 0 absent
3 present · 11 partial · 0 absent
Where Chicago is strong
- ▸Connectivity & ICT Infrastructure
- ▸Public Transport & Real-Time Information
- ▸Air Quality & Monitoring
- ▸Green Space & Biodiversity
- ▸Culture, Tourism & Recreation
Where the evidence shows gaps
- ▸Governance & Smart-City Operating Model · 4 partial
- ▸Energy & Smart Grid · 3 partial
- ▸Disaster Risk & Resilience · 3 partial
- ▸Climate Action & Emissions · 2 partial
- ▸Education & Digital Skills · 2 partial
Not yet assessed
4 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.
- Climate Action & Emissions1 of 3
- Energy & Smart Grid1 of 4
- Solid Waste & Circular Economy1 of 4
- Water & Sanitation1 of 4
Evidence highlights
Open Data & Transparency · Official open data portal
The URL data.cityofchicago.org, combined with page text containing terms like "add_column", "convert_address", and "create_geocoded_point_column", indicates the presence of an official open data portal for the City of Chicago.
https://data.cityofchicago.org/Public Transport & Real-Time Information · Public transport network
Chicago has a public transport network that includes CTA buses and train service, Metra commuter trains, and Pace Suburban Bus services, which cover the city and surrounding counties.
https://www.transitchicago.comPublic Transport & Real-Time Information · Open schedule data (GTFS)
Pace Suburban Bus provides its route timetable data as General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) for developers, and Metra also appears to offer GTFS data. The CTA Developer Center offers static schedule and service data using an open standard.
https://www.transitchicago.com/developers/Public Transport & Real-Time Information · Real-time arrivals (GTFS-RT)
The CTA Developer Center provides APIs for up-to-the-minute information from both CTA Bus Tracker and CTA Train Tracker, including JSON versions of these APIs. Pace Suburban Bus also offers a "Bus Tracker Real-Time Status."
https://www.transitchicago.com/developers/About this assessment
Chicago was assessed against the 86 criteria of the ISO 37120-series aligned smart city framework on 22 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.