// CITY_ASSESSMENT

How smart is Columbus?

Columbus scores 43.1% against the UN ISO-aligned smart city framework in 2026 — ranked #225 of 386 cities assessed, with every finding traceable to a public source.

Smart score

43.1%

Rank

#225 / 386

Criteria present

25 / 86

Evidence coverage

55.8%

Columbus's smart city score by area

Data, Digital & Smart Foundation56%

3 present · 4 partial · 2 absent · 6 not assessed

Mobility & Transport64%

3 present · 3 partial · 1 absent · 5 not assessed

Environment, Energy & Climate78%

5 present · 4 partial · 0 absent · 4 not assessed

Infrastructure, Water & Waste79%

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

Health, Education, Safety & Inclusion64%

2 present · 5 partial · 0 absent · 6 not assessed

Economy, Innovation & Employment92%

5 present · 1 partial · 0 absent · 2 not assessed

Governance, Resilience & Operating Model56%

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

Where Columbus is strong

  • Air Quality & Monitoring
  • Culture, Tourism & Recreation
  • Open Data & Transparency
  • Innovation & Economic Development
  • Inclusion & Civic Participation

Where the gaps are

  • Climate Adaptation & Heat
  • Active & Shared Mobility
  • Urban Data Platform & Digital Twin
  • Education & Digital Skills
  • Digital Government Services

Evidence highlights

Open Data & Transparency · Official open data portal

The City of Columbus operates an official open data portal at opendata.columbus.gov, which publishes a dcat-us catalog of datasets, including "Building Permits" published by "City of Columbus Maps & Apps".

https://opendata.columbus.gov/api/feed/dcat-us/1.1.json

Open Data & Transparency · High-value datasets published

The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) provides data, indicating the availability of transport-related datasets.

https://cota.com/data/

Open Data & Transparency · Programmatic API access

The City of Columbus open data portal provides programmatic API access, as evidenced by its dcat-us JSON feed available at opendata.columbus.gov/api/feed/dcat-us/1.1.json.

https://opendata.columbus.gov/api/feed/dcat-us/1.1.json

Public Transport & Real-Time Information · Public transport network

The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) is a public transportation provider in Columbus, operating 39 bus lines and serving 2,947 stops or stations across the Columbus area.

https://cota.com/

About this assessment

Columbus 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.