September 25, the Seoul Smart City Prize, a new international competition launched by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO), was held for the first time in Seoul, QazMonitor reports citing Almaty Akimat.
Almaty became a bronze winner of the award in the Tech-InnovaCity category for its innovative project GEO-ANALYTICS.KZ. Wellington (New Zealand) claimed the gold, while Madrid (Spain) and Los Angeles (US) won silver in the same category.
The competition received 240 applications: participants included not only cities that offered innovative solutions but also private companies that developed unique technological products. The jury evaluated the projects in three categories: Tech-InnovaCity, Human-CentriCity, and Leadership.
Kazakhstan was represented in the competition by Almaty and Astana. Almaty's GEO-ANALYTICS.KZ platform combines various data in real-time while preserving the history of changes. Processing all incoming information, the platform can pinpoint where schools, social service centers, and kindergartens are needed, assess the load on the road infrastructure, and monitor the activity of small and medium-sized businesses for targeted assistance. The platform collects de-personalized data, the analysis of which allows for effective budget planning, optimization of city services' work, and a prompt response to changes.
WeGO unites 160 cities, more than 37 high-tech companies, and 18 international research organizations focused on innovations and artificial intelligence to automate urban processes. Cooperation with WeGO provides an opportunity to connect to an international platform for the mutual exchange of best practices and standards in smart city development.