Dubai has once again emerged as the regional topper in the list of the world’s most innovative cities published by data analysts 2thinknow this week. Dubai improved its rank from 31 in 2019 to 29 in 2021. The win was attributed to ‘flexible pandemic policies and a commitment to trade’. “As a city for innovation Dubai remains in the top 6-8 per cent worldwide, and No. 1 in the GCC, No. 1 in the Arab Peninsula and No. 1 in the Middle East and North Africa,” Christopher Hire, 20-year data veteran and director at 2thinknow, told Dubai My Second Home.

“Buildings like the Burj Khalifa and [innovations like] the airport smart gates remain ahead in implementation because the city is always refreshing and renewing,” he told DMSH, adding that “Dubai is eclipsing Tel-Aviv.” The economic and technological hub of Israel, Tel-Aviv dropped 50 spots, from #41 in 2019 to #91 in this year’s ranking.

“As a city for innovation Dubai remains in the top 6-8 per cent worldwide, and No. 1 in the GCC, No. 1 in the Arab Peninsula and No. 1 in Middle East and North Africa”

Christopher Hire, director at 2thinknow

The rankings classify Dubai as one of the 38 nexus cities. “A Nexus City is a top 10 per cent city in the world. A Nexus city has competencies in multiple areas of innovation – potentially 5-11 industries. For example, Dubai has become an innovator in aviation, tourism, and architecture, among several other sectors,” Hire told DMSH.

A next tier (Hub city) would be an innovator in fewer sectors spanning 11-30 per cent of the 500 cities in the Innovation Cities Index ranking.

MOST INNOVATIVE CITIES: GLOBAL TOP 10

Tokyo topped the annual list of the world’s most innovative cities, nudging out Boston. The win was attributed to strong technology application, digital capability and pandemic performance.

For the first time in 14 years of results, more than half (54 per cent) of the Top 100 cities were from the US. The ranking included often overlooked cities like Little Rock (#82) and Omaha (#86). American cities’ performance was described as a ‘jaw-dropping unexpected result’ by the data analysts.

“The mass exodus from major American cities has strengthened home-town innovation, as local expertise flooded back to their roots… and dialled-in via Zoom or Teams. This is due to superior US digital skills and platforms,” said Hire.

Previous winner Boston placed ahead of a recovering New York City, due to strong med-tech and research capabilities. This was followed by surprise economic winner Australia’s Sydney (#4), and perennial top-ten technology city, Singapore (#5).

Texas powerhouses of Dallas-Fort Worth (#6) and Houston (#8) completed a long march into the global Top 10 this year based on economic in-flows, beating out Chicago (#9), Silicon Valley (#12), Atlanta (#13) and Seattle (#14).

In the Middle East, Dubai ranked #1 regionally and #29 globally, followed by Tel-Aviv (#91 globally), Abu Dhabi (#95), Cairo (#208) and Sharjah (241).

MOST INNOVATIVE CITIES: MID-EAST TOP 10

The analysts noted that outside consistently high-ranked Europe capitals, digital transformation was incredibly slow. Paris (#10) placed first in Europe, ahead of a rapidly falling London (#11), Vienna (#22), Amsterdam (#24), Berlin (#30) and Istanbul (#32).

Sweden’s Stockholm (#16) was one of few European bright spots, up 16 places with a strong result in start-ups and digital, after “paying the pandemic price early.”

The same US ‘exodus’ to regional centres had the opposite effect of slowing innovation across Europe. Cities in Germany and France plummeted by an unprecedented average of 77 and 85 places respectively, even with capitals included. Decades of gains were reversed in the UK, too.

“Innovation is tied to growing mid-size companies, and European use of the coercive instruments of state like lockdowns has damaged their innovation economy,” said Hire.

In Asia, a rising Seoul (#7) challenged Tokyo. Shanghai skyrocketed to #15 ahead of Beijing at #19, as Chinese cities surged an average of 77 places. Technology hub Shenzhen (#26) rose behind Taipei (#23) in Taiwan.

Despite strong remote work skills, Canadian innovation took a hit, with perennial top finisher Toronto (#43) plummeting. A total of 14 Canadian cities fell an average of 95 places.

“The Trudeau government has bet on uniform centralism. In contrast, the US has 50 states with 50 different approaches, encouraging competition between states and cities,” he noted.

While cities in the United States, China and Japan were net winners, it wasn’t all good news. Cities in the states of California, upstate New York and, surprisingly, Connecticut were named as ‘short-term losers’.

The 162 quantitative indicators were this year adjusted to address digital transformation, economic recovery, start-ups, technology, smart cities, science, engineering, creativity, mobility, and other key civic areas. Data included the latest Covid-19 city results.

In terms of threats, the analysts noted that the Innovation Cities Index was based on a shorter timeframe than usual. This was due to risks to innovation such as rapid inflation, ongoing fiscal stimulus, and systemic infringements on personal liberty.