Rio de Janeiro is named Smart City of the Year.
The Smart City Expo World congress in Barcelona, Spain, chose Rio de Janeiro as the winner of the 2013 World Smart City award, making it the first Latin American city to win the prize. The seven jury members unanimously chose Rio based on three objective criteria: innovation, impact, and viability. More than 200 applications from 35 different countries participated in the competition.
Rio 247 - The Smart City Expo World congress, this Wednesday (19), chose the city of Rio de Janeiro as the winner of the World Smart City 2013 award, being the first Latin American municipality to win the award, which in its third edition, is being held in Barcelona, Spain. More than 200 applications from 35 different countries participated in the competition.
According to the event organizers, the World Smart City aims to stimulate alternatives taking into account the following requirements: competitiveness, administrative efficiency, quality of life, innovation, sustainability, and creativity. The seven jury members unanimously chose Rio, based on three objective criteria: innovation, impact, and viability.
"We submitted our proposal last year, presenting our package called 'High-Performance Management,' which encompasses three projects: the Rio Operations Center, the 1746 Call Center, and Porto Maravilha. The jury primarily evaluated Rio's capacity to integrate various public agencies through service platforms that utilize cutting-edge technology, enabling greater interactivity for citizens," stated the Chief Secretary of the Civil House, Pedro Paulo Carvalho. This information comes from the newspaper O Globo.
Among the finalists were cities such as Buenos Aires, Argentina; Taiyuan, China; Sabadell, Spain; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Berlin, Germany. The official informed that the "Marvelous City" (Rio de Janeiro) could compete for the award again next year. "We submitted a proposal to the organizers of the Smart City Expo World so that Rio de Janeiro can host the event in May 2015. Almost everything is ready for approval. We are happy because this is recognition of how the city is keeping up with the latest trends," he said.
In addition to the secretary, Deputy Mayor Adilson Pires was also present and received the trophy. "It is a great honor to receive this award, especially from the hands of Antoni Vives, Deputy Mayor of Barcelona. The High-Performance Management, which earned us this title, has as its anchor project the Rio Operations Center, the COR, which means heart in Catalan," he declared.