Madrid is among the cities recognised for outstanding smart city initiatives.
The Spanish capital picked up a gold award at the Seoul Smart City Prize last week for a project launched by Madrid City Council to modernise municipal public services and integrate city infrastructure.
Among the innovations, the Madrid Móvil app – a digital one-stop shop for residents to access services, handle administrative tasks, and interact with the local government directly from their smartphone. Since its launch in 2021, the app has driven digital interactions to 83 percent. Meanwhile, City Brain connects Madrid’s control centres to coordinate multi-departmental emergency and operational responses.
The annual contest is organised by the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organisation (WeGO) in partnership with the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Drawing from 210 submissions worldwide, other winners included Buenos Aires for the government’s ID Social platform – a centralised system that allows authorised personnel to view a citizen’s social service records and find nearby support centres.
Philippines capital Manila was also recognised for using a unified geospatial system in disaster management and urban governance. “Years of hard work by our GIS team and our disaster risk reduction personnel brought us here, and I could not be more proud of what they have built,” Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso said.
Another Spanish city, Cuenca, won an award for turning solid waste into a circular economy platform. Japan’s capital Tokyo was recognised for a generative AI teaching platform that can be accessed by all the city’s schools. Quezon City in the Philippines was also selected for creating a platform that allows residents to exchange recyclables for points redeemable for food, goods, and utilities.
“In 2026, the Seoul Smart City Prize maintained its commitment to honouring projects that pave the way for smarter, more inclusive cities globally,” said WeGO. “A diverse range of cities, organisations, and initiatives advancing human-centered digital transformation, inclusive innovation, and sustainable urban development were recognised for their impactful contribution to smart city development.”
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Jake Kendall
Dieser Artikel ist neu veröffentlicht von / This article is republished from: Government News, 14.10.2026
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