Ranking North America's Smartest Cities

Once again, Cohen has applied the new metric he's developed to help bring clarity and measurability to the growing discussion of "smart cities." This time, he turns his attention to North America's cities for evaluation.

Perhaps it shouldn't surprise anyone to learn that the home of Harvard and MIT has been named the continent's "smartest city." But it's more than just the accumulated brain power of Boston's numerous institutions of higher learning that have earned it this accolade. According to Cohen, Boston's "impressive entrepreneurial ecosystem, which is supported by the mayor through the city’s Innovation District initiative," have helped it develop "a world-class innovation system."

San Francisco, with its "high quality of life and...thriving entrepreneurial economy" finished second, and Seattle's pioneering smart governance initiatives helped earn the city third place on Cohen's list.