Communities from ten nations across five continents named as semi-finalists in ICF’s annual Intelligent Community of the Year Awards Program
(March 25, 2026 – New York, NY, USA & Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil) – During conference hosted by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) and the Brazilian city of Curitiba, ICF today named the world’s Smart21 Communities of 2026. Curitiba was ICF’s Intelligent Community of the Year in 2024.
The selection of the annual Smart21 Communities of the Year begins the semi-finalist phase of ICF’s annual Awards Program. In June, seven of these communities will be named the Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2026 during the Top7 Conference & Announcement in Brightlands-Limburg, Netherlands. Then, in October, one of the Top7 will be named the 2026 Intelligent Community of the Year at the ICF Global Summit in Columbus, Ohio, USA. Last year’s Intelligent Community of the Year was Durham Region, Ontario, Canada
In alphabetical order, the Smart21 Communities of 2026 are:
- Assaí, Paraná, Brazil
- Brightlands-Limburg, The Netherlands
- Burlington, Ontario, Canada
- Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, Türkiye
- Defiance, Ohio, USA
- Fairfield/Jefferson County, Iowa, USA
- Hilliard, Ohio, USA
- Kingston, Ontario, Canada
- Konya Metropolitan Municipality, Türkiye
- Langley City, British Columbia, Canada
- Las Rozas de Madrid, Spain
- Maringa, Paraná, Brazil
- Matosinhos, Portugal
- Murcia, Spain
- Northumberland County, Ontario, Canada
- Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia
- Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brazil
- Reus, Spain
- Reykjavik, Iceland
- Tempe, Arizona, USA
- Yunlin County, Taiwan
“Few of the Smart21 communities would appear on your typical ‘top cities’ list,” said ICF co-founder Robert Bell. “Their selection is not based on how big, rich or well-known they are – but on their answers to our intensive questionnaire, which asks about factors that can make any community successful, regardless of size or location. Today’s hyper-accelerating digital economy puts huge pressure on communities to understand and adapt to change. Today’s winners are 21 places showing the world how it can be done.”
The Smart21 Communities of 2026 include cities and counties from ten countries spread over five continents and includes six first-time honorees in the Intelligent Community Awards. This year’s first-time honorees are Maringa, Matosinhos, Murcia, Northumberland County, Reus, and Tempe. The announcement video may be viewed below. The video is also available by request as a high-resolution download.
Next Steps in the Award Program
Following this announcement, the Smart21 will provide more information on their challenges and successes. From this data, ICF Analysts will select seven to be named the Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2026. The Top7 will then be the focus of the 2026 ICF Global Summit in October, where one will be named the Intelligent Community of the Year.
The Smart21 are selected by ICF based on quantitative and qualitative data related to the six Factors of the Community Accelerator Strategy. The Community Accelerator Strategy provides the conceptual framework for understanding the factors that determine a community’s competitiveness in economic, social and cultural terms. Click here to learn more.
The announcement was part of a conference hosted by Curitiba, which featured speakers from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Spain, and the United States. The conference explored the idea of going from smart city to intelligent community, highlighting the momentum of the Brazilian Intelligent Community® movement. The full program can be found here.
About the Intelligent Community Forum
Starting in 2000 with a research project comparing cities in various nations, the Intelligent Community Forum (www.intelligentcommunity.org) created a unique, data-driven approach to development that puts citizens first while tapping the enormous economic and social potential of technology. In a world dominated by digital, ICF’s mission is to help cities, counties and regions create inclusive prosperous and sustainable communities powered by digital innovation. We do it for communities large and small, in urban clusters and outlying suburbs and rural places through training, consulting, assessment, certification and award programs. ICF believes that digital connectivity and technology create the opportunity for almost every community to develop a dynamic local economy and the social and cultural strengths that go with it – giving them all a chance to be great places to live, work, learn, grow, raise a family and prepare a path for the next generation.
The Forum sponsors Institutes around the world dedicated to the study of the movement, and national organizations in Canada and Taiwan, both home to many Intelligent Communities. In 2012 ICF was invited to participate at the Nobel Peace Prize conference in Oslo and in 2014, its model and work was recognized by the U.S. Department of Commerce under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which, according to the American government, was "aimed at creating a more flexible and responsive system of workforce development to meet the needs of employers looking to fill 21st century jobs.”
For more details on the Intelligent Community Forum’s recent publications and programs, www.intelligentcommunity.org.
Intelligent Community Forum Contacts
Matthew Owen, Executive Director, Intelligent Community Forum
Email: [email protected]
Auri Yates, Communications Manager, Intelligent Community Forum
[email protected]
