Below are our most popular posts on SmartCitiesWorld in 2018, highlighting smart city priorities such as transportation, governance and partnerships.

For me, the most interesting thing in smart cities in 2018 was the more open discussion around the social risks of smart cities and practical moves to address them. This included more attention on the risks associated with the rise of facial recognition technology, concerns about data privacy, the acknowledgement of unintended consequences and the need to pay attention to growing cyber risks as our cities get more connected.

Sidewalk Labs’ high-profile waterfront initiative in Toronto hit the headlines, not only for its high-tech vision of a sustainable community with dynamic streets but also for the discussions it has prompted around big tech’s involvement in urban development, privacy in smart cities and data ownership. The project continues to be one to watch in 2019.

In June, the city of Espoo in Finland was named the 2018 Intelligent Community of the Year by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF). The city was praised for its people-centric approach.

Espoo’s Mayor, Jukka Mäkelä, told SmartCitiesWorld more about the winning focus on co-creation, sustainability and city story-telling.

Read the full story at smartcitiesworld.net.