ICF Co-Founder Lou Zacharilla speaks with thought leaders from intelligent communities around the world.

	The Zacharilla collection from previous Intelligent Communities of the Year. Many of these cities will have representatives on the stage on June 13 to honor Espoo’s successor.

I am looking at Espoo, Finland Mayor Jukka Mäkelä in this video and wondering two things about the outgoing Intelligent Community of the Year.

First, I am wondering which of the seven communities now on their way to New York as I write this will succeed his city, which was an improbable and unexpected choice for the award in London last June? Which of them will celebrate their ranking among the Top7 but then walk to the stage alone, surrounded by Espoo and other former Intelligent Communities of the Year, to accept the trophy as Intelligent Community of the Year?

It is a question in the minds of hundreds of people in these seven communities, as well as throughout our worldwide network, site selectors, the media and, most importantly, cities considering using the ICF Method.

Second is a more parochial conceit. I am wondering if I will get a nice blue tie just like Mayor Mäkelä’s.

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.

Rarely have I seen a mayor cry when receiving an award. But there I was, in London, on the angular stage of American Square, standing next to Mayor Jukka Mäkelä of Espoo, moments after announcing our 2018 Intelligent Community of the Year. It is always a thrilling event, much like a World Cup, with unexpected moments almost guaranteed and plenty of nationalism garnishing our celebration of our eclectic salad of communities.

Apparently as surprised as most everyone in the room, the mayor took the stage and greeted everyone on it. He took his trophy and looked at it for an almost uncomfortably long time before speaking. I realized that this was partly because he was in a minor state of shock and delight. He acknowledged his Top7 peers, whose long faces were not as long as I imagined they would be. Each had a classy smile on as they applauded. This said everything you need know about our Top7 this year.

You are in a race. A really big, important race. What are you hoping for? To win, of course. Second and third place are all very well, but there is no substitute for coming out on top. That is the mood in the room every year when the Intelligent Community Forum names its Intelligent Community of the Year. In that room are representatives of seven cities and counties, the Top7 Intelligent Communities of the Year: mayors, members of council, city managers, economic development, and IT leaders. They all want to win. In fact, they are already winners, having reached the Top7. But one of them has slightly outscored the others in our year-long evaluation. The moment comes when we reveal who that is – and it leaves in its wake one happy place and six very disappointed ones.

ESPOO, Finland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The second-largest city in Finland, Espoo has won the international Intelligent Community Awards 2018. The theme of the contest was ‘humanizing data’. This refers to the use of data for people-oriented service development.

Espoo’s strength in the competition lay in its client-oriented way of sustainably developing a smart city – in other words, Espoo wants to involve its residents.

On June 6, Espoo was named as the 2018 Intelligent Community of the Year. Prior to the Summit, and before knowing his community would be named Intelligent Community of the Year, Mayor Jukka Mäkelä spoke with Lou Zacharilla about Espoo.

(June 6, 2018 – London) – For the first time since 2009, the Intelligent Community Forum honored a Nordic city with its top award when it named Espoo, Finland as its 2018 Intelligent Community of the Year. Espoo was honored in its first year as a competitor in the program.

“It is very unusual for a community to be named Intelligent Community of the Year the first time they enter our program,” said ICF co-founder Lou Zacharilla. “ICF is about process improvement over time. But Espoo’s holistic philosophy of humanizing every aspect of its technology and teaching innovation as a way of life was extremely impressive. Espoo’s citizen engagement rates are extremely high, which democracies need, and its economic output speaks for itself. The city is a hidden gem in Finland. Now they have been ‘found out!’”

The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) has named the world’s Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2018. This is the think tank’s 16th annual Top7 list of regions, cities or towns that have gone, in ICF’s words, “from smart city to intelligent community.”

This year’s list includes communities from four nations, with Taiwan contributing three, Canada two communities and Australia and Finland one each. The seven will travel to London in June where one will go on to be named the Intelligent Community of the Year, succeeding Melbourne, Australia, the reigning community.

ICF Director of Operations Matthew Owen sits down with ICF Co-Founder John Jung for part 3 in this special series discussing 2018's Top7 Intelligent Communities of the Year. This week, Matt and John focus on Espoo, Finland and Tainan City, Taiwan.