// CITY_ASSESSMENT

How smart is Cologne?

Cologne scores 32.1% against the UN ISO-aligned smart city framework in 2026 — ranked #163 of 227 cities assessed, with every finding traceable to a public source.

Smart score

32.1%

Rank

#163 / 227

Criteria present

24 / 86

Evidence coverage

36%

Cologne's smart city score by area

Data, Digital & Smart Foundation56%

4 present · 2 partial · 3 absent · 6 not assessed

Mobility & Transport75%

6 present · 0 partial · 2 absent · 4 not assessed

Environment, Energy & Climate88%

3 present · 1 partial · 0 absent · 9 not assessed

Infrastructure, Water & Waste71%

4 present · 2 partial · 1 absent · 4 not assessed

Health, Education, Safety & Inclusion83%

5 present · 0 partial · 1 absent · 7 not assessed

Economy, Innovation & Employment83%

2 present · 1 partial · 0 absent · 5 not assessed

Governance, Resilience & Operating Model17%

0 present · 1 partial · 2 absent · 11 not assessed

Where Cologne is strong

  • Active & Shared Mobility
  • Education & Digital Skills
  • Open Data & Transparency
  • Food Security & Urban Agriculture
  • Health & Digital Health

Where the gaps are

  • Connectivity & ICT Infrastructure
  • Green Space & Biodiversity
  • Critical Infrastructure Resilience
  • Digital Government Services
  • Air Quality & Monitoring

Evidence highlights

Open Data & Transparency · Official open data portal

The website offenedaten-koeln.de, explicitly named "Offene DatenKöln" (Open Data Cologne), hosts datasets such as the "Amtliches Liegenschaftskataster Köln" and "Stadtkartenwerk Köln", indicating it is an official open data portal for the city.

https://www.offenedaten-koeln.de/dataset/amtliches-liegenschaftskataster-koeln

Open Data & Transparency · High-value datasets published

Cologne publishes datasets such as the "Amtliches Liegenschaftskataster Köln" (official cadastre information system) and "Stadtkartenwerk Köln" (city map works), which are geographic and land-use related, falling under environment/governance high-value data…

https://www.offenedaten-koeln.de/dataset/amtliches-liegenschaftskataster-koeln

Open Data & Transparency · Programmatic API access

The "Stadtkartenwerk Köln" dataset is provided through "Kartendienste (WMS, WMTS und WCS)" for use in Geographic Information Systems, which are standard web services (APIs) for geospatial data.

https://www.offenedaten-koeln.de/dataset/stadtkartenwerk-koeln

Public Transport & Real-Time Information · Public transport network

Cologne operates a public transport network including trams ("STRAB") and buses ("BUS"), with specific lines mentioned for stops like Heumarkt. News reports also refer to bus lines in Cologne.

https://data.webservice-kvb.koeln/service/opendata/haltestellen/json

About this assessment

Cologne was assessed against the 86 criteria of the UN ISO-aligned smart city framework on 2026-07-09 by AI agents gathering evidence from official public sources. Each criterion is marked present, partial or absent, and every finding links to where it was found — see how smart cities are measured. Scores refresh continuously as cities publish new evidence.