// CITY_ASSESSMENT
How smart is Manchester?
Manchester, United Kingdom, scores 79.5% against the UN ISO-aligned smart city framework in 2026 — ranked #4 of 75 cities assessed, with every finding traceable to a public source.
Smart score
79.5%
Rank
#4 / 75
Criteria present
63 / 86
Evidence coverage
84.9%
Manchester's smart city score by area
10 present · 3 partial · 1 absent · 1 not assessed
9 present · 1 partial · 1 absent · 1 not assessed
13 present · 0 partial · 0 absent
10 present · 0 partial · 1 absent
10 present · 0 partial · 1 absent · 2 not assessed
6 present · 2 partial · 0 absent
5 present · 4 partial · 1 absent · 4 not assessed
Where Manchester is strong
- ▸Public Transport & Real-Time Information
- ▸Air Quality & Monitoring
- ▸Energy & Smart Grid
- ▸Climate Action & Emissions
- ▸Green Space & Biodiversity
Where the gaps are
- ▸Disaster Risk & Resilience
- ▸Smart Traffic & Electric Vehicles
- ▸Education & Digital Skills
- ▸Climate Adaptation & Heat
- ▸Open Data & Transparency
Evidence highlights
Open Data & Transparency · Official open data portal
Manchester City Council operates an official open data portal and catalogue, including an ArcGIS hub for spatial data, and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority also provides open data.
https://www.manchester.gov.uk/open-dataOpen Data & Transparency · High-value datasets published
The Manchester open data catalogue includes datasets such as 360Giving Grant Payments and Brownfield Points, while MappingGM provides geospatial data on housing, planning, and infrastructure.
https://www.manchester.gov.uk/online-directories/open-data-directories/manchester-open-data-catalogueOpen Data & Transparency · Programmatic API access
Manchester City Council's open data portal provides programmatic API access, specifically an "open-data-search-api".
https://opendata-manchester-city-council.hub.arcgis.com/pages/manchester-city-council-open-data-search-apiSmart Traffic & Electric Vehicles · EV charging network
Greater Manchester has an Electric Vehicle Network, with Transport for Greater Manchester involved in related initiatives.
https://www.local.gov.uk/case-studies/greater-manchester-electric-vehicle-networkAbout this assessment
Manchester was assessed against the 86 criteria of the UN ISO-aligned smart city framework on 2026-07-01 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.