// MCP_SERVER
Connect to Data Corridor via MCP
A free Model Context Protocol server over the same evidence-scored smart city dataset as the public API. Any MCP client — Claude, Cursor, a custom agent — can search cities, rank them, pull a full evidence profile, or compare cities directly as tool calls.
Endpoint https://mcp.datacorridor.io · Streamable HTTP, stateless JSON-RPC · no API key · read-only · CC BY 4.0
Setup
Claude Code (CLI)
claude mcp add --transport http datacorridor-cities https://mcp.datacorridor.ioClaude Desktop
Settings → Developer → Edit Config, and add this to claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"datacorridor-cities": {
"url": "https://mcp.datacorridor.io"
}
}
}Cursor & other MCP clients
Most MCP-compatible tools (Cursor, Windsurf, custom agents) accept the same shape in their MCP settings file:
{
"mcpServers": {
"datacorridor-cities": {
"url": "https://mcp.datacorridor.io"
}
}
}Raw JSON-RPC
No client library needed — every call is a single POST:
curl -X POST https://mcp.datacorridor.io \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"jsonrpc": "2.0",
"id": 1,
"method": "tools/call",
"params": {
"name": "search_cities",
"arguments": { "query": "birmingham" }
}
}'{
"framework": "smart-cities-iso",
"nation": null,
"count": 1,
"cities": [
{
"rank": 116,
"name": "Birmingham",
"scopeId": "uk.birmingham",
"countryCode": "GB",
"smartnessPct": 33.3,
"evidencePct": 39.5,
"present": 23,
"total": 86
}
]
}Tools
search_citiesFind assessed cities by name, optionally scoped to one nation. Returns each match's global rank and score.
{ query: string, nation?: string, framework?: "iso" | "dc20", limit?: number }rank_citiesThe smart-city leaderboard, globally or within one nation — for "top smart cities" questions.
{ nation?: string, framework?: "iso" | "dc20", limit?: number, offset?: number }get_cityA city's full evidence-scored profile: every criterion marked present/partial/absent, grouped by category, each with its source links. Pass a scopeId (e.g. uk.birmingham) to disambiguate a name shared with another country.
{ city: string, framework?: "iso" | "dc20" }compare_citiesCompare 2–5 cities side by side: overall scores plus each city's strongest and weakest categories.
{ cities: string[], framework?: "iso" | "dc20" }list_frameworksThe assessment frameworks available (UN ISO-aligned and DC20), with how many cities and criteria each has.
{}Notes
- Defaults to the UN ISO-aligned framework. Pass
framework: "dc20"to any tool to use the DC20 model instead. - Cities with a name shared across countries (Birmingham UK vs. Alabama, Cambridge UK vs. Massachusetts) resolve unambiguously via scopeId — nation-prefixed, e.g.
uk.birmingham. If a plain name is ambiguous,get_cityreturns candidates instead of guessing. - Every finding a tool returns links back to its public source — nothing is summarised without a citation trail.
- Not resolving yet? https://dcio-mcp.web.app is the same server, live now, while
https://mcp.datacorridor.iofinishes DNS setup.