Riga, Sept 27 (LETA) - Riga has risen 24 places in the International Smart Cities Index to the 59th place, the external communications department of Riga City Council informed LETA.

However, Riga is 35 places behind Tallinn, which is ranked 24th, and 12 places behind Vilnius, which is ranked 47th.

Riga also outperformed European metropolises such as Barcelona, Istanbul, Rome, Athens, Milan, Krakow and Manchester in the 142-city international Smart Cities Index.

The IMD Smart City Index is organized annually by the Centre for Global Competitiveness and assesses cities' existing infrastructure, technological solutions and available services.

The survey asks 120 citizens in each city to rate their city's performance in areas such as health and safety, mobility, activities, access to work and education, and urban governance.

According to the municipality, the introduction of digital technologies in municipal work is already making it easier and more convenient to get around in Riga through integrated transport systems. Operational traffic management and real-time data make it easy for everyone to move around the city.

Green buildings, solar energy, smart public lighting and eco-friendly commuting reduce the carbon footprint, creating a cleaner and greener Riga.

The municipality's online services, digital tools for urban planning and 5G technology solutions allow everyone to play their part in shaping the city.

Free Wi-Fi in city parks, improved public safety and a wide range of city services improve the daily lives of citizens and visitors. And artificial intelligence (AI) tools are being tested to increase the efficiency of municipal work and respond faster to citizens' requests.

The opportunities offered by Riga are also appreciated by foreign partners, as more and more entrepreneurs choose Riga as their innovation environment and the municipality becomes a partner in developing and testing solutions in the urban environment and its pilot areas, the municipality explains.

For example, the municipality's geospatial data portal "Geo Riga" provides access to Riga's geospatial data to various groups of society, including investors, entrepreneurs, innovators and researchers.

Together with the municipality of Turin, Riga is participating in the European Union pilot project 5G4lives. The pilot areas of the project - Vecaki and Kisezers beaches - will be equipped with the latest 5G technologies and automated drone flights will be introduced for the municipal police.

To make Riga safer, the number of CCTV cameras is being increased and the administration of traffic offences is being automated.