The Smart City Playbook: Lessons from Urban Pioneers Kindle Edition

When the world’s cities compete for talent, innovation, and investment, intelligence—not size—determines who wins.The Smart City Playbook is a fascinating journey into the front lines of urban transformation, written by Arturo Bris, one of the world’s foremost experts on competitiveness and Director of the IMD World Competitiveness Center in Lausanne. Drawing on years of global research behind the IMD Smart City Index, Bris reveals what makes cities truly smart: not technology alone, but vision, trust, and leadership.Through six remarkable case studies from the Middle East—Madinah, Doha, Al Khobar, Manama, AlUla, and Muscat—this book showcases how cities are reinventing themselves with purpose, combining innovation with identity and sustainability with inclusion. Each chapter tells a story of transformation: how Madinah integrates spirituality and data, how Doha turned a World Cup into a legacy of competence, how AlUla uses technology to protect its ancient past, and how Muscat redefines progress through restraint and balance.Richly documented and elegantly written, The Smart City Playbook blends storytelling with evidence. It brings to life the evolution of the IMD Smart City Index, first published in 2019, and traces its influence on policymakers, mayors, and citizens across more than 150 cities worldwide.Bris argues that the cities of tomorrow will not only be smart but wise: learning ecosystems that use intelligence to create prosperity, coherence, and dignity for all.For mayors, urban planners, and anyone fascinated by how cities shape our collective future, this book is both a practical guide and a manifesto. Its lessons reach far beyond the Middle East, offering a universal blueprint for building cities that are innovative, competitive, and profoundly human. Read more