Quality of life has many dimensions, from the air residents breathe to how safe they feel walking the streets. Report from the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), Smart cities: Digital solutions for a more livable future 2018, analyzes how dozens of digital applications address these kinds of practical and very human concerns. It finds that cities can use smart technologies to improve some key quality-of-life indicators by 10 to 30 percent—numbers that translate into lives saved, fewer crime incidents, shorter commutes, a reduced health burden, and carbon emissions averted.

Moscow was recognised as one of the world’s “smartest” cities. Experts have praised Moscow’s experience in introducing information technology in healthcare, public transport and other areas. The results show that Moscow was ranked high in two categories of the three.

• Devices and technology - The researches wanted to see how digital solutions were injected into the cities’ environment to make them more convenient. The first category was the most developed technology base. Singapore became the world’s leader (25 points out of 37). Moscow was 16.3, while Berlin and Paris only 15.9 and 15.5 respectively.
• Smart solutions - Moscow ranked high among European cities in the second category, overall applications (30.5 points out of 55), with only London ranking higher (34.5 points). Moscow is eighth in this global ranking. According to McKinsey data, most of the Smart City solutions were found in healthcare. For example, in 2011 Moscow launched the Unified Medical Information Analysis System (UMIAS) that connects polyclinics and medical centres and coordinates patient treatment. It can be used to locate the nearest clinic or to make an appointment online. UMIAS has decreased the lines at clinics be 2.5 times since it was introduced.
• User-friendly - Moscow was ranked highest among European cities (16.8 points out of 30) in the third category: public awareness and usage, followed by Paris (16.6) and Vienna (15.7). Moscow is 18th on the global list. Moscow provides one of the highest accessibility levels for mobile internet, which costs less than in New York City, Singapore or Dubai.

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