As Novac/Vedran Marjanovic writes on the 21st of November, 2020, the winner of the Smart City award from Jutarnji list, the Gradonacelnik.hr (Mayor.hr) portal and the Apsolon agency in the competition of medium-sized cities will be sought between the Istrian cities of Labin and Porec, Koprivnica-Krizevci County Koprivnica and two Zagreb County areas, Zapresic and Ivanic-Grad.
The candidate medium-sized cities were shortlisted based on research conducted by the jury according to 29 different criteria in six units – the digital readiness of the administration, the strategic orientation of the city as ”smart”, having a smart economy, society, infrastructure and environment.
Ivanic-Grad won the final by placing among the five best medium-sized towns with three criteria from the smart environment and smart economy. These are the share of bicycle paths (five percent) in the total length of roads in the town, the rate of separate collected waste and the number of support institutions specialising in ICT, startups, innovation and sustainable development.
Achieving one of the three best results for the four criteria from the units of smart economy and smart environment, Koprivnica was also shortlisted. Koprivnica-Krizevci County did well according to, among other things, the share of the city budget (two percent) intended for aid to companies dealing with ICT, the rate of separation of collected waste, 51 percent, and the share of the population connected to the wastewater treatment system, standing at an impressive 97.8 percent.
Looking at Istrian cities, Labin will try to win the Smart City award with “trump cards” it has under its proverbial belt such as boasting one of the three best results among medium-sized cities in the digital education index of 41.27 percent, the share of employees (9.1 percent) in activities related to ICT, creative industries, research and development, a separate collection rate of 24 percent and a total share of the budget allocated for education in the category of medium-sized cities of 39.11 percent.
Staying with Istrian cities and after winning the selection of the best cities of Jutarnji list, the portal Gradonacelnik.hr and the Ipsos agency in the quality of life category two times, Porec is also in the finals of the Smart City selection because it has one of the three best indicators for four different criteria. These include, again among other things, the number of support institutions specialising in ICT and the share of the local population connected to the wastewater treatment system, which stands at an excellent 85 percent.
Moving away from Istrian cities and back to continental Croatia, Zapresic is present because, much like Ivanic-Grad and Koprivnica, it has a smart city development strategy. It is ranked in the “top three” medium-sized cities according to the share of highly educated members of the population (16.39 percent), a brilliant one hundred percent share of energy efficient lighting in public lighting fixtures and more.
The winners of the award in the Smart City competition of the best Croatian cities in all three competitions (small, medium and large city) will be announced on November the 25th, 2020.
For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily.
Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language – now available in 24 languages
Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.
