New York is the New Tokyo, Named World’s Most Innovative City

A list that annually ranks the world’s most innovative cities has put New York in first place, pushing Japan’s Tokyo, last year’s winner, down to second, as the United States steps up with its embrace of smart tech and start-ups.

“What really surprised us this year was a United States bounce-back at the top of the league,” says Christopher Hire, director of 2thinknow, commercial data provider which publishes the annual ranking of 500 cities.

The Innovation Cities Index looks at over 100 indicators from green architecture to transport to citizen privacy, and saw three other U.S. cities – Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston – make the top ten. England’s capital of London is ranked in third place.

“Our Index is designed to measure innovation conditions, and often predicts rising cities before other rankings,” says Christopher Hire, director of 2thinknow, commercial data provider which publishes the annual ranking of 500 cities. “It is up to the city whether they can keep on top of the latest trends and exploit their innovation potential.”