What makes a ‘smart city’? Climate strategist, Boyd Cohen mashed up about nine data sources and city rankings to create a master list of the 10 smartest cities in the Asia Pacific region. Hong Kong is ranked number one in the region for its multiple government funded universities, high rates of transit rides per capita, overall information and communication technologies (ICT) use, and Octopus – a smart card system that residents can use to pay for schools, parking, transit and more. Singapore came in second followed by Seoul, Tokyo, Auckland, Sydney, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei, Shanghai and Osaka.