The World’s Smartest City Is A Tiny German Village

The World’s Smartest City Is A Tiny German Village

The World’s Smartest City Is A Tiny German Village Anybody can visit Etteln with the click of a mouse. As Ulrich Ahle’s pointer flies over the rooftops of his hometown — past half-timbered houses, the historic church and verdant fields — it’s clear this isn’t just a sleepy German hamlet. This is the future. Nestled in the rolling hills of North Rhine-Westphalia, Etteln has just 1,750 residents. And yet, the IEEE Smart Cities Contest — the global competition run by the world’s largest association of technical professionals — recently awarded it the title of the world’s smartest city, ahead of powerhouses like Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore. This unlikely digital pioneer didn’t achieve global recognition through wealth or top-down tech investments. Instead, Etteln faced down rural depopulation and the looming closure of its only elementary school by leaning into collective action and homegrown innovation. Etteln, which recently earned the title of the world’s smartest city, has just 1,750 re…