The 100 most connected Brazilian cities

Sao Paulo, Curitiba, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Vitoria are the most intelligent and connected cities in Brazil, according to a new study by Urban Systems–a company that specialises in the analysis of demographic data and digital maps.

In addition to its economy, urbanism, technological innovation and entrepreneurship, Sao Paulo came out on top with the most integrated public transport system in the country.

“The municipality of Sao Paulo is expanding the points of free Wi-Fi,” said Daniel Annenberg, Municipal Secretary of Innovation and Technology, Sao Paulo. “Currently there are 120 public locations but to continue, it is necessary to think about alternative financing of services to guarantee growth and continuity.”

The cities that stand out in the study all include a focus on economic development that goes beyond mere statistics. The ranking developed by Urban Systems places ten municipalities with less than 100,000 inhabitants among fellow cities which have overcome financial and management difficulties to be considered ‘intelligent’.

Five cities in Sao Paulo state, three in Minas Gerais, one in Parana and one in Santa Catarina showed that it is possible to overcome limited budgets and deliver good public services to the population.

One of these is Cajamar, in the metropolitan region of Sao Paulo which has recorded strong economic figures. It has a high Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (US$42,000 per inhabitant) with 94 percent of jobs coming from the private sector, meaning only 6 percent of workers are employed in the public sector.

The effort to attract investors also contributes to the city being at the top of the ranking. Between 2014 and 2015, the number of companies grew 2.7 percent while in Brazil, the increase was 0.5 percent over the same period.

From the 70 indicators–including mobility, urbanism, environment, energy, technology and innovation, economy, education, health, security, entrepreneurship and governance–the publication mapped the cities with the greatest potential for development.

See the list of the most connected and intelligent cities in the Urban System study, here (in Portuguese).