Can You Guess the 'Smartest' City in the World?By 'smartest,' we mean most digitally connected and efficient.

ByCatherine Clifford

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

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Passeig de Gracia in Barcelona, Spain.

Barcelona has long bragged about the athletic prowess of its football (soccer) club, but now it can also brag about being the smartest city in the world.

聪明的,在这种情况下,这意味着拥有莫st efficient, technologically connected infrastructure. Being able to collect and analyze data from buildings, roads and bridges ostensibly allows officials more efficient processes and distribution of resources.

Related:The Internet of Things Will Have Arrived When You Don't Even Notice It's There

After Barcelona, the smartest cities in the world are New York, London, Nice and Singapore, according to a new report, released today from U.K.-based intelligence firmJuniper Research. The rankings were determined by measuring how advanced each city is in using smart electricity grids, traffic management tools and street lighting.

Related:Why U.S. Innovation Needs China to Achieve the Next Technology Mega-Trend

In addition to preventing traffic jams and unnecessary roadblocks, having a "smart' city means natural resources are used more efficiently, and ergo, fewer of them are used. If "smart' initiatives continue on current trajectories, they will result in $10.7 billion worth of savings per year by 2019, according to the report. That's the equivalent of 130 million barrels of oil being used each year.

For London and New York to catch up with Barcelona in their "smart' ranking, they need to focus more on the technologies that help the environment, and conserve natural resources, according to the report.

Related:Furniture Made by Bacteria? This Futuristic Design Firm Says It Will Happen.

Catherine Clifford

Senior Entrepreneurship Writer at CNBC

Catherine Clifford is senior entrepreneurship writer at CNBC. She was formerly a senior writer at Entrepreneur.com, the small business reporter at CNNMoney and an assistant in the New York bureau for CNN. Clifford attended Columbia University where she earned a bachelor's degree. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can follow her on Twitter at @CatClifford.

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