// CITY_ASSESSMENT
How smart is Chester?
Chester, United Kingdom, scores 37.6% against the DC20 smart city framework in 2026 — ranked #178 of 213 cities assessed, with every finding traceable to a public source.
Smart score
37.6%
Rank
#178 / 213
Criteria present
25 / 82
Evidence coverage
43.9%
Chester's smart city score by area
2 present · 4 partial · 7 absent · 8 not assessed
6 present · 1 partial · 3 absent · 6 not assessed
6 present · 2 partial · 4 absent · 5 not assessed
9 present · 2 partial · 5 absent · 4 not assessed
2 present · 2 partial · 3 absent · 1 not assessed
Where Chester is strong
- ▸Air-Quality & Climate Monitoring
- ▸EV & Active-Travel Infrastructure
- ▸Resilience & Climate Adaptation
- ▸Digital Government / e-Services
- ▸Citizen Engagement & Participation
Where the gaps are
- ▸City Data Platform / Urban Data Exchange
- ▸Smart Water & Waste
- ▸Data Governance, Privacy & Ethics
- ▸Innovation Ecosystem
- ▸Integrated Multimodal Mobility (MaaS)
Evidence highlights
Real-time Public Transit Intelligence · Real-time arrivals / GTFS-RT
Merseyrail, which operates train services to Chester, provides live service updates and train times on its official website.
https://www.merseyrail.org/Real-time Public Transit Intelligence · Open transit data
Stagecoach, a bus operator serving Chester, provides open transit data through its dedicated open data portal.
https://opendata.stagecoachbus.com/EV & Active-Travel Infrastructure · Public EV charging network
Cheshire West and Chester Council is progressing plans for electric vehicle infrastructure.
https://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/news/council-progresses-plans-for-electric-vehicle-infrastructureResilience & Climate Adaptation · Early-warning systems
The Flood Hub provides information relevant to flood risk and early warning systems for the Cheshire area, which includes Chester.
https://thefloodhub.co.uk/cheshire/About this assessment
Chester was assessed against the 82 criteria of the DC20 smart city framework on 2026-07-01 by AI agents gathering evidence from official public sources. Each criterion is marked present, partial or absent, and every finding links to where it was found — see how smart cities are measured. Scores refresh continuously as cities publish new evidence.