// CITY_ASSESSMENT

How smart is Durham?

Durham, United Kingdom, scores 47.3% against the DC20 smart city framework in 2026 — ranked #124 of 213 cities assessed, with every finding traceable to a public source.

Smart score

47.3%

Rank

#124 / 213

Criteria present

35 / 82

Evidence coverage

53.7%

Durham's smart city score by area

Data & Digital Foundation45%

4 present · 2 partial · 5 absent · 10 not assessed

Mobility75%

11 present · 2 partial · 3 absent

Environment & Resources85%

8 present · 1 partial · 1 absent · 7 not assessed

Governance & People76%

11 present · 4 partial · 2 absent · 3 not assessed

Economy & Method20%

1 present · 0 partial · 4 absent · 3 not assessed

Where Durham is strong

  • Real-time Public Transit Intelligence
  • EV & Active-Travel Infrastructure
  • Air-Quality & Climate Monitoring
  • Digital Inclusion & Literacy
  • Pervasive IoT Sensing

Where the gaps are

  • Innovation Ecosystem
  • Smart Energy & Buildings
  • Digital Twin
  • Interoperability & Open Standards
  • Resilience & Climate Adaptation

Evidence highlights

Pervasive IoT Sensing · Deployed sensor networks

Durham has a "Smart Durham" initiative and an open data portal, and its transit system provides real-time stop information, indicating deployed sensor networks for city management and transit.

https://live-durhamnc.opendata.arcgis.com/

Pervasive IoT Sensing · Connected assets / smart lighting

Durham has a "Street Lighting Program" and a "Smart Durham" initiative, indicating the presence of connected municipal assets like smart streetlighting.

https://durhamnc.gov/493/Street-Lighting-Program

Pervasive IoT Sensing · Public real-time sensor feeds

Durham provides public real-time data feeds, including real-time transit stop information and data through its open data portal.

https://live-durhamnc.opendata.arcgis.com/

Real-time Public Transit Intelligence · Real-time arrivals / GTFS-RT

GoDurham Transit in Durham, NC provides real-time stop information, and Arriva UK Bus, which serves Durham, UK, allows users to check live bus arrival times.

https://www.godurhamtransit.org/real-time-stops

About this assessment

Durham 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.