The London story: creating a smart city that delivers for citizens

A billboard that reads "rapid electric charging point, cleaner air for London" and a lorry in the background
As one of the world’s great cities, London has evolved over centuries to deliver the housing, transport and infrastructure it needs.

Against a global backdrop of accelerating urbanisation and revolutionary digital transformation, the Mayor of London has set out his ambition to make London the world’s smartest city.

The Mayor's Accelerated Green pathway aims to introduce 2.2m heat pumps, a 40% reduction in the total heat demand of buildings and more advanced technology on the journey to net zero by 2030. Meanwhile the city continues to make great strides to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with London reporting the lowest CO2 per capita emmissions of any UK region.

Today, London is already a hub for smart mobility, cleantech, proptech and govtech, with many more opportunities for further cross-sectoral development in this capital of convergence.

Just some of the transformation happening across the city includes uninterrupted mobile coverage across the TfL Tube network, a new city data platform and the development of advanced digital infrastructure to further cement London's future as a smart city.

As we plan for our sustainable, connected future, we welcome you to join us on this journey and work with us to build a city as smart as its citizens.

The future of transport

London is a leader in smart mobility, with an ambitious goal: by 2041, the capital aims for 80% of journeys to be made on foot, on a bicycle or on public transport.[1]

Nearly 27m trips are made every day in London, a figure expected to grow to 33m by 2041. Currently, just over half of these trips are made by public transport, cycling or on foot. The Mayor’s Transport Strategy outlines Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s vision for a greener London and the policies and actions needed to achieve it.[7]

The city’s transport agency, Transport for London, has a unique and ambitious approach to innovation, as exemplified in the London RoadLab initiative.[2]

London is also home to the Smart Mobility Living Lab (SMLL), a real-world tech-enabled environment for testing and developing future transport and mobility solutions.

A cleantech leader with further market potential

The Mayor of London wants to ensure London is a zero-carbon city by 2050.[3] The value of London’s low carbon goods and services sector was worth £39.7bn in 2017/18, having grown by more than 9% over the last two years and expected to continue at more than 7% to 2021/22.[4]

London cleantech saw £1.9bn of venture capital (VC) investment from 2016 to 2021. Over these five years, investment grew 17 times, much faster than the global average.[8] 

Further supporting businesses of the future, CleanTech London brings together the community to accelerate innovation and support the growth of the sector in the capital. 

Find out more about London's cleantech sector.

Where real estate meets tech

As the largest commercial real estate investment market in the world[5] and home to a globally-renowned tech centre, it’s no surprise that London is a hotbed for proptech.

From dedicated accelerators and incubators, such as Pi Labs and Geovation, to London success stories including Zoopla and Purplebricks, the capital is building the foundations for an exciting future.

The Mayor of London has launched the Future Neighbourhoods 2030 funding programme to help London’s most disadvantaged areas define environmental challenges and transition to a low-carbon circular economy.

Find out more about London's proptech sector.

Accessible, responsive, citizen-oriented public services

London is transforming its public services to better meet the needs of its citizens. The city has long been recognised as a leader in mobilising open data for public benefit, as evidenced through the London Datastore and Transport for London’s open data policy.

All Tube stations and underground tunnels are set to have internet access by the end of 2024. Transport for London is installing more than 2,000km of cabling in London’s Tube tunnels to provide full fibre connectivity across the city.

The London Office of Technology & Innovation (LOTI) is set to build common capability and drive the opportunity to collaborate and scale digital innovation across the capital’s local authorities.[6]

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Discover a London urban sector success story

Hear how London has supported the expansion of Berlin-based Ubitricity.

Be in the know

How we can help

London & Partners offers free advice to potential and existing overseas investors, from startups to established companies.

We can help you:

  • Stay informed and access the latest developments, initiatives and incentives.
  • Connect with the wider ecosystem, including support networks and trade associations.
  • Future-proof the setup of your London business.

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