城市是通往未來的道路。

據世界衛生組織預測，不出35年，世界上三分之二的人口將會居住在城鎮地區。也就是說，全球城鎮人口將新増25億。而未來發展最繁榮的城市，必將是那些依賴于先進技術，并且為人們提供了創造新技術的機會的城市。

為了了解哪些城市在這方面做得最好，商業內幕網站近日咨詢了一家名叫2thinknow的公司，這家公司專門對全球的創新城市進行分析，并請它給出了全球高科技城市的排行榜。

該公司選取了10個與科技進步相關的因素，包括人均專利數量、創業公司的數量、科技風投資本家的數量等等，同時也參考了其他一些創新數據以及智能手機使用量等指標，并對上述因素進行了加權，據此對全球85個城市進行了排名。

如果你想知道未來是什么樣子的，不妨關注一下以下這些城市的發展。

25.美國華盛頓

過去十年，美國首都華盛頓的科技發展水平不斷攀升，與科技相關的工作崗位數量也增加了50%。

此外，華盛頓地區有1000多家創業公司。這里既接近權力，也接近資本，因此如果你想創辦一家改變世界的公司，華盛頓絕對是個不錯的選擇。

24.西班牙巴塞羅納

巴塞羅納去年首次擠進了這張榜單的前25強，尤為值得關注的是，這座城市的工業設計師人數正在增長，而且智能手機也相當普及。

巴塞羅納的移動基礎設施十分先進。連街頭的配電箱里都裝著電腦，這些電腦既可以測量城市噪音和道路交通情況，也可以記錄人們拍了多少張自拍照。

23.丹麥哥本哈根

哥本哈根雖然缺乏創業文化和風險資本，但它擁有創新的城市規劃和強大的工業設計師隊伍，這些因素都彰顯了這座城市對智能制造業的重視。

由于風能的利用率很高,到2025年，哥本哈根將停止對化石燃料的依賴。另外哥本哈根還有著根深蒂固的自行車文化，以及很多大大小小的建筑公司。因此哥本哈根不僅是一座綠色的城市，也是一座美麗的城市。

22.中國香港

東方之珠香港并非像很多城市一樣，只在某一個門類比較搶眼，而是在每一項指標上都很先進。

香港在城市創新上投入了巨額的研發資金，它的互聯網網速是全中國最快的。香港的高新技術出口額達到了2430億美元，約占總出口商品的51%。

21.德國柏林

德國首都柏林擁有堅實的創業文化，而且有著全歐洲最高的風投投資率。

柏林幾乎代表了歐洲造車業的半壁江山，它也是全球唯一一個主要汽車品牌無一缺席的城市。

20.中國深圳

在擁有1100萬人口的中國南方城市深圳，這里的專利像雪片一樣不斷誕生出來。

在中國大力發展制造業的進程中，深圳在過去幾年取得了令人矚目的增長，已成為中國的制造業和機器人產業中心。另外，好幾家電信和電子產業巨頭都將總部設在了深圳。

19.印度班加羅爾

在2thinknow公司的排名上，沒有任何一座城市的排名上升速度比得上班加羅爾，它從2016年的第49名一下子躍升到了今年的第19名。

這主要是由于這座城市涌入了大量的IT企業，另外這座城市還擁有大量的編程人員。目前，印度有一半人口在25歲以下，其中很多人選擇進入了科技行業，從而建立了良性的增長循環。

18.加拿大蒙特利爾

如果你想當一名工業設計師或編程人員，你可以考慮搬到蒙特利爾去。如果你想從事與可穿戴技術或是虛擬現實技術有關的工作，蒙特利爾更是一個很好的選擇。

蒙特利爾是VR頭盔生產商Vrvana的老家，這里還走出了Hexoskin和OMSignal等新銳公司，這兩家公司生產的衣服都能測量穿著者的生物指標。蒙特利爾也有較好的創業文化。

17.中國上海

上海的張江高科技園區堪比美國的硅谷，那里有幾千家科技公司和10萬多名員工。

像中國其他高科技產業密集的城市一樣，上海也匯聚了大量專利和風投。這大概是因為制造業是中國的頭等產業，而很多企業也亟需保護（以及投資于）他們的知識產權。

16.中國北京

北京雖然缺乏濃厚的創業文化，但它的智能手機使用率和人均專利數都非常可觀。過去幾年，北京的風投行業也增長得很快。

今年北京的排名在去年的基礎上上升了15位。

15.荷蘭阿姆斯特丹

阿姆斯特丹的金融技術、能源效率和創業文化結合在一起，使它成了歐洲的一個創新火車頭，雖然它的城市規模其實比歐洲的其他大城市小了不少（比如它的人口只有柏林的三分之一。）

今年四月，阿姆斯特丹的立法者宣布，到2025年前，阿姆斯特丹將徹底禁行汽油和柴油車輛，屆時路面上將只有電動汽車——或許將來，這將成為阿姆斯特丹的一道獨特的風景線。

14.加拿大溫哥華

2014年，加拿大廣播公司曾將溫哥華譽為“北方的硅谷”，意思是說溫哥華有著濃厚的創業文化。

溫哥華有600多家數字媒體公司，年收益達20億美元以上。另外溫哥華也有好幾所杰出的理工科大學，企業在這里還能享受到較低的稅率。因此無論是初露鋒芒的工程師，還是已經創業成功的高管，都會感受到這座城市濃濃的吸引力。

13.瑞典斯德哥爾摩

斯德哥爾摩正在掀起一場數字和環境革命，目標是在未來五年內，進化成一個無現金和無石油社會。

斯德哥爾摩還擁有全歐洲最多的價值10億美元以上的創業公司，同時它也是全球增長第二快的風投市場。難怪各國編程人才都紛紛向這里涌來。

12.日本東京

東京是全世界最大的城市，如果沒有令人贊嘆的基礎建設水平，就沒有今日之東京。東京尤其令人稱道的，就是它的公共交通系統。比如東京的地鐵系統每年要容納23億人次。

東京的風投行業十分發達，同時它也是很多科技巨頭的老家，其中很多科技企業已經在為2020年東京奧運會做準備了。

11.美國達拉斯-沃斯堡

短短幾年內，達拉斯已經成為美國的又一創業之都。

在2thinknow公司給出的排行榜中，達拉斯的排名從2016年的第28名幾乎躍升到了前十位。這主要是由于其風投資本家的人數增長極快，另外城市與科技相融合的水平也很高。

10.美國芝加哥

你可能認為美國的創業公司一般都愛往東西海岸扎堆，荒涼的中西部地區可能不受創業者的青睞，然而芝加哥卻是個例外。最近的一則報道顯示，伊利諾斯州已經成了美國高科技行業就業數最高的五個州之一，而其中大多數高科技職位就是由“風之城”芝加哥貢獻的。

布魯金斯學院的研究還發現，芝加哥也是城市規劃創新的熱土。這在很大程度上要歸功于該市的CityWorks項目，該項目旨在解決各種與能源轉換和交通有關的問題。

9.加拿大多倫多

多倫多的創業文化和創新基礎設施都比較成熟，歸功于思科創新中心等孵化器的大力推動，多倫多已經匯聚了加拿大30%的IT企業，其中大多數IT公司的員工數不足50人。在下個十年里，很多年輕的公司將從這里走向世界，改變人們的生活。

總的來說，多倫多的科技企業每年大約可獲得520億美元的收入。

8.新加坡

新加坡不僅是一座巨大的海綿城市，它的編程人才和風投家的數量也是非常多的。星城經常會引入一些新的基礎設施，或是科技含量極高的高樓大廈，比如最近在星城建成的一座大樓的天井里居然有一整座森林。

另外，新加坡也與麻省理工學院展開了合作，共同開發智能交通系統，以減少對私家車的依賴，加大對城鐵和輕軌的使用率。

7.美國波士頓

過去幾年，波士頓涌現出了大量令人興奮的新技術，這些創新當然都來自麻省理工、哈佛、西北大學等波士頓的世界頂尖院校。其中許多科技創新都來自生物科技和機器人領域。

波士頓也有不少風投機構（如Battery Ventures、Atlas Ventur、Bessemer Venture Partners、Matrix Venture Partners等等)，他們向各種創新實驗室和大學創業公司投入了巨額獎金。Facebook和亞馬遜等知名企業都在波士頓設立了研發機構，以從這座城市林立的名校中招攬人才。

6.中國臺北

據2thinknow公司分析，臺北在工業設計上處于佼佼者之列。當然，臺北的工業設計水平是有多年積淀的，臺北歷來比注重硬件而不是軟件設計。華碩、MSI、技嘉和宏基等知名科技公司的總部都在臺北。

另據2thinknow公司表示，臺北在風投資本家數量一項上的評分也比較高。

5.韓國首爾

首爾曾被譽為“未來的城市”，此言非虛。創新的理念已經融入到了城市的設計中，它的地鐵系統幾乎可以吊打紐約地鐵。

2thinknow公司表示，首爾注冊的專利數量超過了全球任何城市。很多人們常見的高新技術都是在這里發明的——比如智能手機的LTE技術。還有一些技術仍然處于襁褓階段，比如虛擬商店概念，也就是只要你掃描了物品的圖像，它稍后就被送到你家里去。

4.美國洛杉磯

洛杉磯并不是只有電影行業。

2014年，洛杉磯縣經濟發展局發布的一份報告顯示，洛杉磯的高新產業就業機會要多于美國的任何一個地區，年貢獻產值約580億美元。而洛杉磯高新技術產業的發展，離不開創業公司和風投資本發揮的重要作用。

3.英國倫敦

隨著去年倫敦公布了新城鐵Crossrail項目的方案以來，倫敦已經成了未來公共交通發展方向的一個縮影。到2018年，10條新線路將通過全新的隧道連接起30個現有站點。其200億美元的造價也是歐洲最大的建設項目。

2thinknow公司發現，倫敦的創業公司和編程人員人數幾乎超過了全球任何城市。據部分專家預測，倫敦的IT業職位可能比全加州的都多。

有人認為，在接下來十年里，倫敦還將新增1.1萬個科技業的就業機會。

2.美國紐約

紐約是創新界的一個特殊的重量級選手。它的基礎設施極為沉舊，然而與此同時，它的先進程度又難以置信。

據紐約州審計局稱，光是2013年第三季度，紐約市就有近7000家高科技公司提供了10萬多個就業職位。除了創業公司多，紐約還在全城應用了一項名叫LinkNYC的技術，這是一項免費的Wifi服務，光是在曼哈頓就設置了500個多個熱點供民眾使用，很多專家認為，紐約在創新方面才剛剛起步。

1.美國舊金山

如果每個國家都有一座城市將自己與硅谷相比，這就已經說明，硅谷才是科技行業的黃金標準。

由于2thinknow公司將硅谷劃給了舊金山，因此舊金山榮登這張排行榜的榜首。硅谷是當之無愧的高科技之都，無論是創業文化、風投規模，還是設計師和編程人員的數量，都是無以倫比的。

硅谷在所有指標上幾乎都排在首位，因為它的創新產業鏈極為完整。雖然不斷有其他城市沖擊它創新之都的位置，但它的霸主地位仍然穩如泰山。（財富中文網）

本文原載于Business Insider.com

譯者：樸成奎

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Cities are the way of the future.

In less than 35 years, the World Health Organization estimates that two-thirds of the world population will be living in urban areas. That's an additional 2.5 billion people. The cities that will flourish the most are those that rely on cutting-edge technologies and create opportunities for people to develop new ones.

To get a sense of which cities do that the best, Business Insider consulted 2thinknow, a research firm that specializes in analyzing innovative cities, to rank the most high-tech cities in the world.

The firm chose 10 factors related to technological advancement — including the number of patents filed per capita, startups, tech venture capitalists, ranking in other innovation datasets, and level of smartphone use — weighted them, and ranked a list of 85 cities accordingly.

If you want to know what the future will look like, these are the cities to keep an eye on.

25. Washington, DC

The US capital has been rapidly expanding its tech scene over the last decade, growing its overall number of tech-related jobs by 50%.

In addition, more than 1,000 startups call DC home. The proximity to the federal government mixed with the deep pockets of nearby venture-capital firms makes starting a world-changing company an appealing prospect in the city.

24. Barcelona, Spain

The Spanish city cracked the top 25 for the first time since last year's ranking, in particular for its growing population of industrial designers and prominent smartphone use.

Smartphone infrastructure is so sophisticated, in fact, that electrical boxes strewn around Barcelona contain computers that capture noise levels, traffic patterns, and how many selfies people take.

23. Copenhagen, Denmark

What Copenhagen lacks in startup culture and venture capital, it makes up for with innovative urban planning and a strong contingent of industrial designers — factors that 2thinknow praises as signs the city prioritizes smart manufacturing.

By 2025, the city plans to sever its dependence on fossil fuel, due in large part to harnessed wind energy. Its robust bike culture and fleet of architecture firms allow Copenhagen to be a city that's not just green, but beautiful.

22. Hong Kong, China

Rather than excel in one particular category, Hong Kong hits just about every box in terms of its advancement.

The city devotes enormous amount of money toward research and development and city-wide innovation, boasting some of the fastest Internet speeds in China. Its high-tech exports total $243 billion, or 51% of the total exported goods.

22. Berlin, Germany

Not to be outdone, Germany's capital city boasts a strong start-up culture and has some of the highest rates of venture capital investment in Europe.

Berlin is also the locus for much of Europe's automobile industry. It is the only city in the world where all of the major automative brands are represented.

20. Shenzhen, China

Patents are flying out of Shenzhen, a city in southern China that boasts a population of 11 million.

As part of the country's push toward manufacturing, Shenzhen has grown significantly over the last several years as a hub for factories and robotics. Multiple telecom and electronics giants have found a home base in the city.

19. Bangalore, India

No other city in 2thinknow's ranking climbed as far compared to 2016's ranking as Bangalore, which moved from 49th place to 19th.

The change is due to an influx of IT companies and the city's enormous population of programmers. Half of India is under 25, and many are entering the growing tech space, creating a virtuous circle of growth.

18. Montreal, Canada

If you want to be an industrial designer or programmer, you should consider moving to Montreal. If you want to work in wearable technology (or virtual reality), even better.

Montreal is home to Vrvana, a VR headset manufacturer, and the companies Hexoskin and OMSignal, which both make clothes that measure wearers' biometric signals. The city also has a fairly strong startup culture.

17. Shanghai, China

The closest Shanghai has to Silicon Valley is the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park. It houses more than 100,000 workers split between thousands of tech companies.

Like most of China's high-tech cities, Shanghai excels in patents and venture capital. That may be because manufacturing has become a top priority in China, and companies are eager to protect (and invest in) their intellectual property.

16. Beijing, China

Though it may lack the startup culture of other high-tech cities, Beijing is renowned for its city-wide use of smartphones and the number of patents filed per capita. It venture capital scene has also grown rapidly over the past several years.

The city climbed 15 spots since the 2016 rankings.

15. Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Amsterdam's combination of financial technology, energy efficiency, and startup culture make it a powerhouse in Europe, despite being much smaller than its neighbors. (It has only a third of Berlin's population, for example.)

In April, lawmakers announced they wanted to ban gas and diesel cars by 2025 in favor of electric vehicles — perhaps the city's most visible sign of its look toward the future.

14. Vancouver, Canada

In 2014, the CBC called Vancouver "Silicon Valley North" in recognition of its strong start-up culture.

There are more than 600 digital media companies that generate more than $2 billion in revenue. Tech-focused universities and low corporate tax rates, meanwhile, make the city attractive for both up-and-coming engineers as well as established executives.

13. Stockholm, Sweden

With missions to go cash-free and oil-freewithin the next five years, Stockholm is fully embracing the digital and environmental revolutions.

The city also has the most billion-dollar startups in Europe and the world's second-fastest-growing market for venture capital investments. It's no wonder that programmers are flocking to the Swedish capital.

12. Tokyo, Japan

The largest city in the world doesn't achieve that feat without impressive levels of infrastructure — transportation in particular. Tokyo's subway system, for example, is used by 2.3 billion people every year.

Tokyo excels in venture capital investments, and is home to a dizzying number of tech giants, many of which are already preparing for the 2020 Olympic Games.

11. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas

Just within the last couple years, Dallas has established itself as a startup hub.

In 2thinknow's analysis, the Texas city climbed from 28th in 2016 to just outside the top 10 because of its rapid growth in the number of venture capitalists and integration of technology into the city landscape.

10. Chicago, Illinois

You might not think of the Midwest as a startup magnet, but Chicago is quickly proving that assumption false. A recent report found Illinois was among the top five in high-tech jobs in the US, with the Windy City making up a big chunk of those spots.

Brookings Institute also finds Chicago is a hotbed for urban planning innovation, driven largely by CityWorks, a project designed to solve problems related to energy transfer and transportation.

9. Toronto, Canada

Rife with startups and innovative infrastructure, stemming from places like the Cisco Innovation Center, Toronto is home to 30% of Canada's IT firms, the majority of which have fewer than 50 employees. That means there's a crop of young companies poised to make an impact in the next decade.

Overall, the city's firms account for approximately $52 billion in yearly revenue.

8. Singapore

Aside from being a giant, rain-absorbing sponge, Singapore boasts an extremely high number of programmers and venture capitalists. The city-state is constantly introducing new infrastructure and high-tech high-rises, including one with an entire forest in the atrium.

It has partnered with MIT to build smarter transportation that relies less on private carsand more on public trains and light rail.

7. Boston, Massachusetts

A huge number of exciting technologies have been coming out of Boston over the last several years from STEM elites like MIT, Harvard, Tufts, and Northeastern — many of them in the biotech and robotic fields.

The city has a handful of venture capital firms (Battery Ventures, Atlas Venture, Bessemer Venture Partners, Matrix Venture Partners) that pour money into innovation labs and university startups. And big-name companies like Facebook and Amazon have set up R&D offices in Boston to pull from this growing pool of talent.

6. Taipei, Taiwan

According to 2thinknow's analysis, Taipei is the far-and-away leader when it comes to industrial design. This has been the case for years — the city much prefers to delve into hardware rather than software. Some of the largest PC companies call the city home, including Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, and Acer.

According to 2thinknow, the city also scores highly in its number of venture capitalists.

5. Seoul, South Korea

Seoul has been called the city of the future, and rightfully so. Innovation is practically baked into its design, as its metro system may even have New York's subway beat.

According to 2thinknow, Seoul files more patents than just about any city in the world. It has developed technology that is already ubiquitous — such as the LTE beamed to our smartphones — as well as tech still in its infancy, like virtual stores where you scan pictures of items to be delivered later.

4. Los Angeles, California

Film isn't the only industry in LA.

In 2014, a report by the LA County Economic Development Corporation suggested that LA had more high-tech sector jobs than any other region in the US. The report also found the total wealth output hovers around $58 billion. When 2thinknow performed its analysis, it found the same: Startups and venture capital play a major role in LA's tech sector boom.

3. London, England

London has become a public transportation dream over the last year with the introduction of its Crossrail project. By 2018, 10 new train lines will connect 30 existing stations with brand-new tunnels. At $20 billion, it's the largest construction project in Europe.

2thinknow finds London has more startups and programmers than almost any other city in the world. By some estimates, there may be more IT jobs in London than all of California.

Some estimates say there will be 11,000 new tech jobs added within the next decade.

2. New York, New York

New York is a special kind of tech heavyweight. It is both extremely dated in its infrastructure, but at the same time, unbelievably progressive.

According to the state comptroller's office, nearly 7,000 high-tech companies in New York City provided more than 100,000 jobs during the third quarter of 2013. In addition to starting companies, the city also launches integrated, citywide technology: LinkNYC, a free Wifi service, has over 500 kiosks around Manhattan available for public use, and many experts believe the city is just getting started.

1. San Francisco, California

If every city claims to be the "Silicon Valley" of its particular home country, you can guarantee Silicon Valley is the gold standard for tech.

Since 2thinknow defines the region by its largest neighboring city, San Francisco takes the top spot. It is the undeniable epicenter of all things tech, from its gigantic startup culture to its venture capital scene to its population of designers and programmers.

Silicon Valley wins in just about every category because the supply chain of innovation has made its home there, even as smaller contenders claw at the title.

This article originally appeared on BusinessInsider.com