News
April 9, 2026
ICF Names Burlington, Ontario, as One of the Smart21 Communities of 2026
Burlington recognized among leading intelligent communities worldwide in ICF’s annual Awards Program
March 31, 2026 – Last week at a live event in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, ICF named Burlington, Ontario, Canada as one of the world’s Smart21 Communities of 2026.
Burlington joins 20 other communities from across the globe in this prestigious recognition. This is the third time that Burlington has appeared on the Smart21 list, having previously been named a Smart21 Community in 2006 and 2007.
In alphabetical order, the Smart21 Communities of 2026 are:
- Assaí, Paraná, Brazil
- Brightlands-Limburg, The Netherlands
- Burlington, Ontario, Canada
- Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, Turkey
- Defiance, Ohio, USA
- Fairfield/Jefferson County, Iowa, USA
- Hilliard, Ohio, USA
- Kingston, Ontario, Canada
- Konya Metropolitan Municipality, Turkey
- Langley City, British Columbia, Canada
- Las Rozas de Madrid, Spain
- Maringa, Paraná, Brazil
- Matosinhos, Portugal
- Murcia, Spain
- Northumberland County, Ontario, Canada
- Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia
- Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brazil
- Reus, Spain
- Reykjavik, Iceland
- Tempe, Arizona, USA
- Yunlin County, Taiwan
Next Steps in the Award Program
Following this announcement, Burlington and the other Smart21 communities will provide ICF with further details on their challenges and successes. ICF Analysts will then select seven to be named the Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2026, which will be announced on June 17 in Brightlands-Limburg, Netherlands. The Top7 will be the focus of the 2026 ICF Global Summit, taking place 13-15 October in Columbus, Ohio, USA, where one will be named the Intelligent Community of the Year.
The Smart21 are selected by ICF based on data related to six key factors of the Community Accelerator Strategy, which determines a community’s competitiveness in economic, social, and cultural terms.
About the Intelligent Community Forum
Starting in 2000 with a research project comparing cities in various nations, the Intelligent Community Forum (www.intelligentcommunity.org) created a unique, data-driven approach to development that puts citizens first while tapping the enormous economic and social potential of technology. In a world dominated by digital, ICF’s mission is to help cities, counties and regions create inclusive prosperous and sustainable communities powered by digital innovation. We do it for communities large and small, in urban clusters and outlying suburbs and rural places through training, consulting, assessment, certification and award programs. ICF believes that digital connectivity and technology create the opportunity for almost every community to develop a dynamic local economy and the social and cultural strengths that go with it – giving them all a chance to be great places to live, work, learn, grow, raise a family and prepare a path for the next generation.
The Forum sponsors Institutes around the world dedicated to the study of the movement, and national organizations in Canada and Taiwan, both home to many Intelligent Communities. In 2012 ICF was invited to participate at the Nobel Peace Prize conference in Oslo and in 2014, its model and work was recognized by the U.S. Department of Commerce under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which, according to the American government, was “aimed at creating a more flexible and responsive system of workforce development to meet the needs of employers looking to fill 21st century jobs.”
For more information, go to www.intelligentcommunity.org/icf_membership. For more details on the Intelligent Community Forum’s recent publications and programs, www.intelligentcommunity.org.
Intelligent Community Forum Contacts
Matthew Owen, Executive Director, Intelligent Community Forum
Email: mowen@intelligentcommunity.org
Auri Yates, Communications Manager, Intelligent Community Forum
Email: auri@intelligentcommunity.org