Emerging technologies are fundamentally changing the planning, development, and management of cities, as cities around the globe grow more technologically advanced and connected. Throughout the day-to-day business of running cities, planning and development offer some of the most fundamental and visible forms of government action, impacting everyone who lives and works in cities.

The purpose of this benchmarking survey (the third in a series, with previous reports from 2015 and 2017) is to evaluate the state of technologies used by cities, the adoption of policies to govern technology-enabled practices (such as short-term rental housing, ride-hailing services, and autonomous vehicle services), and to determine how cities respond to the demands of citizens and businesses they serve.