Editors at CN Traveler have rounded up a few of the most innovative destinations they call ‘the world’s smartest cities’ for leading a revolution in smart urban planning. Here we will write about some of those cities.

1.  Built on 1,500 acres of land reclaimed from the Yellow Sea off Incheon, about 35 miles (56 km) from the South's capital Seoul, Songdo district is the largest private real estate development in history. By its completion date in 2015, the district is planned to contain 80,000 apartments, 50,000,000 square feet (4,600,000 m2) of office space and 10,000,000 square feet (930,000 m2) of retail space. The 65-floor Northeast Asia Trade Tower became South Korea's tallest building. Computers have been built into the houses, streets and offices as part of a wide area network. The development is part of a $35 billion effort by the Korean government to form an international business district that houses competitive universities from around the world. In spring 2014, George Mason University (Fairfax, Virginia) will open its Korean campus in Songdo to support undergraduate academic interests and professional development programming for local corporations.

2. In 2008, Masdar City broke ground and embarked on a daring journey to develop the world’s most sustainable eco-city. From its inception, city planners knew that taking such a visionary concept to reality would be a challenging and an evolutionary process. And today, through smart investments, Masdar City is successfully pioneering a “greenprint” for how cities can accommodate rapid urbanization and dramatically reduce energy, water and waste. The bold dream has turned into a sustainable operation – pushing the boundaries of smart design and technology.

3. What we honor at Fujisawa SST is not the town's scale, but the underlying concept and process of how it was built. In a technology-centric smart town the primary focus is the infrastructure, which is built first before designs for comfortable homes and facilities are drawn up. Services for residents are the last consideration. But at Fujisawa SST, the primary consideration was to create a concept for a smart community lifestyle based on residential comfort, regional characteristics, and future living patterns - taking into account such aspects as energy, security, mobility, and healthcare.