At the World Smart Cities Awards 2012 which just took place in Barcelona, Amsterdam took home the City Award for its Open Data Program for transport and mobility. In addition to the title, the Dutch capital also received 15.000 euros in prize money.

The Open Data Program aims to improve the accessibility of the city, by encouraging app developers to use publicly available data to help identify problems and design new mobile applications that make travel within the city more efficient.

In March, the Department of Infrastructure and Transportation (Dienst Infrastructuur Verkeer en Vervoer, DIVV) started making traffic and transportation data publicly available, such as parking tariffs, taxi stand locations, and bike parking garages. Next to this relatively fixed information, real time data is also available on traffic jams on main roads around the city.

Examples of apps that have been created using this newly available data are Parkshark from Glimworm, which lets drivers compare parking tariffs at various locations, and Bike Like a Local, which helps tourists cycle safely, find places to park their bike, and remember where they've parked.

The World Smart Cities Awards at the Smart City Expo World Congress recognise the most innovative projects in the categories of Initiative, Project, and City. A total of 106 entries were submitted this year from 65 cities in 18 countries. Guatemala won the initiative award, while Big Belly Solar won the project award.