In an era defined by climate volatility, digital dependency and escalating cyber threats, resilience is no longer a secondary consideration for global cities. It is a defining measure of competitiveness. The WiredScore Global Cities Resilience Index, introduced in Insights 2026, moves beyond policy ambition and infrastructure headlines to examine what truly matters: how resilient buildings actually perform on the ground
Unlike traditional city rankings, the Global Cities Resilience Index draws on WiredScore’s certification data to assess asset-level performance across three critical pillars: physical resilience, digital resilience and cyber resilience
Physical resilience measures whether buildings can protect critical systems and maintain operations during power, environmental or technical disruption.
Digital resilience evaluates the reliability and adaptability of connectivity infrastructure.
Cyber resilience assesses the policies, controls and protections safeguarding increasingly interconnected building systems. Together, these pillars reflect a fundamental shift in how resilience is defined in modern real estate.
The findings reveal a new hierarchy of global performance. Chicago, Singapore, Dubai and Madrid emerge as the most resilient cities, demonstrating strength across all three pillars
Asia-Pacific and the Middle East are setting the pace for digital and cyber resilience, with cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi ranking highly in both categories. Meanwhile, Europe and North America present a more varied picture, where strong physical foundations are not always matched by digital and cyber maturity. The message is clear: resilience is not determined by geography, but by deliberate design, investment and operational discipline.
Most importantly, the Index underscores that resilience is shifting from risk mitigation to competitive advantage. Cities filled with resilient buildings are better positioned to attract global occupiers, support innovation and maintain economic stability during disruption
As technology becomes embedded in every aspect of how buildings operate, the performance of individual assets will increasingly define the strength of entire urban markets. In an always-on world, resilience is getting real, one building at a time.
Download the full WiredScore Insights 2026 report below: