You conducted several interviews for the Smart City Matters study and learned about various projects. What were the highlights for you?
It’s difficult to name highlights because I find many projects very impressive – both in Germany and internationally. I personally find it exciting to see which smart city applications cities have implemented and how practical they are. I was particularly impressed by Heidelberg’s approach, because the city relies on bottom-up strategies to get projects and their financing off the ground bottom-up – without waiting for funding “from above.” In Ahaus, the outstanding digital strategy stood out. Smart City Mannheim, which has a strong focus on decarbonization, was also an exciting construct.
So there are many paths to a smart city?
A smart city thrives on the diversity of its thematic fields. For a smart city to succeed, it is necessary to break down silos in administration and also to promote cooperation with industry and research. Best practices and benchmarks must be collected in order to find suitable applications for each city. And if you want to implement projects successfully in the long term, it is essential to think beyond the political framework, such as an election cycle.
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Are there currently any key topics or trends in smart city projects?
In Germany, administration plays a major role. An evaluation model can be very helpful and effective for city administrations. It allows them to prioritize the most pressing issues and then consider how to finance them. Bottom-up initiatives, living labs, and real-world laboratories offer plenty of opportunities for testing and implementation. However, project implementation also depends on the circumstances of the respective city. Let’s take a quick look abroad: Tallinn is a compact and clearly structured city. This can be an advantage when it comes to implementing digitization projects relatively quickly.
What did you regard to be promising approaches to cooperation between cities and towns?
A lot can be achieved with the guiding principle: “How can I improve quality of life for city residents?” Good solutions can also be found when citizens are involved. This is because people identify more strongly with their city when they have a sense of ownership. In Hanover, for example, this idea of identification plays a major role in smart city projects. A sense of belonging also boosts citizen participation. The city of Ahaus is very active in this area with its own digital platform and city app, which it developed in collaboration with software company Tobit. Another good example is KelsterVoice, a platform developed by the city of Kelsterbach that enables citizen participation in a 3D city model.
In your opinion, what are the most important prerequisites for successful cooperation between cities and companies and/or research institutions?
Cooperation between a city and a research institution or company requires personalities who are drivers, who raise questions and think ahead. It makes sense to work with local companies. The key questions for projects should be: Where can we get the best ideas? And: How can we implement this with our resources?
I find the EIT Urban Mobility innovation community impressive: it promotes start-ups and events for sustainable projects in the field of urban mobility. Another good example of cooperation between cities and research institutions is the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), which supports cities in their transformation to climate neutrality. But cooperation between local authorities is also important in order for them to be able to adopt existing and well-functioning smart city solutions from one another.
Looking to the future, what long-term prospects do you see for smart city projects in Germany?
In Germany, I see a trend in the areas of mobility and energy. The automotive industry is very strong in this country, and we need to leverage these strengths. I also see the influx of skilled workers as offering great potential. Germany has a good spirit for developing effective solutions for the future.
Do you expect the same trends internationally?
Internationally, it is advantageous to adopt projects that have already been implemented elsewhere and have proven to work. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel for every project. We should strengthen our resilience to be able to deal with uncertainties and setbacks. When collaborating across borders, it is important to remain flexible and confident. And, of course, in the future, we should be careful not to get too bogged down in administrative processes – this applies to Germany, but to other countries too.
Do you have any role models in the field of smart cities?
That’s difficult to assess, as a smart city can consist of many components. To me, a smart city is one thing above all else: livable. People need to feel comfortable – that means involving all segments of society. When it comes to inclusivity, the cities of Bottrop and Gelsenkirchen come to mind, where this is put into practice well. Another outstanding city is Cascais in Portugal. There I discovered Cascais Ambiente, a municipal company that is responsible for the resident-friendly and sustainable redevelopment of the city. I was very impressed by the philosophy of João Dinis, Climate Action Director of Cascais Ambiente. His ultimate goal is to make Cascais livable for its citizens and to design the city in such a way that even his great-grandchildren will want to live there. This example made me realize once again: Creating a smart city depends largely on individuals who are committed to their city.