Three Cities - Lyon, Munich, Vienna - will be SMARTER TOGETHER

In September 2015, the cities of Lyon, Munich and Vienna and 28 partners from research and industry were awarded funding for a joint project proposal within the European "Smart City and Communities" intiative. Under the headline "SMARTER TOGETHER", the consortium applied for a volume of 25 Mio. EUR for the implementation of "smart" and innovative actions in the three partner cities and for cooperation with three so called follower cities - Santiago de Compostela, Sofia und Venice. The requested funding is available as part of the EU-framework programme for research and innovation "Horizon 2020". The funding is provided to support the implementation and testing of innovative Smart City solutions for low energy districts on a large scale and in an integrated way: Extensive energetic renewal of existing housing stock with (in Lyon and Munich) multi-faceted ownership structures, user-centered sustainable mobility solutions, innovative business models, generation of renewable energy and multiple use of infrastructure through the use of information- and communication technology (ICT). The overall aim is to improve the quality of life in neighbourhoods and to create more sustainable and user-friendly living environments. A particular focus will be on "smart" and active forms of participation of citizens. The timeframe for the project roll-out is three years (2016-2018) followed by two years of monitoring and evaluation (2019-2020). Thereafter, successful solutions and findings are to be replicated in other districts and cities for further added value. Here, the follower cities Santiago de Compostela, Sofia and Venice as well as the European city network Energy Cities will play an important role. The projects will be implemented in close cooperation between industry, small and medium-sized enterprises, municipal companies, citizens and other interested stakeholders. The EU commission lauded the right balance between innovative technologies and the social dimension of the project: smart and integrated solutions shall improve the quality of life of citizens. The main challenge of Smarter Together is related to the so-called co-creation approach. All involved cities, research institutes and industrial partners as well as external stakeholders seek to jointly create solutions and methodologies for innovative and replicable city development, based on lessons learned and strong knowledge exchange. Therefore the project defrined a complex iterative peer-to-peer process, allowing for a constant knowledge exchange among all affected stakeholders.