SmarTomorrow Co-creation Q&A lab for the smarter cities of tomorrow

Session summary

The Co-Creation Q&A Lab for Smarter Cities of Tomorrow took place on 9 October 2019, during the European Week of Regions and Cities (EWRC) in Brussels. Organized at the Committee of Regions, we welcomed attendees from European regions, cities, businesses and universities, along with technologists and researchers, to discuss today's problems and potential solutions.

The EWRC session started with a welcome address and introduction of the speakers by Marcos Nogueira, coordinator of SmarTomorrow consortium, who moderated the whole event, including the further debate with the participants.

The first presentation was delivered by the deputy mayor of Vilnius, Vytautas Mitalas, who presented the "city as a service concept" and the "city of two INs"(INtelligent and with INtegrated development goals for the community). The vice-mayor discussed the city's main principles, which are identified in Vilnius City strategic documents and are necessary to retain leadership in the Region, namely: speed, openness and ingenuity.

"To bridge the gap between the groups that don't think the climate transition is going fast enough and those who think it is going too fast, we need #GameChangers", said the key note speaker Annemie Wyckmans, professor and head of NTNU Smart Sustainable Cities.
During the talk, Annemie presented an integrated roadmap methodology for co-creation and support with decision-making, including:

-Open and inclusive governance processes for the co-design and co-creation of people-centric, demand-driven Smart City solutions;

- Advanced visualization and simulation technologies, in combination with UrbanData, to support the co-design and co-production of Smart City solutions;

- Economic and non-economic value from Smart City solutions for different stakeholder groups.

Carmen Carvalheira, the vice-president of the Region of Alentejo showcased how to become a "smart mobility place" and how CCDR will work with its municipalities to model on-demand transport. The latter will be based on the sustainable selection of route centres and itineraries, with the objective of increasing the coverage of existing public transport networks (providing a service in areas and/or periods of the day or year where this service does not exist or is insufficient).

Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VGTU) was represented by its vice-rector for research and innovation, professor Antanas Čenys, who presented some of the digital solutions needed to create a Smart City. Collaborating directly with the city of Vilnius, VGTU briefly presented three sectors in this area that they are interested and involved in - namely Smart Buildings, Smart Mobility and Smart ICT - as well as the university’s overall role in city’s ecosystem.

In addition to the introductory addresses and presentations, the floor was open for questions, debate and remarks from the audience.

This co-creation Q&A lab was filled with new, fresh, positive and inspiring ideas.

The session was a great opportunity to share a moment with our wonderful speakers and audience, and to reflect together on Smart Cities of tomorrow.

Take away message

SmarTomorrow took place on 9 October 2019 during the EWRC in Brussels and welcomed attendees from European regions, cities, businesses and universities, and technologists and researchers, to discuss today's problems and potential solutions. Besides the introductory addresses and presentations, the floor was open to questions, debate and remarks from the audience. This session was filled with new, fresh and inspiring ideas and was a great opportunity to share a moment with our wonderful speakers and audience, reflecting on Smart Cities of tomorrow.