tomorrow`s cities are digital and human

Transcription

TOMORROW’S
CITIES ARE
DIGITAL AND
HUMAN
SMART CITY METHODS:
FROM IDEAS TO ACTION
CASE EXAMPLES
Tomorrow’s Cities are Digital and Human
– Smart City methods: from ideas to action
Case examples
All case examples have been compiled by CEDI for the
Danish Ministry of Housing, Urban and Rural Affairs.
Case examples and related sources should not necessarily
be regarded as stating an official position of the Ministry.
Published by: The Ministry of Housing, Urban and Rural Affairs,
Denmark 2015
Editing: Anders Nørskov, Kristoffer Nilaus Olsen, Lukas Beraki, CEDI
Photos: p. 19, 27, 31, 35 and 40 – Polfoto.dk; p. 10 – Shutterstock.com;
p. 14 – Internet Week Denmark 2014 (Moment Fotografi)
Layout: Imperiet
ISBN: 978-87-7134-136-2
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1. TABLE OF CONTENT
Preface by the Minister
Introduction
The ministry’s focus and work
Smart City – an evolving concept
National initiatives related to Smart City
The Smart City survey in Danish municipalities
About the case examples
1. Accessible and Open Data
1.1 Strategic work ensures Copenhagen a clear Smart City position
1.2 Open Data Aarhus
1.3 Accessible address data will lead to creative and efficient solutions
2. Political Awareness and Organization
2.1 Project committee of Copenhagen: Smart City starts with smart governance
2.2 Coordination is the watchword in Smart Aarhus’ top-up organisation
2.3 A new way of thinking and acting as municipality
3. Citizen Involvement and Coproduction
3.1 Crowdmapping and ”heads-up” solutions
3.2 Free access to election data
3.3 Crowdsourcing as a tool for urban renewal
3.4 Smart organising of voluntary work
3.5 Democracy and residents’ sense of community via Minecraft
4. Traffic and Mobility
4.1 Better utilization of existing vehicles through public-private partnerships
4.2 Elsinore Municipality offering smart parking
4.3 App creates an overview of the East Jutland traffic
5. Digital and Green Resource Communities
5.1 Waste heat used in public-private resource communities
5.2 Smart use of bottle deposits, food and bulky waste
5.3 Smart City as an integral component in modern city planning
6. Safety and Healthcare
6.1 Aalborg giving greater priority to senior citizens with the nursing home of the future
6.2 Safety through citizen involvement
6.3 Horsens at the forefront of healthcare
7. Business and Growth Potentials
7.1 Data-supported business innovation at Copenhagen Airport and in Aalborg City
7.2 Intelligent lighting as a foundation of the Smart City
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PREFACE BY THE MINISTER
In recent years, we have observed two trends, which appear to have a distinct impact
on cities and the general public’s lives in cities. One is population migration to the cities,
a global phenomenon that has particularly characterized the Danish geography in recent
years. The second is the technology and digitization of our society and everyday life.
Tomorrow’s society will be based on data, technology and digital platforms – regardless of
what we as a society do. But that does not mean that there is nothing we can do to help
shape this development. We most certainly can. We, as politicians, leaders and citizens,
must consider the ways in which the digital future will shape our lives and our cities.
The digitally enhanced society, or Smart City as it is also called, will characterize our family life,
everyday life and professional life.
Data and technology offer a whole range of possibilities that will change urban life. Therefore,
it is important to have an open discussion on how best to work with technology and data in
our cities and particularly what requirements it imposes on the urban strategy management
and policy direction. It requires that we as politicians take leadership, but also that we use
the new possibilities offered by digital platforms to facilitate citizen involvement.
I am pleased to see that the Danish municipalities, among others, are working strategically
with the digital possibilities. I believe it is important to look at what happens when our homes,
cities, public and private lives are based on technology that continually manages to combine
data and physical structures in new ways. We must ensure that our cities become digital and
smart in a way so that the people and not the technology is the focal point.
Additionally, the Smart City technologies we develop as a society might also provide new
export and growth opportunities.
On the recommendations of the Danish think tank THE CITY 2025 to prepare a collection of
specific examples on how Smart City works in the municipalities, I initiated this collection
of Smart City case examples, in order to help clarify the definitions of the Smart City concept
and provide inspiration and food for thought for the work at hand.
I hope it will be of use.
Carsten Hansen
Danish Minister for Housing, Urban and Rural
Affairs and Minister for Nordic Co-operation
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INTRODUCTION
The Danish Ministry of Housing, Urban and Rural Affairs follows the latest trends and
knowledge in urban policy and development in order to ensure that the Ministry’s legislation
and initiatives are in line with developments in society. The Ministry wants to ensure the
dissemination of this knowledge and, if possible and applicable, to support the development
of methods and tools and facilitate networking and contacts between different actors.
The Ministry finds the potentials of Smart City interesting because they may provide a relevant
method and framework for the possible changes that data and technology will entail for our
cities and communities in general. The question is how data and technology will influence and
shape our cities and lives and which initiatives will best support the development that we as
a society want and that best serves the public interests.
Digital platforms and data hold the potential for making better use of our resources and provide the foundation for resource communities that accentuates data supported city innovation
and new forms of governance and citizen involvement. Thus, the concept of Smart City is also
about cultural changes and possible new approaches to the digitally enhanced communities.
The Ministry’s focus and work
The Ministry regards Smart City both as a conceivable framework, method and tool for digital
and innovative cities, optimizing the city by combining the physical and social spaces with
the digital space. Smart Cities are cities that support relationships between the general public,
authorities, knowledge institutions, organizations and businesses, offering access – quickly
and easily – to give, receive, share and affect data on digital platforms and thus to seize opportunities or solve problems for the communities’ common good. Smart City can help to prevent
shifting population migration between urban and rural areas and support an optimal use of
resources while strengthening the community and citizen involvement in urban development.
Particularly, the Ministry is focusing on the transversal management and governmental
aspects of Smart City as well as the consideration for the general public.
As data and ICT is becoming an increasingly important part of urban and community development, it is essential that decision makers use data and information from different sectors
and disciplines to manage and renew the city. This requires the right skills to understand and
convey the possibilities of complex data. New digital communication channels allows for the
general public to be close to decisions and solutions as well as the underlying data. It has
become easier to find communities of interest and come together to solve a challenge. The
underlying data of the problems and solutions has become more accessible, making it easier
for the general public and businesses to understand and influence them. It has also become
easier to participate in community life and development, as well as getting together for
specific activities – for this purpose social media is a good example.
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For 2 years, the Danish Ministry of Housing, Urban and Rural Affairs has been responsible for
a Smart City Network in co-operation with the University of Aarhus and with the participation
of a wide range of municipalities, research institutions and companies. The network group
consists of approx. 40 people who meet up 4-5 times a year. Smart City has been a main
theme in the Ministry’s research funds for local regeneration in 2013; three pilot projects
are currently in progress.
The Ministry is also responsible for a number of registers with national property and address
data. Here, the aim is to make data available for municipalities, real estate agents and other
public users. In addition, the Ministry has completed the analysis “Smart City in Danish
municipalities – status and initiatives”, cf. below.
Smart City – an evolving concept
There is no clear definition of the term Smart City. It is an evolving concept that is often
adapted to different agendas, organizations and authorities.
Initially, the concept was only used in a narrow and governmental context especially in
relation to environmental, energy and infrastructure issues in terms of how information and
communication technologies (ICT) can improve urban functionality. Subsequently, virtually all
other areas of welfare started working with Smart City, for example in business development,
innovation, citizen involvement, culture, healthcare and social services, where the use of data
and digital platforms helps smart new solutions.
Involving all public sectors, the cross-disciplinary element appears increasingly central to the
Smart City methods. That is, how data and digital solutions from different fields and sectors
can be linked together, creating new solutions and new knowledge. Thus, the Smart City also
has implied a consideration of the more general dimensions concerning political governance
and administration.
National initiatives related to Smart City
At the national level the work with Smart City is supported through a number of different,
primarily sector-based initiatives such as the energy Smart Grid Strategy (the Danish Ministry
of Climate, Energy and Building), digitization in the public digitization strategy (the Danish
Agency for Digitisation) and data in the Basic Data Program (a number of ministries, including
the Danish Ministry of Housing, Urban and Rural Affairs).
Growth potential has come into focus, for instance with the study “Big Data as a growth
factor in Danish Business” (the Danish Business Authority). In the recommendations from
the national growth team Digital Growth and ICT (January 2014) data is explicitly underlined
in the recommendation of “The availability and the ability to consider data as a growth driver
must be strengthened”.
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In the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science’s Inno+ Catalogue from 2013, Smart
City was suggested under the heading “A smart society based on utilization of ‘Big Data’”.
The government has proposed to launch the initiative as a public partnership in the
Innovation Fund Denmark.
The Smart City survey in Danish municipalities
In 2013, CEDI conducted an analysis for the Ministry based on a survey directed at all city
managers from the entire country’s 98 municipalities. They received a total of 54 replies.
About half of the municipalities that responded are currently working with so-called Smart
City activities, and 80 % of the respondents stated that they would increase this activity within
the next two years. Furthermore, the municipalities’ plans for new concrete digitization initiatives also indicate an increased focus on areas that will strengthen the basis for a coherent
Smart City effort.
The Smart City work is most prevalent in the larger urban municipalities, but the concept has
also been applied in rural and remote municipalities. The analysis also proves that municipalities working with Smart City are strategically more focused on utilizing digital opportunities
in relation to urban functions. The administrative anchoring of the Smart City work is often
linked to top management in the form of either the city managers or chief administrators.
About the case examples
The case examples in this publication are based on the Ministry’s understanding of the
Smart City concept, divided into seven operational categories. The seven categories are
not meant to be a delimitation of the Smart City concept; they merely represent the focus
areas in this publication.
1. Accessible and Open Data
2. Political Awareness and Organization
3. Citizen Involvement and Coproduction
4. Traffic and Mobility
5. Digital and Green Resource Communities
6. Safety and Healthcare
7. Business and Growth Potentials
Each individual case is constructed in a three-part structure: First, the problem is identified,
then the solution to the project is presented, and finally, an explanation is offered as to why
this project is a good example of the Smart City concept. As far as it has been possible and
relevant, each case will be put into perspective by comparable Danish and international
initiatives.
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1. ACCESSIBLE AND OPEN DATA
1.1 STRATEGIC WORK ENSURES COPENHAGEN A CLEAR SMART CITY
POSITION
Problem
As several examples show, there is a huge innovative potential in the Smart City approach,
and as the Danish Ministry of Housing, Urban and Rural Affairs’ progress report from May 2014
confirms, about half of the municipalities have already started working strategically with Smart
City. However, one question still not clear is how to organize the work determining which
initiatives would be the most obvious ones, depending on the realities in each municipality?
And how can the Smart City strategy be of value to the business development? This Smart City
case takes it a step back to focus on the process that may lead to a Smart City strategy.
Solution
In 2013, the City of Copenhagen launched the concept of “Copenhagen Connecting”, which
is a strategic focus on digital infrastructure in order to provide a basis for the city’s Smart City
work in the long term. The municipality’s approach was highly structured and methodical; for
one thing, they drew up a business case that showed an annual socio-economic potential
in the billion range. Assuming that digital infrastructure will be the future platform for innovation and growth, carbon reduction, healthcare, quality of life and much more, the goal
is to ensure that the digital infrastructure will cover the entire city exactly like other areas
of infrastructure such as roads, district heating and public transport.
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Based on the existing lampposts and street lamps which currently make up the finely meshed
net in Copenhagen’s infrastructure, the municipality will be installing lightning speed wireless Internet all over the city, which will especially benefit the council employees in their daily
work. Furthermore, a number of strategically sensors will be collecting Big Data about the
city’s flow, all made available free of charge to researchers and companies so they can use
the data for business development and creating new jobs. However, all available data will be
limited to data that does not contain any private information. The digital infrastructure will
also support the municipality’s internal communication and the use of bandwidth-intensive
welfare technology such as video interpretation and telemedicine. This will benefit the city’s
most vulnerable citizens as well as the economic bottom line.
Smart City components
In some ways, Copenhagen Connecting sums up the core components of the Smart City
concept, and may in fact be regarded as an overall Smart City frame paving the way for an
abundance of future Smart City initiatives in Copenhagen.
Smart City solution characteristics
Category: Accessible and Open Data
Characteristics:
• Solving interdisciplinary challenges
• Solving a problem or improving circumstances for the general public
• A solution with great potentials
1.2 OPEN DATA AARHUS
Problem
Denmark is one of the countries in the world that systematically compiles and stores the most
data and statistics. Whether this includes anything from data on local mountain bike routes to
employment data on individual citizens, and both public and private actors are responsible
for collecting data. Consistent with general practice these data are rarely made public, mainly
because there is little knowledge of the value of these data for the general public, businesses
or other public authorities. An important challenge in the future will be to increase availability,
and thereby the utilization of these data, but without compromising any private information.
Solution
On April 9th 2013 the City of Aarhus launched the project “Open Data Aarhus” (ODAA) in
collaboration with the Central Denmark Region, Aarhus University and the Alexandra Institute.
The overall objective of the project, based on the site www.odaa.dk, is to make data accessi11
ble to developers, entrepreneurs, companies, institutions, citizens and others.
Mainly untapped, these data make a potential goldmine of knowledge, which may, in the
hands of the right entrepreneurial companies or individuals, potentially become a breeding
ground for innovative services/applications which, according to ODAA, can make life better,
more fun and easier for people in the Aarhus area – and ultimately create growth and jobs.
Part of the ODAA project is also to establish an “ideas bank” where one can propose ideas to
which data sets ODAA should attempt to make accessible. This is a great advantage for anyone
who has a great idea for an application or service, but lacks certain data in order to implement
this idea.
The Smart City concept stresses the importance of establishing efficient practices for
knowledge sharing across public administrations, businesses and the general public,
thereby giving access to existing data for the benefit of all. Another example of a similar
concept is the City of Copenhagen’s project “Copenhagen Data”.
Characteristics:
1.3 ACCESSIBLE ADDRESS DATA WILL LEAD TO CREATIVE AND
EFFICIENT SOLUTIONS
Problem
Denmark is at the forefront when it comes to efficient and accessible address data.
Despite this, there is still untapped potential in the utilization of data and plenty of
community benefits to be gained if we improve our address data.
Solution
The Danish Ministry of Housing, Urban and Rural Affairs ensures the recording of addresses
in the entire country, providing a consistent set of data that are continuously monitored
and updated. In 2014, the Ministry completed a major expansion of the online services that
provides free access to Danish addresses in digital form. This open data is for general use by
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anyone with creative ideas on how to utilize address data in future digital services – ultimately,
it will benefit the general public, bringing exciting new tools into their everyday life.
The new digital services are including both the address and its geographical position,
so the information can be used in a GPS or digital map.
The open address data is part of the public Basic Data program, where the central
government, municipalities and regions is providing free access to a range of public data.
This way, the authorities aspire to create new ways of utilizing public data. The addresses will
be updated daily, ensuring that address based solutions and apps can be duly updated with
the latest information.
The municipalities are authorized to and responsible for determining and recording the
addresses in the Building and Housing Register, BBR, one of the Basic Data registers in
Denmark. If you want access to addresses, it can be achieved at the website www.aws.dk
(AWS is an abbreviation of Address Web Services), where the data can be freely accessed
either by downloading or through various online data services.
One example of how BBR data can be brought into play is a new mobile site developed by the
Ministry called “BBR Fire”. The mobile site provides an opportunity for firemen, during call-outs,
to look up the address of the fire emergency site that they are going to with just a single click
on their tablets. The mobile site provides information on, for example, the existing roofing
material, any construction materials containing asbestos, natural gas sources and oil tanks at
the site. This information can help the firemen complete the fire extinguishing as safely and
efficiently as possible.
The open address data makes it easier and cheaper for companies and authorities to develop
digital solutions that include addresses – such as mapping services, self-service and apps for
mobile phones. This way, the Ministry makes it easier for a number of small businesses and
innovative entrepreneurs to devise creative products based on address data.
Characteristics:
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2. POLITICAL AWARENESS AND ORGANISATION
2.1 PROJECT COMMITTEE OF COPENHAGEN: SMART CITY STARTS
WITH SMART GOVERNANCE
Problem
Copenhagen has 7 administrations and 7 mayors. Thus, the municipality realizes it can be challenging when key players are situated apart in several different administrations, each of them
of course focusing primarily on their own individual areas of administration. Copenhagen has
set a goal to be the world’s first carbon neutral capital by 2025, hence the need to rethink the
way projects are organized across the city administrations. Obviously, it would be impossible
for the city to take on such a huge challenge single-handedly, which is why it is necessary to
involve citizens, companies and universities in the development of new solutions, testing of
new technology and not least in terms of behavioral change.
Solution
As part of their budget for 2014 the Copenhagen City Council decided to set up a cross-administrative Smart City project committee. The committee will ensure a deeper anchoring of
tasks across administrations and ensure integration of various options that might not traditionally be interconnected. The committee members are chief executives from the largest IT
and technology areas in the municipality: Administrative Services, the Technical and Environmental Administration, Finance Administration and the Culture and Leisure Administration.
Through the project committee the chief executives will get feedback and input on how to
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ensure smart solutions for future procurements, and it will give them an opportunity to
discuss how projects that are not immediately interconnected might be connected anyway,
for instance if they are dependent on the same basic IT infrastructure.
Most recently, a Smart City unit working cross-disciplinarily with Smart City solutions, preferably through Triple Helix partnerships, has backed the project committee. The Copenhagen
Solutions Lab (CSL) will advise administrations on smart solutions and work to develop ideas
and solutions and subsequently help get them implemented. CSL is intended to be the place
where the Smart City Project Committee, businesses and universities can test ideas, and conversely, the municipality will invite businesses and universities to help solve specific challenges.
It’s all about integrating solutions across the existing systems in order to make them more
efficient, cheaper and smarter. When the Culture and Leisure Administration wants Wi-Fi for
tourists in the city, this must be integrated with the digital infrastructure as administered
by the Technical and Environmental Administration for ITS solutions, waste solutions and
cloudbursts protection, while integrating the Healthcare Administrations’ telemedicine
solutions on the same network. The Smart City Project Committee and CSL will lift ambitions
to include closer cooperation with companies, groups (e.g. CLEAN), the region, the state,
other cities and knowledge institutions.
Category: Political Awareness and Organization
Characteristics:
2.2 COORDINATION IS THE WATCHWORD IN SMART AARHUS’
TOP-UP ORGANISATION
Problem
The City of Aarhus aims to be best place to live for an increasing population in the future.
The big question for the municipality, however, is how to achieve this in times like these when
changes are happening faster than ever before and when traditional systems can no longer
provide the framework. In the municipality, a tendency that has been observed is that citizens
and users increasingly set the agenda for development and want the technology to support
this. In addition, Aarhus is focusing on solving community challenges through partnerships
across sectors. This requires reorganization, and “Smart Aarhus” is one way to do it.
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Solution
Smart Aarhus is an open club that welcomes anyone who wants to get involved.
Consequently, not all magistrate offices in Aarhus are represented in the Smart Aarhus
activities. The Presidency consists of chief executives and leaders from organizations wishing
to generate digital opportunities in Aarhus. The open principle also applies at the project
level, where all representatives are free to contribute and participate only when it makes
sense for them. An example of this open approach is the project Internet Week Denmark,
which in 2014 engaged a number of stakeholders among both businesses and organizations
nationwide. Although the Internet Week Denmark is a Smart Aarhus project, it attracted
significant stakeholders from outside the Smart Aarhus Presidency and Secretariat.
There are no politically elected members in the Smart Aarhus Presidency, allowing the
partnership’s work to be agile and less vulnerable to current political agendas; similarly,
this ensured an ideal organizing process during the startup years where the partnership was
shaped. Nevertheless, Smart Aarhus is politically rooted in both the Region and the City of
Aarhus. There is significant political interest in Smart Aarhus, as Smart Aarhus is a strategically
prioritized project for several of the participating partners.
The Smart Aarhus Secretariat coordinates a majority of the Smart Aarhus activities, with representatives from the City of Aarhus, the Alexandra Institute, the Central Denmark Region and
Aarhus University. All representatives have access to the Presidency members, which makes
it quick and easy to get approval for new initiatives by chief administrators. Simultaneously,
the Secretariat and the Presidency function as liaisons to the vast network of Smart City
stakeholders dedicated to the Smart Aarhus year of vision, 2012. New initiatives are launched
from this network, and the Presidency also carries out political agendas through the partnership. Everybody involved in Smart Aarhus are responsible for the coordination of major
strategic/digital initiatives in collaboration with the rest of the Smart Aarhus members.
Smart Aarhus aims to develop and improve the city, solve community challenges and create sustainable growth through technology and Internet usage. The partnership approach
challenges the existing systems and ways of thinking. It is based on the idea of collaboration
across sectors, with a common intention to future-proof the City of Aarhus.
Characteristics:
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2.3 A NEW WAY OF THINKING AND ACTING AS MUNICIPALITY
Problem
Albertslund Municipality is facing a renewal plan with the renovation of 6,000 council
housings, renewal of technical facilities, including outdoors lighting, renovation of public
buildings, etc. With so many innovative processes, partnerships and citizen-based projects
concerning the city’s development, the council authorities agreed that the conventional
committee structure would not be adequate. Therefore, they wanted to establish a political
platform for working with innovation and partnerships that could accommodate the
comprehensive views of the smart city and its many facets.
Solution
In 2014, two political innovation committees were established in Albertslund Municipality.
The members include stakeholders from businesses and organizations as well as five
elected council members. The committees are focusing partly on “Urban Innovation”,
partly on “Innovation & Welfare”. For both committees, Smart City is high on the agenda
and is being approached from different angles.
The Urban Innovation Committee carries out innovation and development initiatives as
part of the plan to modernize and adapt to green thinking and improved standard of living
in Albertslund. Consequently, the committee has an eye for possible innovation initiatives in
and outside the city and sees the city as a laboratory for developing new ideas as a basis for
policy development. During the first years, they will be focusing on Smart City, including the
theme projects “New Light On Albertslund”, “Wi-Fi in the Town Centre” and “Smart Grid”. The
Innovation & Welfare Committee handles the identification of new welfare solutions. Here, the
aim is to focus on Smart City solutions, for example health-promoting intelligent lighting for
the elderly and smart solutions in the development of the municipality’s new care and health
centers.
A research trip to Barcelona with the new municipal council in May 2014 contributed to a
common political standpoint in the Albertslund smart city work. With the opening of the
DOLL Living Lab located in Albertslund’s industrial area Hersted Industrial Park in September
2014, the municipality has established a platform for exhibiting, testing and developing smart
lighting and Smart City solutions.
It is also an important part of the aim to convince politicians, citizens and businesses of the
relevance of smart city. Albertslund will be changing its behaviors as municipality, a process
that the administrative structure of networks will be contributing to through new forms of
cooperation.
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Albertslund Municipality sees Smart City as a strategic framework for holistic development.
All together, the two new innovation committees, the networking structure as well as the
many activities being launched will help to unfold the municipality’s vision and strategy for
the smart city. At the same time, they have created a structure of governance with a sense of
political ownership of the innovative work across disciplines and stakeholders, as well as an
administrative organization that provides a chance to look up and take a more holistic approach to these issues.
Characteristics:
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3. CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT AND COPRODUCTION
3.1 CROWDMAPPING AND ”HEADS-UP” SOLUTIONS
Problem
An important part of a modern city is the existence and availability of well-functioning urban
facilities such as roads, sidewalks, bike paths, benches, pedestrian crossings, traffic lights,
rubbish bins, lampposts, bicycle racks etc. As a result of daily use and wear these will require
on-going maintenance. No matter how many resources a municipality spends on on-going
technical supervision of city facilities and infrastructure, the local citizens will often be the first
to discover it, when, for instance, there is a pothole in the bike lane, graffiti or a faulty street
light on the corner. For the general public, it is always unpleasant to discover that urban facilities are not working as expected, but historically it has been difficult for citizens to know who
to go to in order to report these faults and deficiencies to the local authorities.
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Solution
More and more municipalities have realized the potential of engaging citizens as active
informants in the streets by offering so-called “Heads-up” services that citizens can access via
the council website or in several instances via a smartphone app. The reporting app is inspired
by the concept of crowdmapping (“common mapping”), where the keen and enterprising
self-service use is targeted to collect and structure information.
With the reporting solutions all citizens in Denmark can send in tips to public service divisions
in order to report larger or smaller technical faults and deficiencies regarding public facilities.
Obviously, users of this service also include council employees, which enable the public administrators to take advantage of employees’ presence in the streets, whether they are employed
in the area in question or not. Many of the solutions that have been developed supports the
uploading of images, explanatory text and GPS coordinates, so that the public administrators
will be able to assess the extent of, and correct, the exact deficiencies reported by citizen.
An important component in the Smart City concept is, at an early stage, to engage citizen
involvement and enthusiasm as a resource, enabling them to channel this in a way that helps
to generate useful information and data streams. These citizen-generated data is increasingly
becoming an important source of information for Danish municipalities, and with 50,000 app
downloads the Heads-up service is one of the most significant examples that you can mobilise
citizens to provide information to the municipality through intuitive Smart City services.
And the basic idea can be adapted to a variety of uses. For instance, Ringkøbing-Skjern
Municipality has been in contact with a group of engineering students who have developed
a smartphone app that maps the mobile broadband coverage in the places where the phone
owner moves. By making the app accessible for municipal employees and citizens it could
potentially provide an elaborate charting of the possible gaps in the municipality’s mobile
broadband coverage.
Category: Citizen Involvement and Coproduction
Characteristics:
• Encouraging citizen involvement
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3.2 FREE ACCESS TO ELECTION DATA
Problem
In any democracy, it is important that citizens participate actively in democracy by sharing
their opinions as well as by voting at elections. However, the question is how to encourage
citizens’ political involvement in a democracy like Denmark, which is already characterised
by having one of the highest voter turnouts in the world?
Solution
By giving voters access to open data on issues such as elections, political parties and candidates casting of votes, it makes it easier for voters to select those parts of the political debate
they can identify with and relate to on the basis of substantial knowledge. Engagement and
transparency in the political debate is likely to increase if the media, professionals and data
enthusiasts have increasing access to create juxtapositions of political data and election
results in ways that engage and reach various groups of citizens through easier understandable graphic visualizations and the like.
For the municipal elections in 2013, Odense Municipality introduced a web application to
their website which enabled local citizens to monitor the local results during the counting of
votes, not unlike the way many sports fans follow the results of football matches and the like.1
Based on data from the referendum in 2014 on the patent court, a group of data enthusiasts
from the association “Open Knowledge Denmark” prepared a graphic visualization of voting
turnouts in all the constituencies. This led to the discovery of a probable error in the reporting
of votes from a particular constituency. Subsequently, it turned out that in this constituency
they had accidentally reversed the number of “yes” and “no” votes in the reporting process.
An important component in the Smart City concept is to ensure that available data streams
are utilized to improve the quality of debate in formal and informal forums and support the
possibility of establishing partnerships in order to encourage citizens’ political awareness and
transparency of democracy in general. Both Odense Municipality’s app and the cooperation
between data enthusiasts in Open Knowledge Denmark are good examples of how even the
most basic data on voting can lead to newfound engagement and acknowledgment among
voters – especially when they are made accessible and updated at frequent intervals. In relation to the national action plan, Open Government 2013-2014, the government has pledged
1. http://www.odense.dk/topmenu/indflydelse%20og%20politik/valg/kommunalvalg%20og%20regionsraadsvalg%202013/
foelg%20valgresultatet%20live/vejledning%20til%20app%20medv
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to make public data accessible as raw material for innovation in many fields, prospectively
leading to an increasing potential for this type of solution.2
Characteristics:
• A close to home solution
3.3 CROWDSOURCING AS A TOOL FOR URBAN RENEWAL
Problem
In most municipalities, some areas in relation to the city’s overall urban development plans
may seem less interesting. Often you will find, however, that by channelling the local citizens’
involvement and ideas into a structured and intelligent context, you may discover potentials
that would not otherwise be realizable. These matters can be utilized in the concept of
“crowdsourcing”, meaning that problem solving can be ‘outsourced’ from public service offices
to local citizens who will gladly seize the opportunity to influence their local area. Two good
examples of crowdsourcing is the neglected neighbourhood Hofplein in Rotterdam and
also the Danish Hedehusene City Park, which, despite its location in the city centre, seemed
relatively unattractive and inaccessible to the local citizens in Høje-Taastrup Municipality’s
planning administration.
Solution
Sometimes, the driving force behind crowdsourcing arises from the community through
individual citizens using social media and innovation platforms to organize and mobilize initiatives to rejuvenate their community. This is what happened in the Dutch city of Rotterdam
over a period of years, from 2011 to 2014, where local residents gathered to propose, develop
and finance the construction of a pedestrian bridge that connects the otherwise depopulated and neglected urban neighborhood Hofplein to the central railway station of the city. The
citizens’ initiative was generated through microfinancing, which was possible due to the local
citizens’ sense of co-ownership. For example, you could contribute to the project by purchasing a major component of the bridge or just a small plank on which one’s name was written.3
2. http://www.digst.dk/Styring/Open-Government
3. http://www.luchtsingel.org/en/
22
The public authority can also initiate crowdsourcing, which was the case for Høje-Taastrup
Municipality when they launched an idea competition supported by the online innovation
platform innosite.dk. As a result of the competition, the municipality received several exciting
concepts for renewal of Hedehusene City Park from citizens, three of which were selected
and specially awarded for their qualities. The prize winner was Danish, but even up to the
third place in the competition you would find contributions from abroad, which in itself was
interesting. Then, an architectural firm drew up the final concept for the new park based on
the winning proposal. This is an example of how much untapped potential could be reaped
by the local planning authorities by channeling local citizens’ involvement and knowledge in a
structured and aggregated form via an intelligent online platform.
Høje-Taastrup and Rotterdam municipalities are among the urban communities that have
benefited from the Smart City vision to channel citizen engagement into constructive contributions to urban planning through crowdsourcing – that is, intelligent digital platforms
that structure and aggregate public contributions. Many urban communities with similar
challenges would be likely to benefit from inviting local residents to actively engage in and
take ownership over the development of their own community.
Characteristics:
3.4 SMART ORGANISING OF VOLUNTARY WORK
Problem
Both in connection with employment and volunteerism, citizens are often presumed to
possess valuable and useful skills and resources. The trick is to find the right context in which
these skills can be properly used and recognized to meet a specific need. However, especially
when it comes to voluntary work, not all the needs are clearly and specifically described, and
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for each individual citizen, it often takes a bit of detective work to find the right context, in
which they can engage and find that their contributions will be appreciated and might really
make a difference. What remains is the question of how to facilitate the contact between, on
one hand, citizens and communities with specific needs, and on the other hand, dedicated
volunteers who want to help make a difference.
Solution
By creating a user account on the website tagdel.dk citizens and organizations can point out
any so-called “societal challenges” and invite one another to help find solutions to these. When
a user wants to put one or more solutions to a specific challenge into practice, they can invite
other users on the platform to an event where they will be carrying out the new solution. The
essence of the platform is the interaction between challenge proposers and challenge solvers,
and the criteria for success, then, is for the challenger to establish a framework for the realization of the proposed solutions. Moreover, it is important to ensure that citizens, voluntary
associations, public authorities and companies can participate.
As to the type of challenges that can be found and might be of inspiration to others at
tagdel.dk, Egedal Municipality is a prime example. During an investment plan in the healthcare sector the municipality proposed a challenge of how social media could best be used to
communicate information about health. As a result, the municipality ended up getting input
and ideas from the general public as well as from a professional communications consultant.
Considering that their village would die out if newcomers did not engage themselves in the
their community, citizens in Ryde and the surrounding areas of Handbjerg and Stendis also
decided to take action at tagdel.dk by asking: “What can we do to welcome newcomers to
Ryde/Handbjerg/Stendis?”. The challenge resulted in a local group, the so-called “G’day Group”,
ensuring that all newcomers are invited to dinner and welcomed by local families. By June
2014, 7 families had signed up for the arrangement.
The online platform tagdel.dk illustrates how crowdsourcing techniques can be applied, as
part of the Smart City thinking, to engage citizens in improving interaction concerning local
challenges, giving rise to the potential to organize common proposals and solutions to the
challenges. The fact that all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds can meet and
discuss problems in the local area and help initiate a solution promises well for the conditions
for social innovation, which is a driving force in the Smart City thinking.
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Characteristics:
3.5 DEMOCRACY AND RESIDENTS’ SENSE OF COMMUNITY VIA
MINECRAFT
Problem
An important task for the Danish school system is to prepare students for active citizenship and participation in the strong democratic tradition of association activities that is
quintessentially Danish. This is a typical trait, particularly in the sense of democracy among
residents in residential areas, which the vast majority of people to some extent become a part
of. But how can you teach students across the country in citizenship, residential democracy or
even geography in a meaningful and exciting way that will have a lasting effect?
Solution
The teaching project “Raiders of the community”, developed by the Danish Architecture Centre
in collaboration with BL – the Federation of Social Housing Organizations in Denmark, connects
the popular computer game Minecraft with the teaching in democracy, architecture and community in council housing areas. For instance, the game requires the pupils to come up with
suggestions on how changes in the physical surroundings – playgrounds, green spaces etc.
– can create a sense of security for the residents of “Happiness Park”, which is a very detailed
and impressive virtual replica of a council housing project.
In a similar project, the Danish Geodata Agency mapped out an exact 1:1 replica of Denmark
in Minecraft. Internationally, mentions of the Danish Geodata Agency’s efforts reached as far
as to CNN.4 The replica is freely available to everyone in Minecraft, but the Danish Geodata
Agency specifically recommends that it be used in public school teaching.5
4. http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/09/tech/social-media/apparently-this-matters-america-invades-denmark-minecraft/
5. http://eng.gst.dk/maps-topography/denmark-in-minecraft/
25
The benefit of using Minecraft in the classroom is that the game is already extremely popular
and well known among children who are usually very good at navigating digitally. This way,
we can meet them at eye level and on their own terms, so they have more freedom and
energy to grasp the contents of the course.
The Smart City concept emphasizes the importance of using the new opportunities in digital
technology to encourage political awareness and citizen involvement. In addition, the basic
idea of Smart City is to make public data as accessible as possible to the public. Considering
this, the suggested Minecraft teaching project can be regarded as an inspirational example
of the implementation of Smart City principles and a clear example for imitation.
Characteristics:
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4. TRAFFIC AND MOBILITY
4.1 BETTER UTILIZATION OF EXISTING VEHICLES THROUGH
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
Problem
From an economic as well as environmental perspective, carsharing is the way to go. Yet, until
now carsharing initiators have been struggling to achieve more efficient use of cars on weekdays, where many of the shared cars are left unused, since a lot the users are busy working.
If we could reach a higher degree of complementarity in correlation with user demand, it
might help to improve resource utilization.
Solution
A new and groundbreaking public-private partnership between Thisted Municipality and the
carsharing association LetsGo is breaking down the traditional barriers between company cars
and private vehicles and thus allows for a more efficient, digitally supported utilization of the
carsharing association’s common resources. For most people in the public sector, just as in
Thisted, the demand for vehicles is higher during the day, which usually left the municipal
cars unused, parked in the garages or parking spaces in urban areas during most of the late
afternoon and evening hours and during weekends, where private users’ demand for
carsharing is higher.
To comply with this, Thisted Municipality engaged in the cooperation with the carsharing
service LetsGo where employees, citizens and businesses can share and use electric cars.
Furthermore, this cooperation is a way for Thisted Municipality to further its aim to actively
27
support and help to create critical mass for a carsharing service, which makes it possible
to establish the service earlier than might otherwise conceivable.
Resource communities like this carsharing cooperation helps to dissolve the distinction
between a company car and a privately held car, increasing total utilization rate for each car.
Thereby freeing urban space prior reserved to automobiles, while the environmental impact
of the production of cars is potentially reduced when authorities and individuals share the
same cars. Furthermore, the cooperation between Thisted Municipality and LetsGo is economically advantageous for both parties, each only paying for the shared car when they are
actually using it. For such a cooperation to work it is necessary for citizens and authorities in
Thisted to be able to access and share information in real time about vehicle availability, which
is provided at LetsGo’s existing online platform. Thisted Municipality and LetsGo’s resource
community of electric carsharing is particularly interesting because of its potentials to help
promote the concept of carsharing, furthering a breakthrough in public areas where it would
not otherwise be economically viable.
Category: Traffic and Mobility
Characteristics:
4.2 ELSINORE MUNICIPALITY OFFERING SMART PARKING
Problem
Good parking facilities are a fundamental part of what most people would regard as a wellfunctioning urban environment. However, as more people look to the cities, and as rising
prosperity enables more people to drive their own car, this puts parking facilities in the city
center under increasing pressure, and the answer to this is not always straightforward. Many
municipalities do not want or are not able to establish additional parking spaces in the city
center. The big question is how the city can continue to be attractive when it comes to parking
facilities, in case additional parking spaces are not an option?
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Solution
The North Zealand commercial town of Elsinore has been the first in Denmark to develop
an app, “Elsinore Parking”, which visitors and residents driving round the city can use to get
an overview of the parking situation and spot vacant spaces in close proximity to where they
are doing their errands or activities. The app has been designed specifically to help the city’s
drivers to find the quickest route to car parks, and as a result, the utilization of existing parking spaces in Elsinore has increased significantly now that drivers have found a way to make
smart and informed choices about car parking rather than leaving it up to habit decisions and
routines.
Elsinore Parking was part of a general effort to improve traffic flow and parking for motorists,
and in doing so, the municipality also decided to establish additional parking spaces. Often
it can take a while before drivers discover new opportunities and adjust their parking behavior accordingly, but in this case, the new app quickly made all parking spaces visible to the
drivers, which meant that they were used extensively from day one. In the next version of the
application, which is expected to be ready by May 2015, the plan is to make it possible for
users to search for vacant parking spaces. This way, they will have an opportunity to choose
public transport instead of driving, when the parking situation in Elsinore city is critical.
The app displays an important component in Smart City thinking, because it makes the
current parking information, already available to the municipality, accessible to citizens via
a digital platform, thereby ensuring a much more efficient use of the city’s existing parking
spaces than before. Elsinore Parking was even able to comply with demands from the city’s
retail industry to make it easier to find your way around Elsinore, thus making it more
attractive to tourists driving by car.
Characteristics:
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4.3 APP CREATES AN OVERVIEW OF THE EAST JUTLAND TRAFFIC
Problem
In the Western parts of Denmark, in Jutland, cities and jobs are typically located further apart
with longer distances than for example in the metropolitan area. This means that quite a lot
of people are commuting long distances every day. Therefore, there is a pronounced need
for individual route planning. Currently, this is covered primarily by the use of GPS devices,
though they often fail to provide for current traffic flows and congestion. If you get caught
in traffic jams, it may cause unnecessary time waste, fuel consumption and an increased
environmental impact.
Solution
The app “East Jutland Traffic”, developed by the Danish Road Directorate and a number of
East Jutland municipalities, is specifically aimed at commuters who want to avoid congestion,
and is intended to provide users with enough information to choose the best departure time
and route. The app shows the current travel times, red, yellow or green roads and information
about the current traffic situation on major roads, including current road reports, roadworks
and special weather conditions. Furthermore, the app contains information on alternative
travel options, such as information on irregularities from the regional bus and train services.
East Jutland Traffic was launched in April 2014, and by the end of August that same year it
had reached approximately 4,500 downloads and 6,000 monthly visits.
The East Jutland Traffic app demonstrates the power of the Smart City intention to gather
relevant and updated public data in a single solution that citizens can use to get information
before or during the trip. In this case, collaboration between the Danish Road Directorate and
the East Jutland municipalities made it possible to create a powerful digital platform, making
relevant information instantly available to citizens. It may very well turn out to make way for
more sustainable travel behavior and less wasted time spent in traffic jams.
Characteristics:
30
5. DIGITAL AND GREEN RESOURCE COMMUNITIES
5.1 WASTE HEAT USED IN PUBLIC-PRIVATE RESOURCE COMMUNITIES
Problem
Some of the important political goals for Denmark are to be independent of fossil fuels by
the year 2050, and that all district heating must be based on renewables by 2035. These goals
are more ambitious than anything else in the world; internationally, Denmark is a climate and
energy policy pioneer. To fulfil these ambitions, it is necessary to find new solutions to which
the individual municipalities are important contributors.
Solution
To address these challenges, the municipalities of Horsens and Hedensted have decided to
undertake an ambitious and comprehensive project called “FlexCities” in collaboration with
a number of stakeholders from the utilities sector, leading the way for conversion from fossil
fuels to renewable energy through a wide range of technologies. A key part of the project is
to ensure that waste heat from the city’s factories will be replacing some of the heat that
would previously have been produced at plants. This is especially handy because industrial
businesses consider cooling as a service they would be willing to pay for.
The essential prerequisite for the project, which aims to provide economic as well as environmental gains in the future, is an integration of the cities’ electricity and heating networks,
which is secured with long-term investments. This integration will also ensure that heat storage can help to contain the energy produced from renewable sources such as solar and wind
energy for much longer. It is a very broad cooperation, which in addition to the municipalities
include specific industries in relation to the use of industrial waste heat, district heating and
electric companies. However, the last details concerning the financing has yet to be com31
pleted, which is why the project’s stakeholders have brought in external consultants to help
convince funding agencies of the economic and environmental potentials in FlexCities.
The forthcoming intelligent electricity and heating networks in Horsens and Hedensted are
good examples on how the Smart City vision can be used to establish effective public-private
partnerships that are mutually beneficial. The Smart City concept is rooted specifically in the
utilities sector, which, through the development of Smart Grids, was a first mover in datadriven integration of infrastructure. Also, is would be impossible to manage the complexity
of FlexCities if it weren’t for the Internet and the advanced IT that is currently available. And
the project – in 2013 awarded by the Danish “IT Forum” network as best Smart City initiative
of the year – clearly shows that there is still a lot of untapped potentials for municipalities if
they decide to incorporate the utilities sector in their Smart City strategy.
Category: Digital and Green Resource Communities
Characteristics:
5.2 SMART USE OF BOTTLE DEPOSITS, FOOD AND BULKY WASTE
Problem
Recycling and minimizing waste of resources are important issues on the public agenda, particularly for those who want to put the waste to use, but especially for the sake of the environment.
And in this respect, obviously, there is still room for improvement: Each year, the Danes throw
away approximately half a million tons of perfectly good food, over 10 percent of all recycling
bottles and cans are thrown out, and much of the furniture that is discarded as bulky waste every
day could certainly be put to use – for instance by young students setting up their first homes.
Solution
Three innovative Smart City solutions aim to find easier and smarter ways of recycling, launching more engaging and user-friendly websites functioning as meeting places for people who
want to give away or are in search of different things and offers.
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For instance dinnersurfer.dk, an online soup kitchen concept, is providing contact between
home cooks who have food to spare, and busy, hungry people, who want a home-cooked
meal in a hurry. Similarly, the website flaskepant.dk helps people who do not want to bother
with their bottle deposit, and people who would appreciate these small refunds, by putting
them in contact with each other so that the bottle deposit is not wasted. And on the website
storskrald.dk, stating that their goal it to prolong the average life of Danish household goods,
you can advertise with things you do not need anymore, so that your armchair or Lego bricks
can be used by someone else instead of being thrown out. The site storskrald.dk, which will
shortly become available as a mobile app, also collaborates with a number of Danish
municipalities, referring to their recycling centers in case bulky waste items are estimated
to be suitable for reuse as fuel or for some of its contents.
One of the basic ideas behind the Smart City concept is to uphold sustainability through
intelligent resource communities. This requires quick and easy sharing of information between
citizens. The three initiatives all illustrate how new digital platforms can be used to enable
resource communities where economic and environmental wastage is minimized by and for
the benefit of the city’s own citizens. The three applications are also very much in line with the
government’s resource strategy, “Denmark without waste”, launched in 2013.
Characteristics:
5.3 SMART CITY AS AN INTEGRAL COMPONENT IN MODERN CITY PLANNING
Problem
Many of the urban spaces in Denmark were established several hundred years ago, and a
number of factors – not least regarding preservation regulations and the urban environment
– can make it challenging to realize the full Smart City potential, particularly concerning
demands of constructing smart, digital infrastructure.
In turn, the municipalities should make sure, during the first stages of planning and development of new neighborhoods, that optimal settings for smarter and more sustainable housing
33
and urban spaces have been established. However, necessities like these can be difficult
and costly, and it will be a challenge in the future to ensure that these issues are taken into
consideration in the Danish municipalities and state administrations.
Solution
In Frederikssund Municipality’s plan for the construction of a new town, they decided to take
a leap forward and address sustainability considerations in a radically new way. The new town,
which will be called “Vinge”, will contain flexible energy solutions that can accommodate
fluctuations in energy production, e.g. solar and wind power, possibly supplemented by its
own production facilities to the extent possible. Eventually, they aim to implement utilization
of heat waste, which is not done at the moment. In addition, Vinge will be connected to a
high-tech data network incorporating the management of outdoor lighting, parking and sensor-based cloudburst security with monitoring and surveillance of physical infrastructure such
as the electricity network. In the final stages of the construction plan, the town is designed to
accommodate 20,000 inhabitants. Vinge in Frederikssund Municipality is not the only example
of integration of the Smart City vision in urban planning. Also the new district Nordhavn in
Copenhagen, developed on the basis of the old dock area, Nordre Frihavn, is planned to
accommodate integrated digital systems and expected to be a carbon neutral district from
day one, supporting the city’s target for carbon neutrality by 2025.
Ultimately, the fundamental goal of the Smart City concept is to support the foundation of
cities where citizens’ quality of life is increased through the focus on social, economic and environmental sustainability. And as projected in this compilation, we already see a wide range
of innovative Smart City initiatives in Denmark and abroad. However, in order to realize the
full potential of Smart City thinking in the long run, new urban planning must consider, at the
early stages, a strategic prioritization of the available technological possibilities, particularly in
relation to energy efficiency and sustainability. With these concrete projects, the municipalities are setting an example for future town planning and how to successfully incorporate key
components of the Smart City approach in the initial city plans.
Characteristics:
34
6. SAFETY AND HEALTHCARE
6.1 AALBORG GIVING GREATER PRIORITY TO SENIOR CITIZENS WITH
THE NURSING HOME OF THE FUTURE
Problem
As in many other Danish municipalities, Aalborg is facing the point where the proportion of elderly people who require care is increasing, while the proportion of the working population is steadily declining. Thus, the big challenge will be to ensure a high level of senior care services without it
becoming overly costly. The importance of this issue is emphasized by the fact that it was listed as
one of three areas of focus for the common public-sector digitization strategy for 2011 to 2015.6
Solution
In light of this, Aalborg Municipality Department of Care for the Elderly and Disabled launched
the project “The nursing home of the future – well-being and technology” in order to offer the
best facilities for elderly people requiring care now and in the future. Consequently, the nursing
home of the future, which is located on Carl Klitgaards Vej in Aalborg, has an extensive range of
welfare and healthcare technology. Specifically, a safety system with motion sensors in the floor
detects if any of the elderly residents have fallen, so that help can reach them quickly.
Another initiative involves a so-called “comfort screen” tablet that enhances elderly peoples’
6. http://www.digst.dk/Servicemenu/English/Policy-and-Strategy/eGOV-strategy
35
access to information and, for example, makes it possible for them to look at pictures sent
to them from their relatives. Last but not least, an intelligent toilet automatically flushes and
dries, ensuring that the most basic hygiene tasks can be done without help from the care
assistants. Because of its popularity and growing waiting list, the nursing home of the future
intends to eventually become a research nursing home where stored data from the digital
devices can be used for welfare technology research.
An important part of the Smart City philosophy is using social innovation and welfare technology to improve the quality of life of ordinary citizens. By no longer being dependent on
help to go to the toilet, those elderly who need care will be able to retain their dignity. By
installing motion sensors in the floor for fall detection and assistance, this will give them
great comfort. By making tablets available, which are continuously updated with pictures
of relatives, this will help increase the quality of life for elderly who require care. And it even
appears to be financially viable. Therefore, these new conversions are a powerful example of
the socially innovative welfare technology that is an important part of the Smart City concept.
Category: Safety and Healthcare
Characteristics:
6.2 SAFETY THROUGH CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT
Problem
An important basis for the quality of life in any city is to ensure that citizens feel safe in their
daily lives and trust that the authorities are ready to act when there is urgent need of help.
The digital age and especially the introduction of mobile applications is making way for a
number of new perspectives on how public authorities can support individual citizens’ sense
of security through digital communication and citizen involvement. Consequently, authorities
are expected to act on the basis of these new aspects.
Solution
The North Zealand Police department has set up an SMS service and app named “Call the
Police” that the citizens of North Zealand are invited to join. This way, the police can send out
36
an SMS to citizens if they need help, for example, to send out warnings about confidence
tricksters or notifications on missing persons. The citizens can then contact the police by answering the SMS or call the emergency service phone number 114. In all 13 municipalities in
the police district, employees’ work phones have also been connected to the system and the
solution has, among other things, helped the police to find missing children and demented
elderly who had wandered away from their residence. In some cases, the police were able to
arrest confidence tricksters and burglars based on reports through this service.
Another example of a providing security measures is the so-called “112 app” that automatically transmits GPS coordinates for emergency calls from citizens to the emergency center, so
that the authorities can immediately find the location during turnouts. Currently, the 112 app
has been nominated, along with 454 apps from around the world, for at for a global UN prize.
Here, it is also worth mentioning the Danish Tryg Foundation’s “Heart Start app”, which is a service to find the location of defibrillators. Currently, the service has registered more than 10,000
defibrillators that can be located through this app service.
Both the app “Call the Police”, the “112” and the “Heart Start” apps are excellent examples of
devices that are coherent with the crowdsourcing and citizen involvement aspects of the
Smart City way of thinking. The “Call the Police” app helps the North Zealand police department to use citizens’ reports in a way that provides valuable intelligence for the police as
well as security for citizens. The 112 emergency service app uses existing and readily available
GPS technology in various mobile phones to make the localization of citizens in distress more
efficient. And the Tryg Foundation’s Heart Start app, with its mapping of more than 10,000
defibrillators, helps to increase safety measures among citizens.
Characteristics:
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6.3 HORSENS AT THE FOREFRONT OF HEALTHCARE
Problem
The public costs for the treatment and care of people with a chronic diseases are steadily
increasing. In addition, the number of citizens living with a chronic disease is also increasing.
Consequently, there is a great need for discovering new ways to support citizens’ skills for
coping with their own illness and to offer new care services and treatments to the increasing
proportion of citizens with chronic diseases. To ensure that all citizens achieve the most efficient and appropriate treatment in the future, there is a need to find new ways of collaboration in the healthcare services. Knowledge and data is currently lost in the transitions between
sectors, because no one is using the same systems, and they have different principles and
organizing structures. In the healthcare sector, this has resulted in waste of resources, while
citizens are experiencing an inconsistent treatment.
Solution
The purpose of the project “Horsens at the Forefront of Healthcare” is to develop and gain
experience through a cross-sectorial telemedicine solution, a so-called “healthcare hotshot”,
where the hospital, municipalities and practitioners can better work together and optimize
common resources in order to enhance the citizens’ experience of consistency in treatment
and care. This includes the development of the organizational cooperation and technology
from a citizen-oriented perspective as well as in terms of the healthcare professionals’ need
for knowledge, data and interchange of information. Finally, it contributes to research on
healthcare and socio-economics. It is estimated this cross-sectorial telemedicine solution
will result in net cost savings of 4 million DKK, when the project is implemented.
Horsens at the Forefront of Healthcare is a complex innovation project, and the objectives
can only be achieved by bringing together diverse expertise in the development of a solution.
Therefore, different business partners are invited to join the public-private innovation cooperation. The healthcare hotspot is a unique collaboration tool, which aims to ensure interdisciplinary cooperation between all healthcare stakeholders – including the health services and
also the participation of citizens and their relatives as well as relevant stakeholders helping to
support the telemedicine treatment.
Horsens at the Forefront of Healthcare is an example of the type of digital communications
infrastructure and platform that is the foundation for innovation in the smart city. In this case,
the focus is healthcare, but digitization in general can lead to change processes, improvement
of services etc. Likewise, the project is an example of the democratization and breaking down
of silos that can be facilitated by means of digital platforms, and which can enable citizens to
participate, even when they are patients.
38
Characteristics:
• A citizen-oriented solution regarding care and treatment requirements
• A cross-sectorial solution
• A solution that provides a platform for a range of applications
39
7. BUSINESS AND GROWTH POTENTIALS
7.1 DATA-SUPPORTED BUSINESS INNOVATION AT COPENHAGEN
AIRPORT AND IN AALBORG CITY
Problem
Today, more than ever, it is possible for Danish companies to store and use readily available
data on customer behavior. Obviously, this leads to the question of whether the utilization
of such data may help to create more efficient working procedures in order to improve their
competitiveness and/or service. This case takes a closer look at two instances in which a Danish
company has sought to improve efficiency by storing and using available data the smart way.
Solution
In an effort to raise the level of service and competitiveness, Copenhagen Airport has developed a smartphone app that offers passengers relevant information on estimated transfer
time to gate, boarding status etc. The service has been received well by the travelers and has
also made it possible for the airport to continuously monitor booking rates and to identify
passengers’ movement patterns around the buildings. This is because passengers often make
use of the airport’s Wi-Fi network, which is available through 800 access points distributed
over the entire airport building area. The mapping data from each unit remains anonymous;
the solution only informs about the number of passengers at a given place at the airport. This
enables the airport to use the information that is continuously generated by the intelligent
40
wireless networks in order to place employees and resources optimally in the 220,000 m2
terminal and monitor whether certain areas are causing bottlenecks, needs cleaning or may
be arranged differently. Thus, the risk of queues and bottlenecks is reduced, while a higher
level of service can be provided for the same or lower level of costs.
Somewhat along the lines of Copenhagen Airport, the local trade association in Aalborg wanted to map residents’ movement and purchasing patterns around the pedestrian street in the
town center. Particularly, the association was interested in identifying the most popular local
shopping places, and whether the annual Christmas market was attracting customers who
would usually not frequent the shopping streets. For this purpose, they entered a partnership
with the local company BLIP Systems, which set up a series of bluetooth sensors discretely
integrated along Aalborg’s two main shopping streets, which enabled them to track the customers’ movement patterns via their mobile phones. This way, the Aalborg City Society could
achieve unique insights into how people start their shopping spree, how long they are staying
in different places, and not least how the number of traders is affected by special events in
Aalborg city.
Utilization of readily available data in commercial contexts is a focal point in the Smart City
approach. And the collaboration between the Aalborg City Society and BLIP Systems on
sensor-based Bluetooth technology is a good example of the notion that the Smart City
concept of data-based business innovation can also be applied to small retail businesses.
The shops in Aalborg now had a chance to strengthen their businesses by developing more
attractive events, which may increase the number of customers. Eventually, this will benefit
the city economically and culturally, as a thriving commercial center will attract tourists
as well as newcomers living and working in the city.
The improved level of service that Copenhagen Airport succeeded in offering by way of
the data collected, will inherently have a spillover effect on Copenhagen and Denmark as a
whole due to the airport’s central role as a bridgehead for international traffic in and out of the
country. A new report from Copenhagen Capacity has just pointed to the need to be aware of
the possibilities to reap secondary social effects of the implementation of Smart City solutions,
and the example of Copenhagen Airport may be used to illustrate the potential of such spillover effects.
41
Category: Business and Growth Potentials
Characteristics:
7.2 INTELLIGENT LIGHTING AS A FOUNDATION OF THE SMART CITY
Problem
DOLL is a new platform for the development of future lighting solutions. The Government has
set a goal for Denmark to be self-sufficient in sustainable energy by the year 2050. On average,
about 20 percent of all electricity is used for lighting; in urban areas closer to 50 percent, and
possibly even more in certain types of buildings, offices and institutions. So there are lots of
potentials for the development of intelligent lighting.
Solution
Lighting is undergoing a technology shift where energy saving light bulbs, incandescent
light bulbs and mercury lamps are replaced by LEDs (Light-Emitting Diodes). The shift is
urged by political demands to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions – current
technology makes it possible to reduce electricity consumption by up to 90 percent. It is estimated that there are approximately 1.2 to 1.5 million outdoor lighting posts in Denmark.
By replacing these light sources with LED, a reduction of 40-60 percent on electricity consumption can be achieved. Further use of intelligent and dynamic lighting, with motion
and natural light detecting sensors, can lead to reductions of up to 90 percent of that of
conventional installations.
The subject of intelligent lighting is of great interest to the municipalities. A market survey,
Discover Danish Photonics (2014), stated that ¾ of the municipalities surveyed had already
initiated the replacement of the lighting sources, and 90 percent would prefer intelligent
lighting. The social aspect of intelligent lighting is also worth considering – as lighting affects
a person’s mental state and the new LED technologies make it possible to install and administer lighting in a way that matches the needs of individual citizens: eye conditions, lack of
daylight (mobility and safety), winter depressions and more. This requires a shift to smart
lighting that is sensor-controlled, intelligent and communicative.
In DOLL, municipalities, regions and private companies cooperate with researchers to
develop new and better lighting solutions. LED lighting is a promising technology that can
lead to significant energy conservations for the Danish society, but in the transition from
42
conventional lamps to more energy efficient technologies it is also important to focus
on light quality, user-value and energy efficiency. DOLL has three lighting laboratories,
Quality Lab, Virtual Lab and Living Lab, which will help to create a lasting transition to
new lighting sources.
DOLL is a national Green Lab for lighting and photonics. In Hersted Industrial Park in the
town of Albertslund, 9.3 km of new power poles and fixtures have been installed. Each has
been installed with an individual IP address, and an extensive Wi-Fi and fiber network has
been installed, which, together with their power system, has turned the industrial park’s
1,484,000 m2 area into a Smart City lab. The DOLL Visitor Centre and Control Room offers
information and presentation of smart lighting and controlling technologies, where municipal
technical departments and political representatives are getting advice on how to accelerate
the replacement of lighting sources and the introduction of Smart City technology.
Category: Business and Growth Potentials
Characteristics:
• Ensures focus on new technologies and innovation as part of the solutions
43
DANISH MINISTRY OF HOUSING, URBAN AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Gammel Mønt 4, 1117 Copenhagen K, Denmark
Phone: +45 33 92 29 00
www.mbbl.dk

tomorrow`s cities are digital and human

Transcription

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