Smart cities – meeting in Strasbourg on April 6th
The last meeting of the URBAN Intergroup was dedicated to the presentation of smart cities in Europe by Eddy Hartog, Head of Unit Smart Mobility and Living from DG CONNECT, European Commission.
“A smart city is a city seeking to address public issues via ICT-based solutions on the basis of a multi-stakeholder, municipality-based partnership.” This concept of smart city was recalled by Mr Hartog at the beginning of the meeting. Moreover, different EU pillars on smart cities such as the Urban Agenda for the EU and the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on Smart Cities and Communities were mentioned. Among the different EU sources for funding smart cities’ solutions are the European Regional Development Fund and Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
Participants of the meeting got a clear view how different DGs of the European Commission deal with different initiatives in smart cities. Furthermore, part of the discussion focused on urban platforms as architectural solutions aimed to integrated different technological aspects of smart cities. It has been stressed that unfortunately there is a lack of compatibility between different platforms in different cities. The issues of open standards and connectivity were discussed as well in this context.
New website of the Urban Agenda for the EU!
The Urban Agenda for the EU moves on with a new dedicated website!
· A dedicated interactive website is launched
· All stakeholders are invited to register and participate
· All stakeholders are invited to subscribe to the newsletter
The Urban Agenda for the EU is an integrated and coordinated approach to deal with the urban dimension of EU and national policies and legislation. By focusing on concrete priority themes within dedicated Partnerships, the Urban Agenda seeks to improve the quality of life in urban areas.
The new website will enable users to be informed on the Urban Agenda and to actively contribute and participate in discussions. It allows debate, exchange and consultations on the future policies and priorities with an urban dimension. News, events, consultations and key documents will regularly made available here. To be able to contribute actively and to receive newsletters you need to register.
