In times when cities and communities are looking to digital solutions to tackle a growing range of interconnected challenges, we must boost these efforts through a ‘European Way’ where digital solutions help to create places where people enjoy living and working.
Digital solutions are broad and include approaches to smart urban mobility, energy efficiency, sustainable housing, digital public services, and civic-led governance. Large-scale uptake and upscale of these solutions are crucial to help our cities and communities meet their climate targets and reduce their environmental footprint, while fostering citizen participation and bringing prosperity to all types of business, including SMEs and start-ups.
Through co-creation with citizens, we aim to bring the economic and social benefits of this transformation to all local communities and implement an inclusive digital Europe, with powerful digital services, technologies, infrastructures and skills.
This group aims to build a community of like-minded cities, working on urban digital twins. The group will discuss the concept, bring forward concrete use cases from around the EU and then explore why cities would be interested in using urban digital twins.
The beating heart of the urban digital transformation Urban data platforms are at the core of the digital transformation of cities and communities. It is the centrepiece for new and innovative services from a simple route-planner to complex digital twin solution. Urban Data Platforms are the beating hearts of the urban digital transformation as they connect, analyse and visualise all data from the urban fabric. From here, data can be further shared to city services or third-party providers offering seamless mobile experiences for citizens.
According to data 169 million EU citizens lack even basic digital skills. This accounts for 44% of Europeans between the ages of 16-74. Lack of access to digital services as well as lack of awareness of digital possibilities have major impact on the digital divide, resulting in social divide.
European cities are working to make life easier for their residents and Europeans more broadly. Finished the dozen different cards and procedures to access city services, one card – and/or app – will give people simple direct and personalised access to many different services within their own city – from using public transport to visiting a zoo, the local library or accessing social benefits. It offers people the possibility to access public services where and when they want.
Interoperability is crucial in the context of a city, where services such as mobility, housing, health, water and waste management interact, provided by a combination of public authorities at local, regional and national level and a myriad of private operators.
The MIMs Plus Technical Specifications version 4.0 final draft is now available for comment until 6 August. The draft was first published on 23 June and discussed at the Living-in.EU Tech Sub Group meeting on 28 June.
Commissioner Thierry Breton is to meet with EU Mayors and members of the Living-in.EU and the Intelligent Cities Challenge to discuss the Green and Digital transformation and the socio-economic resilience of cities and communities.
We want to collaborate with innovative people and organisations to help develop solutions to our current challenges and create new opportunities for the future. To do this we want to explore new ways of working with others and identify the best ideas and technologies, wherever they may be. If you have one of those ideas, submit them here.
