Smart City Research

The WISSENSARCHITEKTUR – Laboratory of Knowledge Architecture ( Dresden University of Technology) provides scientific and methodological support to Dresden on its journey towards Smart City .

For the citizen For the economy

A man writes a post-it note on a flipchart during a workshop.

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People in the city of Dresden look at a dashboard with open data.

Introduction

Smart City Research helps a city to identify its objectives and opportunities, adapt its processes accordingly, and improve interaction between the administration and the public. A systematic exploration of concepts such as that of a ‘ ’ is fundamental to this. In order to - -related topics at a scientific level, WISSENSARCHITEKTUR develops new models, methods and tools – and applies them in projects and in collaboration with the city . Through intensive cooperation between academia and municipal departments, a - strategy for was developed over a period of one and a half years. During the current implementation phase, selected projects are being developed and tested in pilot neighbourhoods. WISSENSARCHITEKTUR evaluates the processes, identifies synergies in workshops with the project groups, and provides expert input based on the results of public engagement and the latest research on - . Smart City SmartCity Dresden

SmartCity Dresden SmartCity

The aim

Smart City is for people. Technical solutions should therefore promote quality of life, sustainability and social justice. To meet this challenge, the City of Dresden, with scientific support and facilitation from WIS-SENS-AR-CHI-TEK-TUR, has developed a comprehensive vision of a ‘ Smart ’ City for Dresden. This vision is being further refined and put into practice using the findings from public engagement and impact research.

A key priority is to incorporate the perspectives of all key stakeholder groups. Their views on the opportunities and risks associated with the digitalisation of public administration, society and businesses enrich the city’s development on the path towards Smart City .

Smart City Research for the City Parliament

Dirk Meissner

Involvement in urban development

Residents of Dresden can quickly and easily get involved in the city council’s planning processes using digital participation tools and through various initiatives such as the public participation kiosk, the ‘Zukunftsbahn’ or the co-design tool U_CODE. This ensures that opinions, knowledge and proposals from the public reach the right (decision-making) body.

New impetus from networking activities

In addition to facilitating exchanges between experts from the worlds of business, academia and public administration, the ‘ Smart ’ (City) research initiative also organises activities in public spaces that foster networking between citizens and other stakeholders in a ‘ Smart ’ ( City ) and generate new impetus for urban development.

Impact analysis of the experimental projects

As part of the pilot project ‘ Smart ’ ( City Dresden ), WISSENSARCHITEKTUR is thoroughly testing and evaluating ten projects devised during the strategy phase within the urban area or in so-called ‘smart neighbourhoods’. Participation assessments and impact analyses help to optimise implementation and to draw lessons from the experience gained for new Smart-City projects.

Strategy document and research updates

The strategy document (as of June 2023, full version and summary) is available for download on this page. The website of the WISSENSARCHITEKTUR – Laboratory of Knowledge Architecture (TU Dresden) contains further information on the scientific foundations and findings, as well as updates on the strategy’s ongoing development.

Smart City Research- s for the business sector

WISSENSARCHITEKTUR TU Dresden

The business sector as a group of stakeholders

In the research design for the ‘ Smart ’ –City – strategy, the business sector was defined as a key player in Dresden’s ‘ Smart ’ –City – landscape. Accordingly, the economic perspective was taken into account from the outset in the development of a ‘ Smart ’ –City – strategy. Cooperation with the Office for Economic Development therefore also supports the implementation of the Smart-City- projects.

Expertise gained from flagship projects

WISSENSARCHITEKTUR – Laboratory of Knowledge Architecture – the lead partner and scientific director of the pilot project Smart City Dresden – has been active in the Smart-City and has already helped shape the transformation process of the state capital through the highly acclaimed funding projects “Zukunftstadt Dresden” and “MAtchUp”.

Academic networking

WISSENSARCHITEKTUR plays an active role within the Smart –City – community. The team regularly attends specialist conferences and trade fairs, such as the Expo World Congress in Barcelona. Synergies also arise from the firm’s own urban development projects, such as the EU Horizon project ‘U_CAN. Ukraine towards Carbon Neutrality’.

DRESDEN-concept Research Consortium

The synergistic research network ‘ DRESDEN-concept’, comprising the University of Excellence TU Dresden, eleven Fraunhofer Institutes, four institutions of the Max Planck Society, five Leibniz Institutes, as well as the Helmholtz Centre and other universities, research and educational institutions, offers considerable potential for knowledge and innovation.

Smart City Research Projects

Flipchart covered with lots of colorful sticky notes

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Smart-City strategy

A Compass for the Digital Future Dresdens: developed on a scientific basis and supported throughout the implementation phase

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Smart 's Participation Toolbox

Consolidation and expansion of smartpublic participation in Dresden