Smart City Berlin

Worldwide, cities are developing smart city strategies to respond to demographic and structural changes in an environmentally and citizen-friendly manner. Increased demand for housing as well as growing demands on urban infrastructure, power supply and waste disposal systems are just some of the challenges that cities have to face in order to ensure their future viability.

Integrating digital technologies as well as taking into account sustainability and the common good can contribute significantly to resolving these issues. New digital technologies increase the efficiency of systems and reduce the consumption of resources.

In order to preserve its attractiveness and quality of life, Berlin started developing, testing and implementing innovative solutions early on. An important prerequisite is that actors from public administration, business and science work closely together.

Berlin is smart:

• The networking of public administration, business and science provides an excellent environment for the development of smart technologies.
• Berlin has room for ideas: Berlin's future places (Berliner Zukunftsorte) provide technology and knowledge-oriented companies with attractive spaces that are centrally located, have excellent infrastructure and feature close links between science and industry.
• With more than 120 companies, academic and research institutions, the Smart City Berlin Network is committed to the future city of Berlin and involved in the smart city strategy of the state of Berlin.
• Spin-offs from institutions of higher education as well as the highly technology-oriented start-up community in Berlin represent a high potential for innovation.
• Numerous conferences and trade shows taking place in Berlin address Smart City topics. Berlin presents itself in numerous formats with its innovative eco-system.

In December 2022, the second smart city strategy ”Gemeinsam Digital: Berlin” was adopted, which was developed in participatory cooperation with urban society as part of the model project funded by the federal government. Part of the strategy are 5 pilot projects in different subject areas, which will be implemented in Berlin until the end of 2026.

Berlin's smart city strategy is a "learning" strategy:
In addition to the pilot projects, new ideas are being sought that contribute to Berlin's value - sustainable, public welfare-oriented, resilient and cooperative city and fields of action - regenerative economies, future opportunities for all, inclusive urban design and enabling administration.

The five pilot projects:

Smart Space Hardenbergplatz:
Hardenbergplatz in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, as a typical station forecourt with high use, is being redesigned smartly and flexibly – that is, depending on the event, day, weather and season – for all forms of mobility.

Data & Smart City Governance:
The starting point of the pilot project is the question of how municipalities and technology companies can work together in the public interest and on an equal footing when using and processing data. The objective is to balance different interests in the collection and use of data.

Participatory Budgeting and Smart Participation:
In the context of the participation process, interests tend to be distorted by the low levels of participation. Activating, digitally supported participation methods and new forms of interaction that are designed without discrimination help to reach a diverse spectrum of people. The pilot district is Treptow-Köpenick.

Smart Water – Modeling and Governance:
The effects of extreme weather events are obvious, but difficult for decision-makers and the public to understand. Using agile planning of rainwater management, options for action for climate-friendly urban planning are to be piloted and visualized.

Data in everyday life and crisis – Kiezbox 2.0:
Local data on the climate, air quality, etc. is generally obtained during regular operation. In the event of a crisis (e.g., power failure), for example, solar or battery-operated hotspots can form an emergency WLAN, which informs the local population. The effectiveness of such measures should first be tested in the Tempelhof-Schöneberg district.