Smart City Berlin: Solutions for a smart city

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 Sites provide technology and knowledge-oriented companies with attractive spaces that are centrally located, have excellent infrastructure and feature close links between science and industry.
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.

Smart city strategy ”Gemeinsam Digital: Berlin”

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. The strategy includes five pilot projects in various fields, which will be implemented in Berlin by the end of 2026. It is continuously adapted to changing framework conditions, enabling Berlin to respond swiftly to new developments – in line with its values compass for a sustainable, community-oriented, resilient and cooperative city, as well as the key fields of action: regenerative economy, future opportunities for all, inclusive urban design and an enabling administration.

The five pilot projects:

Smart Space

Smart Governance

Smart Participation

Smart Water

Kiezbox 2.0

Smart Space

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.

Since August 2025, public spaces in front of Zoologischer Garten station can be booked via the digital platform Stadtplatz.de, developed within the project, for markets, trade fairs, informational and cultural events.

Smart Governance

Data & Smart City Governance

The pilot project began with the question of how local governments and technology companies can collaborate on an equal footing, with a focus on the public good, in the areas of data use and processing. The goal is to balance the various interests involved in the collection and use of data.

Since May 2025, the Data Governance Guide from the HHIG and KWB has been helping government agencies, businesses, policymakers, and citizens establish data governance frameworks for digital projects – by providing knowledge, methods, and practical templates.

Smart Participation

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. A prototype for a neighborhood fund app was developed.

Smart Water

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.

By September 2026, the project will produce the Blue-Green Infrastructure Planner, a flood information portal and a visualization and engagement tool BlauGrün Berlin.

Kiezbox 2.0

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 was first tested in the Tempelhof-Schöneberg district in 2025 and is set to be rolled out across Berlin in the future.

Smart City Berlin - Projects for a sustainable city

In recent years, Berlin has developed and implemented numerous projects that will accompany the city into the future and generate added value for society as a whole. They thus pay tribute to the priorities defined in the smart city strategy "Gemeinsam Digital: Berlin" and offer scope for participation by business, science and startups: