Important annotation:
The following article is based mainly on this brochure regarding Smart City Charter issued by BBSR in 2017 in German language. Additional information are respectively referenced – sources can be found in the end of this article, as well as in _Smart City Database.
I. What is Smart City Charter (SCC)
Smart City Charter is a set of guidelines and recommendations established in summer 2017 which support German cities and diverse municipal-related governmental units in process of sustainable digital transformation, which timeframe will end in 2040. It helps to define chances, risks and undesirable scenarios before and throughout the development process; it also aims on intermunicipal and interagglomerational cooperation including rural areas. Smart City Charter assists as well the implementation of German Sustainability Strategy (ger: Deutsche Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie) and Sustainable Development Goals from UN (cf. BBSR 2017:9).
Its results are respectively published on Smart Cities Dialogue Platform set by the German Federal Ministry of the Environment Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety BMUB together with inter-ministerial working group “Smart Cities and Sustainable Development” powered by IMA City and German Federal Government (Morgenstadt 2017).
SCC was designed based of following documents:
- Leipzig Charter on Sustainable European Cities
- National Urban Development Policy (ger: Nationale Stadtentwicklungspolitik)
- Urban Agenda for the EU – Pact of Amsterdam
- The New Urban Agenda from United Nations
(cf. BBSR 2017:9)
For whom is SCC
- cities, communes, municipalities, administrative districts, agglomerations, urban regions, metropoles, metropole regions, metropole agglomerations, countries, international/interregional/.. collaborations etc.
- stakeholders from research, economy, civic, environmental etc. sectors
(UNH 2018)
II. Guidelines for Developing a Smart City
1. Digital transformation needs goals, strategies and structures
- Smart City should integrate digitalisation with urban development process in the way that enables a sustain achievement of development goals
- Through identifying the specific spheres of implementing digital services/infrastructures etc. and constant examining the effects of connectivity between them, the development strategies for further urban growth should be built
- Smart City needs to adjust organisation structures of communes/municipal units etc.
2. Digital transformation needs transparency, participation and co-shaping
- Smart City should strengthen transparency and democracy within its borders
- It should secure the idea of integration, digital participation and inclusion
- It should promote the cooperative nature of development processes
3. Digital transformation needs technical infrastructures, data and services
- Smart City should enable an access to all digital infrastructures
- All used datas should be generated responsibly and efficiently, while avoiding uncontrolled redundancy
- It should provide long-term functionality of connected instracturtures and municipal services
4. Digital transformation needs resources, competencies and cooperations
- On governmental level a Smart City should provide all necessary personal and financial resources in order to enable sustain transformation processes
- It should develop a wide range of digital competencies and promote life-long learning processes in order to respond agily to ever changing digital changes on a governmental level
- It should promote building cooperations between economy and research markets, creating innovation and knowledge clusters
(cf. BBSR 2017:11-14)
A Smart City is ..
diverse and open – it supports a sustain, democratic and equality-driven social inclusion
participative and inclusive – gives integrative concepts for extensive and self-determined participation both in digital and analog way
climate-neutral and efficient in use of resource – “it promotes environmentally friendly mobility-, energy-, water-, sewage-, and waste concepts and contributes to CO₂-neutral, green and clean cities” (cf. BBSR 2017:10)
competitive and success-enhancing – it strengths local economy and new added-value-concepts, offering infrastructure solutions matching local characteristics
openness-driven and innovative – it creates innovative solutions by agily reacting to changes within the commune/city structure
responsive and sensitive – through AI tech, sensorics, data usage as well as new forms of interaction and learning impacts processes and services within communal/municipal structure and urban space
secure and space-giving – it provides secure private and public sphere in digital and spatial way, without interferencing with citizens’ freedom and privacy rights
worth-living-in / worth-putting-one’s-heart-in – needs of people are a central objective of urban development; a Smart City shall assist local initiatives, creativity, individuality and self organisation
(cf. BBSR 2017:10)
III. Main Fields of Action depending on stakeholders
# Establishing Smart-City-Strategies and enabling the societal and corporative dabete // cities, communes and administrative districts
# Connecting digital and analog participation processes (or processes that already work well in a given region) // communes and administrative districts
# Conducting analysis of needs, risks and possible impacts // communes together with research units
# Enabling inter-stakeholder co-creation processes; strengthening local economy and neighbourhoods // country, metropole regions, agglomerations, administrative districts and communes
# Providing legal and regulatory frameworks // country, metropole regions, agglomerations and administrative districts together with research units
# Conducting Smart-City-Solutions // communes together with research-, economy and civic units
# Providing a free use of (Open) Data // communes and administrative districts
# Showing the high quality factor of digital transformation activities // communes
# Providing demand-oriented financing options // country, administrative districts and communes
# Implementing and expanding needed technical standardisations; integrating diverse users for more unifical technical solutions // country, administrative districts and communes
# Monitoring and reacting to sectoral and spatial impact that occurs during transformation processes // research units
# Promoting experience, knowledge and competence exchange between divers governmental units incl. communes // all governmental units
(cf. BBSR 2017:15-17)
Additional sources:
https://www.morgenstadt.de/en/projects/smart_city/smart-city-charter.html
Title picture: http://www.greendigitalcharter.eu/tag/smart-cities
