The FinEst Centre for Smart Cities has started the 4th round of the Smart City Challenge, where they are looking to invest 3,7 million euros into 4 new ideas to develop and pilot in two cities. In the pilot projects, interdisciplinary scalable solutions for complex urban challenges will be developed to make cities better living environments.
Now a significant milestone is achieved! By May 15, 35 urban challenges have been proposed by 25 cities, counties and campuses from 15 different countries.
Challenges from different areas
The challenges collected from this diverse international pool all highlight a common theme - a strong focus on transitioning towards climate neutrality and creating better living environments for citizens.
Energy: Nine challenges focus on empowering energy communities, improving the effectiveness of street lighting, energy dependence of critical infrastructure objects, and increasing efficiency through room-based indoor climate control.
Mobility: Five challenges explore various aspects of mobility, including water transport, sidewalk accessibility, assisting hearing in public transport, passenger counting for better planning, and improved parking management.
Circular Economy: Three challenges address topics such as reducing food waste, reusing old buildings, and engaging citizens in the circular economy.
City Planning: Eight proposals tackle different city planning challenges, including mapping underground infrastructure (like tree roots), affordable housing, managing empty commercial real estate, and handling continuous city construction.
City Maintenance: Five challenges focus on issues such as flood resilience, protecting river shores, detecting street markings, monitoring city temperatures, and maintaining green spaces in difficult areas.
People Centred City: Five challenges highlight various aspects of city development for residents, including communication with citizens, creating urban spaces that support well-being and health, and helping citizens in times of crisis.
Get to know proposed challenges HERE.
Explore the challenges proposed and think about solutions
Now FinEst Centre for Smart Cities invites all researchers familiarize themselves with the challenges by visiting FinEst Centre’s homepage and assess if they can provide solutions to any of them. If they identify opportunities, they are encouraged to register for the May 29 workshop. This workshop offers a platform to engage with cities, ask clarifying questions, and establish valuable contacts. Onsite participation is definitely recommended for participants from Estonia and close by countries to establish good contacts for forming the team and preparing the pilot proposal.
Researchers are also welcome to contact already the cities via e-mails next to the challenge to discuss your solution ideas and find out more about their challenge in practice. The deadline for proposing the initial ideas by the researchers is September 16. Each pilot project would need at least one city from Estonia and one from another country as piloting partners.
Why should researchers participate in the Smart City Challenge?
- Pilot development and piloting costs covered 100%
- Test your research results in real cities
- Develop an innovative solution with international market potential
- Win from synergies from working in an interdisciplinary team
- Get data for your long-term research needs
More information about the Smart City Challenge 2024