Ulm - a European City
© Europäische Union, 2015 / Foto: Giuseppe Aresu
Ulm is a citizen-oriented, sustainable and liveable city that is increasingly digital. Following this path in mutually beneficial exchange with the EU, the city of Ulm applied to join the ICC, the European Union's exclusive group of smart cities - and was accepted in 2020. ICC stands for Intelligent City Challenge. In this network, 136 European cities are working together on solutions for the smart city of the future.
Using advanced technologies to benefit everyone and the environment is an exciting challenge for Ulm, which can only be mastered in local and international collaboration. Together with regional companies, universities, social organisations and citizens, the city administration is working intensively on this matter. Creative solutions are always in demand. It is worth looking beyond the state borders and learn from other European cities while sharing our own expertise with others.
© ICC
Ulm is a citizen-oriented, sustainable and liveable city that is increasingly digital. Following this path in mutually beneficial exchange with the EU, the city of Ulm applied to join the ICC, the European Union's exclusive group of smart cities - and was accepted in 2020. ICC stands for Intelligent City Challenge. In this network, 136 European cities are working together on solutions for the smart city of the future.
Using advanced technologies to benefit everyone and the environment is an exciting challenge for Ulm, it can only be mastered in local and international collaboration. Together with regional companies, universities, social organisations and citizens, the city administration is working intensively on this matter. Creative solutions are always in demand. It is worth looking beyond the state borders and learn from other European cities while sharing our own expertise with others.
The Intelligent Cities Challenge is the European Commission's network of smart cities and related experts. The goal is to promote smart, socially responsible and sustainable growth through advanced technology in different regions. This means that city governments, together with local businesses, universities, social organisations and groups, and citizens, plan and build their city to be climate neutral, economically prosperous and open to all. In a first phase until July 2022, 136 European cities of the ICC are working together on solutions for the smart city of the future.
Click here for more Information about the ICC
© Initiative Ulm Digital
There are a number of topics on the way to a smart city which are relevant in Ulm and municipalities throughout Europe. Here are a few examples of applications in Ulm:
Sensor-based solutions for everyday urban life
At the LoRaPark on the Weinhof in Ulm, you can see how different sensors are used. Those sensors provide data, for example, on the fill level of the glass containers, the water temperature in the fountain or the fine dust pollution. The park vividly demonstrates how data can be effectively used and applied to make life in Ulm more comfortable and sustainable in the future. A large display at the entrance to the Weinhof (Sattlergasse) provides information about the sensors and their data. LoRaWAN is an energy-saving radio technology for transmitting small amounts of data and the basis for the Internet of Things throughout the city.
Among others, Terrassa/Spain and the municipality of Fundão/Portugal also rely on LoRa technology already.
Cities by and for their citizens - portals for citizen participation
Ulm considers itself as a self-confident citizens' city in which citizens actively shape the change towards a digital, social and sustainable city. To this end, the city administration and local initiatives are pulling together by providing formats and channels for citizen participation. One of these is the online citizen dialogues at www.zukunftsstadt-ulm.de. Here, citizens can formulate theses on current urban issues as well as they can comment on and evaluate topical strategies and projects.
In these cities, among others, citizens can also participate in online discussions: Terrassa/Spain and Ioannina/Greece.
Open Data Portal - Open Data of the Cities
The city of Ulm has already had its own open data portal since 2016. In the medium term, Datenhub.ulm.de is to be the central entry point for searching for open data and sensor data in Ulm. Initial data from the city administration are published here and are available for anyone who wants to search for data to create simple visualisations or process and use them further. In the expansion stage, the data hub will also enable municipal companies, the economy, research and citizens to offer and further use data via a central entry point. The data descriptions (metadata) are based on DCAT-AP.de standards for metadata.
These cities, among other EU cities, have Open Data Portals: Cork/Ireland, Brno/Czech Republic and Tampere/Finland.
More projects and more details about our projects in Ulm you can find here Innovative digital solutions.
© DA
Here we ask for your expertise:
What clever ideas do you notice in Ulm and other EU cities? In which places did Ulm already transformed towards a climate-neutral, economically strong and liveable city? What makes Ulm smart? What does it take to make life easier for the city as well as its citizens and visitors? And: What clever solutions from other cities did you notice, e.g. on holiday or during other trips abroad that Ulm could adopt?
Share your thoughts, suggestions and ideas with us - to zukunftsstadt@ulm.de