8 international cities join ITEA Smart City Advisory Board to push for smart city innovation
On 27 May 2021, representatives of the cities of Antwerp, Brno, Dortmund, Istanbul, region of Northern Hesse, Stockholm, Tampere and Zaragoza have signed an MoU with ITEA to become part of the ITEA Smart City Advisory Board (SCAB). This shows their strong commitment to stay at the forefront of smart city innovation to create a better city for their citizens.
The purpose of the ITEA SCAB is to create a continuous dialogue between cities and innovative Smart City technology developers by sharing best practices, challenges and innovative solutions on an international level, to finally make the cities a better place to live in. During the first meeting of 27 May, each city had the chance to present their key Smart City challenges and promote their own initiatives and experiences as well as to learn from the other cities.
The main subject/objective of the session was to share the urgent requirements of each city and to find potential collaboration opportunities among the cities. Although the cities were very diverse, many of them faced similar urban challenges including data collection, protection and representation, mobility including traffic management, sustainability, IoT, citizen engagement, and AI-supported decision-making tools for their city management.
More details of these challenges can be found in the SCAB meeting report.
"ITEA SC Advisory Board's first session was a unique opportunity to realise about some common interests between cities, namely in the field of urban data, where it appears that most cities are willing to grasp the vast array of opportunities that it may bring to improve decision-making and economic development in our cities. Excited for the next session and the ideas that the industry will bring onto the table to help us cities seize this great opportunity."
Daniel Sarasa Funes - Urban Innovation Planner at Zaragoza City Council
ITEA Chairwoman Zeynep Sarılar, who hosted the meeting, commented: "ITEA emphasises the importance of Market Value chain in R&D&I projects to create economic and social impact. Therefore, I am very grateful for the trust and dedication of the municipalities to join the SCAB. As it is obvious in the outcomes of this meeting, software innovation is mandatory for Smart Cities. The challenges shared by the cities need integrated solutions and international collaboration to build not only a Smart City concept but an "Agile and Living City" via online decision-making systems."
The ITEA SCAB will continue to grow and stimulate smart city innovations through international collaboration. Are you a city representative and interested to become a SCAB member, please feel free to contact the ITEA Office (info@itea4.org).