The City of Brussels presented on Friday its strategy for deploying digital technology at all levels of community life through the smart-city concept, which is also in the sights of many other European cities.
Smart cities act on their services and activities to make them more efficient. The means used often have the utilisation of ICT resources in common.
Broken down into 48 projects targeting seven main areas, the Brussels’ Smart City Strategy is based on the desire to use resources and services for citizens in a coherent way, keeping in mind the social, economic and environmental challenges.
It relies on the various departments of the municipal administration but also on a series of stakeholders such as companies, research institutions and civil society, who are encouraged to deploy their own initiatives with the support of the City through calls for projects, the 2023 edition of which has just been launched.
Digital map of services and facilities offered by Brussels
A total of €80,000 will be reserved for the selected initiatives, in the form of grants of up to €30,000. The strategy was launched on Friday from a FabLab in Laeken.
Various ongoing projects were presented. The City is currently creating a digital map of the services and facilities available to the population as part of a 10-minute city (services) project, showing day care centres, schools, public transport, infrastructure, sports, etc.).
The model will make it possible to gauge the impact of a project in a given neighbourhood on the existing supply and to define a coverage rate.
The City also aims to turn the Quartier Nord into a district that produces more energy than it consumes, by acting on the energy renovation of buildings, integrating renewable energies and using energy monitoring platforms.
The programme further supports a platform for matching the needs of associations with offers of voluntary work, and a reintegration project based on the creation of video games involving school dropouts.
Seven axes
Through its seven main areas, the Smart City Strategy and its 48 projects cover all skills that relate to communal life.
One of the seven axes is that of ‘an open supportive city,” which covers housing, inclusion, poverty, handicap and equal opportunity. Another is the ‘close proximity city,’ which encompasses culture, sport, youth, housing,and health.
Climate, green spaces, energy consumption and pollution are the focus of a ‘city that breathes,' while a ‘city on the move’ includes mobility, parking, alternative mobility etc.
A ‘dynamic and intelligent city’ targets areas such as employment, the circular economy, trade, and tourism; and an ‘exemplary and participatory city’ will concentrate on quality public service, simplified administration, citizen participation, and human resources.
