“Smart Metropolitan Solutions – way to a climate-neutral and resilient cities” was the theme of the 3rd KoMet Day, organized by the Competence Field for Metropolitan Research (KoMet) of the Ruhr University Alliance (UA Ruhr) on December 6, 2021, in cooperation with the Emschergenossenschaft.
Against the backdrop of the European Commission’s European Green Deal, the discussion focused, among other things, on the following key questions: How can smart city approaches be leveraged to address the current challenges of climate-neutral and resilient urban development from technological, economic, social, and environmental perspectives? What (un)intended side effects are associated with the concept of the smart city? How can resilience and sustainability be intelligently integrated?
Despite the last-minute switch to an all-digital format due to the pandemic, the conference attracted approximately 150 participants.
Keynote
The conference kicked off with a keynote address by Karen Vancluysen, Secretary General of POLIS, the leading network of European cities and regions working together to develop innovative technologies and strategies for local public transport. She addressed the urban mobility ecosystem and advocated for the intelligent integration of public transit, aiming to link public transit, shared mobility, and active modes of transportation such as walking and cycling. The keynote concluded with a call to harness the “Momentum for Change through Covid and Climate Change” to kickstart smart, sustainable transformation processes.
Three panels then explored the concept of the smart city from different perspectives.
Panel I: Climate Change and Climate Neutrality
Moderated by Prof. Dr. Stefan Greiving (TU Dortmund), the invited experts—Prof. Dr. Jörn Birkmann (University of Stuttgart), Dr. Wolfgang Beckröge (Ruhr Regional Council, RVR), and Jürgen Schultze (Social Research Center, TU Dortmund)—discussed, following their presentations and together with the plenary, the concepts of climate neutrality and climate resilience as guiding principles for spatial planning, specifically the Ruhr Metropolis’s strategy to become climate neutral by 2045. Topics discussed included potential conflicts of interest between climate protection and adaptation, as well as the sometimes problematic “division of labor” between rural areas—where energy is generated and climate-regulating functions are performed—and urban areas, for which these functions are provided. There was consensus that urban areas must also shoulder their share of the burden.
Panel II: The Smart Journey Is Underway – Shaping Our Cities in the Future
PD Dr. Ani Melkonyan-Gottschalk (University of Duisburg-Essen) moderated the discussion between and with the experts Prof. Dr. Pedro Marrón (University of Duisburg-Essen) and Maryke van Staden (ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability). The focus was on the question of how the holistic concept of the smart city must be conceived and designed to be sustainable: What political framework conditions are necessary for this? Which concepts have established themselves as best practices? The “15-minute city,” modeled after the approach currently being pursued in Paris, was identified as a best practice. The discussion also addressed the significance of artificial intelligence (AI) for the technological advancement of smart cities and its societal implications. Following the plenary discussion, it was concluded that a holistic concept of the smart city should first and foremost be a “resident-oriented” concept.
Panel III: Challenges of Digitalization
Moderated by Prof. Dr. Markus König (Ruhr University Bochum), the invited scholars—Prof. Dr. Jens Martin Gurr (University of Duisburg-Essen), Joshua Gelhaar (Fraunhofer ISST Dortmund), and Ralf Benzmüller (eurobits e.V.) discussed with the plenary the (un)desirable side effects associated with the concept of the smart city. They agreed that a positive trend toward a more responsible and resident-oriented digitalization of cities in Europe can be observed through the evolution of Smart City concepts (from Generation 1.0 to 3.0). However, the collection and storage of personal data by private technology companies is still not compliant with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The experts attribute this primarily to the fact that the user data sovereignty required by the GDPR is not yet technologically feasible. Within the framework of projects such as IDS, Gaia-X, and Self-Sovereign Identity, approaches to building a trustworthy data infrastructure are currently being researched and tested. Until these are implemented, the GDPR—and thus the resident-oriented smart city—remains a “paper tiger.”
The event concluded with a digital fishbowl discussion.
Digital Fishbowl: A Critical Examination of Smart City Approaches
Moderated by Prof. Dr. Thorsten Wiechmann (TU Dortmund), Nina Frense (Regionalverband Ruhr), Prof. Dr. Uli Paetzel (Emschergenossenschaft), Dr. Jan Fritz Rettberg (City of Dortmund), and Dr. Thomas Wilk (MHKBG NRW) examined smart city approaches from various perspectives and addressed the question of how well-positioned the Ruhr region is in terms of implementing smart city approaches for a resilient and sustainable transformation. Joint conclusion: The “window of opportunity” opened by the debate on human-induced climate change, as well as the current COVID-19 pandemic, for a shift toward smart, sustainable, and resilient cities must be seized. Swift action is therefore necessary to capitalize on the “momentum for change” and overcome the “silo mentality” that remains widespread in the region. In fact, the pressure to act is of fundamental importance, which is currently lacking in the construction industry, for example, and leads to below-average innovation there. To capitalize on the opportunities offered by smart technologies, local governments expect more support and coordination from the federal, state, and regional levels. Likewise, thinking and acting within legislative cycles hinders targeted transformation, as the limited timeframe often tempts politicians to focus primarily on short-term, achievable successes. However, the Ruhr Metropolis is a “pro at structural change.” The focus now must be on leveraging that capacity for transformation and public acceptance to develop and implement a regional smart city strategy.
