GrowSmarter (Stockholm, Cologne, Barcelona, Valletta, Suceava, Porto, Cork and Graz - European Countries)
The GrowSmarter “lighthouse” programme was launched in January 2015 and it will be developed until December 2019. GrowSmarter received €25 million funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Its approach is focused on demonstrating, disseminating, and replicating innovative integrated urban solutions and a framework to co-create future smart cities through international cooperation.
The Lighthouse Cities (Stockholm – coordinator, Cologne, and Barcelona) will focus on developing and implementing smart solutions in the field of energy, infrastructure, and transport, while the Follower Cities (Valetta, Suceava, Porto, Cork, and Graz) will follow their evolution, learn from their experiences, identify suitable smart technologies for local context and replicate those solutions.
The cities are developing and implementing 12 smart solutions in 3 areas:
- Low Energy Districts: smart energy efficient refurbishment, smart building logistics, smart energy-saving tenants, and smart local electricity management;
- Integrated Infrastructures: smart street lighting, waste heat recovery, smart waste collection, and big data management;
- Sustainable Urban Mobility: sustainable delivery, smart traffic management, alternative fuel driven vehicles, and smart mobility solutions.
Improved e-Governance and citizen services;
Improved solid waste management;
Improved Bio-Waste management;
Improved Energy management;
Improved Urban Lighting;
Improved Intelligent Transport Systems.
Official targets of the programme for evaluation:
- Improve the quality of life for European citizens: better options for urban transport; better deliveries of goods, better waste handling, cost efficient refurbishment (100,000 m2), improvement in street environment, lower energy costs, and increased job creation (1,500 jobs by 2020);
- Reduce environmental impact: reducing the need for energy (by 60%), reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from energy use and increased use of renewable energies (more than 60%), reducing the emissions of transports (60%);
- Create sustainable economic development: increased cost efficiency by lowering the combined capital and operational cost (reducing costs for energy and maintenance, investment, depreciation period, interest rate), and increasing economic growth (locally, regionally, nationally, internationally).
A consortium of partners from municipalities (Lighthouse Cities of Stockholm, Cologne, and Barcelona; Follower Cities of Valetta, Suceava, Porto, Cork and Graz), academic institutions and research entities, city networks, and more than 20 industry companies. Project coordination: City of Stockholm.