CITY:ONE 1.2019.versionENG

1 : 2019

Magazine for sharing smart solutions among Central European cities : Central Europe cities proďŹ les with their smart projects : smart solutions for city governance : city sources and city life

EN

Content 1/2019

David Bárta : Chief Editor On 5th March 2019, in Bratislava, the Ministries of V4 signed a Joint statement on closer cooperation on the creation of a common Catalogue of innovative public services in the form of shared demonstrators (demonstration projects). To show potential of sharingthrough V4, Czech Republic has already several demonstrators of innovations in public administration to offer, which will be presented at URBIS 2019 and their representatives will be awarded together with colleagues from Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. As since 1st July the V4 is chaired by Czech Republic, the URBIS Fair is the place where we will discuss the necessary strategy with representatives of the states, counties, CDLDs and municipalities. The current issue is devoted to strategic planning, which will be closely related to the state activities (Digital Czechia, Ministry of Interior MV ČR, Slovak ministry of Economy MH SR) and from smart investments, i.e. single concepts enabling to overcome the silo thinking. Together with Ostrava public transport operator (DPO) we have prepared the first concept, a smart PT stop, whose final definition can be openly voted and commented onthe website iCityPoint.eu. We announce then the results at URBIS 2019 together with a competition for a demonstrator.

If you‘re taking the Smart City concept seriously, you can‘t miss the biggest educational event on Smart City in V4. 5th – 6th June 2019 in Brno at URBIS (smartcityfair.cz)!

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Digital Czechia and innovation

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Smart investments

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Slovakia is working on the Action plan for smart cities

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eGovernment

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Project - Komunal 4.0

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Smart City Guidance Package

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European and Asian smart cities

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Ordinary stop – extraordinary city

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Smart library

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Coworking

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m4E

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A new town hall Prague 12

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Barcelona Decidim

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Barcelona Superblok

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Eurocities city : one

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Pardubice

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Žďár

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Gdynia

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Ajdovščina

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Torun

David Bárta

CITY:ONE magazine 2 issues per year (April/October) 10 000 printedissues in CZ/SK version and 6 000 printedissues in ENG Distributed in Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia, in electronicform in all EU/globally

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Publisher CityOne s.r.o., Královo Pole 34E, Brno, 612 00, Česká republika Chief editor and smart sources editor David Bárta / barta@cityone.cz Smart Governance editor Pavel Nácovský / pavel.nacovsky@panatec.cz Smart living editor Tereza Škoulová / skoulova@cityone.cz Water editor Petr Dolejš / dolejs@waterincity.cz Deputy Editor in chief Slovakia Vladimír Jurík / v.jurik@studio21.sk Deputy Editor in chief Slovenia and Croatia Zala Velkavrh / zalavelkavrh@gmail.com Deputy Editor in chief Poland Mateusz Jarosiewicz / mateusz.jarosiewicz@smartcitiespolska.org

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Smart solution for regional P+R

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Goodvision

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A House designed outside the passive standard?

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Innovative public services in the communal water sector

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Efficient renewable energy sources in municipalities citizen : one

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Refill Ostrava

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New Cvernovka for Trnava County

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Auto*Mat

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city : strategy

smart : one 1. hierarchy („clicker“ tree), 2. In the form of a graph of elements and mutual links. In the tree view under the sub-destination of ČDE 2.03, you can see 3 intentions from the total of 808.

The „Digital Czechia“ agenda is the first strategic initiative for which the control scheme (methodology) was elaborated using the EA model in Archimate language. The model includes a reference scheme of the structure’s own concepts, management, coordination and support processes, organizational relations of actors and tools of agenda management automation. In Figure 2, an overview of the relationship map is shown as an example.

Digital Czechia

The Scope of the agenda is larger than other conceptual and strategic materials approved by the Government. It does not only cover the issue of „digital governance“, but the promotion of the transformation of the economy and society, together with participation in the EU’s digital agenda (2 other pillars). This induces the inevitable question of how procedures and tools can be coordinated and managed at all. I.e. a detailed (digital) model of the agenda is a prerequisite, but not enough.

But the very scope of the agenda is only one problem. There are a number of dozens of valid policies and strategies adopted by the Government, which are partly (more or less) content overlayered – in objectives and in some intentions/measures/projects. Behind each such material is a certain „governing“ ministry.

Conceptual and strategic governmental documents are always a matter of effort to manage the necessary changes at the executive level (in the form of a government resolution) that the material accepts and, in connection with its adoption, assigns tasks to individual members of the government. Most concepts foresee interdepartmental co-operation.

and innovation Ing. Martin Tax : the chief of methodology of the Digital Czechia, martin.tax@nakit.cz

: Introduction Today is full of new challenges. A significant part carries the ongoing „digital revolution“ and globalisation. Our resources are limited and the management mechanisms of the state (central administration and local authorities) are often outdated and inadequate. We can hardly think of a successful digital transformation without the application of digital tools and modern methods of governance of the entire transformation. The article defines the issue of managing key strategic concepts by creating and optimizing relevant digital models. The subject of discussion is the tools and procedures of the Enterprise Architecture – the creation of reference architectures, models of specific governance frameworks, to

the idea of creating complete „digital twins of organizations“.

The main limitations are briefl y discussed – how to apply modern management methods with global (EU) interference in a public administration environment that often cannot (inter-departmental) coordinate their own management acts, and which by default operates in the „hard“ control model of organizational hierarchy (from the time of Maria Theresa).

: „Digital Czechia“ model The Government program „Digital Czechia“ consists of three pillars (Czech Republic in Digital Europe, Information concept of the Czech Republic, and Digital Economy and society) and

works out digital transformation into 15 main and 115 sub-objectives. In order to meet the objectives, at the end of March 2019 there was identified 808 projects, 192 milestones, 257 indicators, and 147 risks. Of these, 385 projects were developed and now form the content of 15 implementation plans (one to each main goal). 150 individuals from more than 60 different entities participated actively in the design and processing. From the names of the pillars and several numbers, the enormous range and width of this agenda is clear.

The management of such number of participating and requested content implies the necessity of using automated tools.

All the objectives and intentions of the „Digital Czechia“ agenda are cataloged and managed in an object-oriented application (digital model) with remote access through an internet browser. In Figure 1, part of the core of the agenda content is displayed in two forms –

Unfortunately, the interdepartmental cooperation system is currently still very problematic. The only widely used instrument for cross-cutting coordination is the creation of a committee, a commission, a working group or a more complex structure consisting of these elements. The number, strength, mandate and communication capability of the specific personalities appointed to these „virtual“ structures predetermine the outcome – positive (smaller, compact teams with strong individuality and mandate) or zero (no personality, or weak mandate, or collective irresponsibility of a large group).

To solve this problem, the Ministry for regional development was given the task of „mapping“ the relevant materials and their overlap with the agenda. The first data of the mapping is already available and in the second half of this year they will be transferred to the model „Digital Czechia“. It will then be necessary to take a decision on how to link the objectives, intentions/measures of the various concepts, eliminate duplication, ensure overall coordination and efficiency of the public resources spent.

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: Main terminology

smart : one National architecture (NA) Represents a description and behaviour of the state (shared parts and single admi-

Innovation The key term the government is not able to actively work with (even for

nistrations = „who we are“, the changes planned – „from where we come and where we are heading to “ and its information support (for what purpose is and should be the ICT) by using tools and procedures of EA.

: Integrating the „Smart City“ concept into a digital transformation model

itself) because there is no law to set a duty to apply changes in such a way the things „can be done right“ – innovatively = i.e. improve qualitativly and

NAP - National architecture plan

improve performance and efficiency.

National architecture plan is a description of the targeted state of “National architec-

Digital Europe „Digitization“ agenda of European Council, see https://www.consilium.europa.

ture” in a certain time horizon and the roadmap, i.e. implementation stapes (programmes and projects) leading to the contemporary status to achieve the targeted one. It is a part of the planned outcomes of DC.

eu/cs/press/press-releases/2018/12/04/digital-europe-programme-council-agrees-its-position/

Digital Czechia (DC), RVIS The Czech government agenda, see https://www.mvcr.cz/clanek/rada-vlady-

NAR - National architecture framework National architecture framework represents an idea concept, procedures methodology and a set of standards, tools and guidance on creation and maintenance of NA and NAP. It is a part of the planned DC outputs.

-pro-informacni-spolecnost.aspx, that is coordinated by RVIS = The government council for information society.

Reference architecture

eGovernment

Sets of pattern models – how to model (and the follow-up governance) a certain

·

tive “, as the content is settled by the legal framework.

Digital model (generally)

Catalogue of services and digital service

A picture of a „reality“ transformed in to a digital form. „Reality“ is represented by

Based on the proposal on the Law on the right for a digital service – Digital service

in tens of different types – from subject models (CAD), buildings (BIM), terrain/terri-

means a service provided by State executives specified in the Catalogue of state

tory/networks maps (GIS, DTM), organizations (strategies, services, systems).

Valid “framed” state initiatives (strategic documents approved by the Government

Model of competence governance map (map of relations) Type of EA model, specific for governance of complex wholes. It contains

towards the client oriented and improving public administration.

Smart City (Region, Village)

Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and governance processes Methodology and a tool for implementation and governance of a strategy. De-facto standard in the area of modern strategic governance methods.

PDCA loop

as a prosperous community, it does not contain just municipal agenda and services

Basic principle for design, implementation and performance of the governance pro-

administration. Smart City is an innovation ecosystem of the government (municipal

cesses. The structure of the feedback loop (P-Plan, D-Do, C-Check, A-Act) enables

Enterprise Architecture (EA) „Enterprise architecture“ represents a complex description of organization (by organization we can understand the links EU->CZ->Administration, City/Region/ Municipality), in all the relations and views (dimensions) as the strategy territory plan describes the city, i.e. a strategy (goals, initiatives), processes/services, systems and infrastructure.

The „habitable“ city is a place where its inhabitants are healthy, satisfied, solidarity with community needs, motivated and able to minimize their negative effects on the environment: · Population Health · Community Development · Optimal Environment

Economic performance of the municipality/ city/region A successful city is connecting population with an advanced transport system, providing modern mobility, broadband, high-quality educational institutions and intelligent infrastructure: · High Mobility · Affordable and quality education · Modern and powerful infrastructure

cesses and their mutual interactions.

ons) and results (services). However, the aim is to strengthen a city/region/village

government), academia, citizens and industry.

The Reference Architectural Framework (basic pattern) can be planted in the overall frame of the „Digital Czechia“ model, for

Liveability of the city/municipality/region

and its competence in relation to the strategy elements, basic governance pro-

„Smart City“ is a term used by technologists, urbanists and economists all around the world that interconnects wide area of concepts (strategies), initiatives (innovati-

·

GOVERNMENT/MUNICIPALITIES – effective decision-making, cooperation, cost reduction, flexible public services, creating conditions for the development of „smart“ concepts.

CITIZENS – better community coherence, improved social equality, increased employment, better quality of life.

RESEARCH – new innovative solutions, accelerating the creation of „startups“ and exploiting talent/knowledge.

CORPORATE SECTOR – implementation of innovations, development of new businesses, development of new products and services, private investment.

The binding element of the „Digital Czechia concept“ is a reference diagram linked to the entire government agenda. The Smart city, village, region („Smart City“ concept) is incorporated into the model as a „pattern ability“ (Archimate element). Its internal structure is taken over by the author of an article from the City of Edmonton „Smart City“ strategy. It is decomposed into 3 sub-“abilities“, each of which realizing 3 objectives:

a model of strategies/ set of strategies (goals, indicators, initiatives), actors

resolution), which aim is to change the basic paradigm of the public administration “governing directly regarding the law“, so “if the paper is written I require paper”,

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a set of digital objects, their properties and interrelations (context). The models exist

executive services that is provided to the service user in an electronic form by infor-

Smart Administration and Strategic framework of public administration development 2014-2020

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issue. An example can be a reference architecture of a ministry or a „Smart City“.

Digital „governance “. In this regard the term tackles the digitization of „public execu-

mation and communication technologies.

A set of „Smart City“ concepts, if we accept its broader (foreign) interpretation and not the definition from the Czech Wikipedia, is, like „digital transformation“, a transdisciplinary issue. In the „Digital Czechia“, the pillar of „Digital Economy and society“, partly „Information concept of the Czech Republic“ and also in the global and border issues is covered by the „Czech Republic in Digital Europe“.

It is not a subset of the „digital services of the state“, conversely, these services are part the integral part (a subconcept). Actors can be described as basic target groups:

example by the diagram shown in Figure 3. Some elements of the diagram can be described in greater detail.

a permanent improving of any process where the principle is well applied.

DTO – Digital Twin of Organisation Digital twin of organization is a replication – complete virtual model – of the whole organization, or its part (a process or a service). It enables to simulate, analyse and optimize the whole system of functioning. Unlike EA working with a certain “manager” simplification it requires to include in the model digital figures of all the actives of the organization (e.g. all the employees and their job descriptions).

Figure 1 – a part of the core of the agenda content displayed as a hierarchy and relations graph.

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Flexibility of the city/municipality/region A city that is resilient, adaptive, with well-planned development and overall flexibility. This can withstand external shocks such as economic crises, epidemics, traffi c collapse. · Partnership of municipal government and citizens/inhabitants forms the services · Flexible and transparent planning · Open Public Finance Management The key „business“ objects of the model are cataloged on the right side of the diagram – indicated in particular highly desirable cooperation at the level of V4 countries (larger market for the corporate sector, more savings for the state and municipal government) – including institutionalization of joint activities and a gradually built service catalogue, created from pilot projects and a catalogue of solutions.

: Vision of digital transformation management ZThe core digital transformation management tools should be „National Architecture framework“ and „National architecture plan“. It is a set of methods and models, which are prepared as part of the outputs of „Digital Czechia“ within the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic (MV ČR). Another planned tool is the methodology called „Public Administration ICT Management Procedures“ also prepared by MV ČR. The key instrument in the area of eGovernment will also be the har-

Rizika a hrozby

Digitální Česko

V4+ ČR

Polsko

Slovensko

Maďarsko

Principy budování rámce "Smart City" Ostatní (EU)

ČDE

IKČR

DES

Chytré město/obec ("Smart City")

Katalog služeb "Smart City"

Obyvatelnost města/obce Služba A Zdraví obyvatelstva

Rozvoj komunity

Optimální životní prostředí

Ekonomická výkonnost města/obce Vysoká mobilita

Dostupné a kvalitní vzdělání

Moderní a výkonná infrastruktura

Pružnost města/obce Partnerství samosprávy a občanů/obyvatel

Flexibilní a transparentní plánování

Otevřená správa veřejných financí

Aktéři strateg.rámce SC Schopnost řízení strategického rámce a referenční architektura "Smart City" Zajištění rozpočtu na realizaci rámce

Referenční architektura SC

Koncepty SC

Institucionalizace rámce SC

Metodika a procesy rámce SC Projekt rozvoje strategického rámce "Smart City"

Program ověřovacích projektů "Smart City" (Inovační katapult) Demostrátor X

Program inovačních iniciativ "Smart City"

Katalog pilotních projektů "Demostrátory"

Katalog řešení

Dotační výzva Y

monization of the „Information concepts“ of authorities with Information concept of the Czech Republic (Act 365Sb. and Decree 529).

Ambiguities and „white spots“ can be identified in the field of management and coordination of individual sub-strategies and cross-cutting concepts. Such as, for example, Smart City, but also many others. The Central eGovernment systems, shared services and infrastructure can be mapped and optimized using the Enterprise Architecture tools, as it is possible to predict that more or less competent architects will rule the model. By contrast, politicians and senior officials of central administration and municipal government govern the „strategic layer“. For them, it is hard to consider (besides exceptions) the right qualification at the level of work with the digital model, nor at the level of improvement. The problem is often the basic qualification in the discipline of „process thinking“, application of the principle of feedback and continuous improvement in the management processes (PDCA feedback loop in the management processes).

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Content (Central) Cataloging of all applicable concepts (their objectives and intentions/actions/projects), their gestors – active actors (including hundreds of different commissions, committees and working groups) and main outcomes.

Of course, it is mandatory to share this output (knowledge) in a common communication. The big challenge is to ensure that this record is updated by individual gestors. The evidence should become the part of the National architecture plan. The relevant action is part of the implementation plans.

Simplification of Digital Models outputs into simple „flat“ structures (catalogues of objectives and actions) with clearly defined managerial responsibilities and in successive simple management „dashboards“ serving as a tool for executives. Suitable methods and tools provide e.g. the „Balanced Scorecard“ (BSC) methodology – a de facto standard for implementing a strategy commonly used in the corporate sector.

·

Process standardization and cataloging of change management procedures. Unfortunately, in this area, the issue cannot be confined to the „digital transformation“ area, as it cannot often be separated by digital and non-digital issues. These processes should form a system of loops and a description of their interactions at the level of international coordination (EU, V4), national coordination (central and shared services), state organizations and region – city/municipality.

·

In parallel, there must be a gradual increasing of public administration and municipal government qualification

It is clear that successful transformation (change) explicitly requires setting up management processes into several nested loops with mutual interaction, as shown in Figure 4.

: Final recommendations A certain (and about the only) possibility of solving this complex management problem is:

Figure 3 – Basic diagram „RASC“ - Reference Architecture of Smart City concept.

Katalog aktivátorů (legislativa, standardy/normy EU, Best Practice ze světa)

Figure 4 – Strukture of governing/coordination process loops in the change management.

smart : one Figure 2 – Diagram of an overview map with relations of „Digital Czechia”.

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in modern management. It is necessary to urgently change the understanding of strategic management from the concept of „concept/strategy as a static document“ to concepts/strategies as a combination of dynamic model and continuous process. ·

For some entities with individual ambitions – some cities or successful authorities, there is an opportunity to „overtake“ the peloton and become a „leader“ of digital transformation. One of the appropriate forms is the creation of complete digital model of the entity – „Digital twin“ with the possibility of full optimization of operation with the help of advanced analyses and simulations. This would certainly help to create the necessary „best practice“ examples to others.

#Martin Tax

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„

The ®evolution of Smart City through smart investments SO YOU ALREADY HAVE IT, SMART LIGHTING/PARKING/WASTE COLLECTION. AND HOW MUCH DID IT COST? HOW MANY OF YOUR PEOPLE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING WITH THIS SYSTEM? DOES IT MAKE

Motto:

„Exceptional scientific advances, the most amazing technological conveniences, the highest economic growth without authentic social and moral progress will ultimately turn against man“ Pope John Paul II.

As above we could start a discussion on the current understanding of Smart City – understanding through technological solutions. Such an understanding does not lead to progress. There is a certain number of interconnected pilot installations in different locations, which mostly do not have a factual impact on the quality of life of people, and that is precisely the goal in Smart City. The underlying mistake is that we do not implement innovations as launching new or innovated public services in the territory, i.e. what this state/region/city/municipality actually offers to me, as a citizen, and who will ensure this service is provided in the desired quality. Thus, citizens do not identify with a given innovation (they do not have an immediate practical value) and therefore refuse or do not require it. Thus there is no political (electic) order, and thus the concept of Smart City is not a mainstream investment, but only a marginal issue.

ECONOMIC SENSE? AND ARE CITIZENS EXCITED AND WILL THEY VOTE FOR YOU AGAIN?

: CONTENT: why, how, what The concept of Smart City is too difficult for us, because we do not have a strategy that aims to tell us WHY we need a thing and why to invest in it. American sociologist Simon Sinek (example: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPYeCltXpxw) explains that we have to start with WHY, then we will have several ways HOW to accomplish this, and they’ll tell us WHAT we need to buy and how to operate it. We do not have this in Smart City, which is manifested by the fact that we do not have set sources of financing for the deployment of innovations, which has negative effects on both the competitiveness and innovation of companies and the smartness of our cities.

For example, if a certain unnamed Czech city has established a service for the navigation of handicapped people on free parking spaces above only 47 parking spaces for XY million crowns, the added value (quality of life) is only for „a few“ of locals and it is certainly an inefficient use of public funds. But if the state decided that this would be a public service in all municipalities over 5 000 inhabitants up to the year 2022 (National goal), and would offer funding to this strategic intent (Grant scheme) and would state the uniform form of the service and data (minimum Standard for public competitions) for the emergence of many user applications (Open data and standard API for local innovation). This is a service for one large user group (In the Czech Republic there was 425k disabled people in 2017, i.e. slightly over 4 %, in Slovakia 235k, i.e. 4.3 %, Source: finance.cz). The service may be accompanied by other services for this user group (Strategy for digital inclusion), thereby creating a set of Innovative public services for the handicapped, which can bring about both financial and technological synergies and improved care (Improving the quality of life). However, other groups may have benefits (Beneficiaries), e.g. it can be statistically assessed whether the standard requirements for the number of parking spaces for handicapped are correct and in many places their number could change (Change of standard) causing thus the emergence of „new“ parking spaces for the normal driver we should mention that the construction of one parking space costs at least 150k CZK). In this way, the economic arguments can contribute to the decision why we should have such a service. The Slovaks are now smarter – they are preparing this service over 6 000 parking places throughout Slovakia, even because there is DEUS, i.e. Slovak „model“ of the provision of

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TERMS AND DEFINITIONS : Reference Architecture for Smart City (RASC) Smart City (SC) is a modern data-driven municipality governance, providing digital services to citizens and other beneficiaries openly and in synergy at all levels of government, using for their development digital planning tools and engaging interest groups and the public based on democracy principles Innovative Public Service (IPS) is a user-oriented and functionally defined public service exploiting the synergies of smart solutions, places, tools and organizations; smart public administration takes into account relevant innovative public services when investing in different areas and locations, respecting the needs of all beneficiaries, and therefore puts the conditions on the investment to achieve maximum synergies of public investment (value for money) Smart Public Administration is an innovation logic for overcoming organizational, process and technological barriers, overcoming silo-thinking and promoting investment in public service innovation (national and Central European space); simplifying the functioning of public administration models based on services Smart Solution is a single organizational or technological solution of a supplier, a product or a more complex system consisting of several products that address a part or a phase of an IPS; one solution can be part of multiple services, and one service can have multiple solutions Smart Place is a standard functionally defined type space on the city infrastructure (e.g. library, co-working center, PT stop) or city area (e.g.

Smart District), which, using a set of smart solutions, serves to provide innovative public services through various tools and organizations, taking into account the needs of all users and beneficiaries.

Smart Tool is a tool working with various data and resources that provides information for efficient public administration decisions through visualization, simulation, big data, sensor networks, etc. (e.g. map or analytical BI tools) Smart Organization is an organization supported from public sources (e.g. public transport company), which uses smart places and smart tools to provide innovative public services National goals is the use of a service description definition in national planning; numerically expressed objectives give the possibility to use additional criteria in public procurement and their non-sectoral formulation allows to apply the needs of different sectors in specific projects Beneficiary is a legal or natural person, public institution or public administration entity benefiting from an IPS being deployed; correct identification of beneficiaries allows to identify an adequate service management model, i.e. financing, operation, maintenance and improvement, including an appropriate system of operator and user training Demonstrator is a project of one or more IPS considering the 16 principles of Smart City according to the methodology of the Czech ministry of regional development 2015, linking different smart solutions into a single value chain of a public service. The result of the demonstrator is the standard terms for procurement for subsequent replication of achieved results. Replication can be ensured both through the delivery of an innovative public service and a new instance of a given service (connecting to an existing demonstrated service in the form of an instance).

digital services to the municipalities up to 20k inhabitants (Smart public administration). The Mayor of the small Slovak village does not have to care about technology/system and related property and operation issues but is only provided with the service from the state (through e.g. a Web interface with data). This also reduces the demands on digital skills and therefore other (e.g. staff ) worries and the mayor can fully devote to the basic purpose why he/she has been elected – the needs of citizens and the development of the municipality. It also creates a technological standard – a unified form of service, which stimulates innovations (Rules for follow-up systems) and data-driven administration (Good townkeeper decision-making). And these are the germs of the National digital planning of public services in the territory as the cornerstone of Smart City.

: FORM - Public debate But to know what services we really need, who should buy them and operate them, who to pay, what digital and data tools are needed to do so, who will have access to data, etc., we need to create on one side Catalogue of Innovative public services (IPS), on the other hand National goals (IPS deployment plan). Because Smart City is a holistic concept, every IPS requires knowledge of many professions. For the successful appearance of the above concepts, the creation of the Catalogue is necessary not in the form of interdepartmental working groups or commissions, but through participation of expert groups in one digital instrument. For innovation to succeed on the market and become „excellent innovations“ (those with a significant impact on quality of life or economy), we need a much larger market, a central European market. Logically, this implies that we

need a central European consensus over the standards of Innovative public services, so that public investment supports the cooperation of Central European innovation companies in the global market.

That’s why we‘ve prepared iCityPoint.eu as a central European crowdsourcing platform for public discussion, commenting and suggestions of National goals, Innovative public services and Smart City concepts. The first proposed concepts are „National goals“ and „Smart PT stop“.

: PROCEDURE: National innovation catapult and demonstrators At the Innovate UK (British research agency) in 2016, after 5 years of operation and practical experience of the National innovation Catapult for Smart cities (Future Cities Catapult, FCC), they managed to prepare, finance and drive demonstration projects in cities, finally they were able to conclude that “the smart” consists in organizing. In the organization of work, investments, participation of interest groups, so that the investments are smarter considering the needs of all groups involved. In the Czech Republic, but also in other post-communist states, we have no experience with large demonstration projects (e.g. the construction of a smart urban district), and therefore it is offered to learn from the advanced Brits and try to adapt some of their knowledge and procedures to our, ideally a central European environment. In this logic the next steps are the establishment of the National Innovation Catapult and the preparation and financing of Demonstrators.

Therefore, we are very pleased that this (RASC) logic was accepted by the ministries concerned of Smart City agenda and on 5th March 2019 in Bratislava they signed Joint statement by V4 states on cooperation on the creation of a single central European innovation market for municipalities. The individual elements of the agreement are: ·

Promoting cooperation among international expert groups and establishing common platforms for sharing and standardizing Innovative public services and creating a common Catalogue of these services

·

Support for the standardisation of IPS through joint/shared demonstration projects and their shared evaluation

·

Support for the deployment of innovative solutions in the territory so that it operates beyond the boundaries of cities/regions, i.e. connecting regions (and cross-border) through innovative public services

·

Promoting innovation and education for better crossborder cooperation among innovative companies

·

Support for cooperation with other Innovative catapults (e.g. FCC or Nordic Edge) and support for sharing datasets and knowledge through the Knowledge Government

The Statement states that innovation and smart city will be an integral part of the agenda of the forthcoming V4 presidencies. From 1st July 2019 V4 is chaired by Czech Republic.

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: PRINCIPLES

LESSONS LEARNT

With colleagues from the open Think tank RASC, we put together principles that lead to the setting of the strategy of the State or even the Central European region. The goal is to create a Catalog of Innovative Public Services (IPS) provided by Central European municipalities to:

: If we want to innovate, we need to know: What resources we have for innovation. So Smart City cannot „stick“ to existing processes and services but be integrated into them. The output is both the higher quality of the public service and the new level of sustainability given by the resources, including financial. A good innovation has therefore a sustainable financial model The State is to support Innovative public services defined in the right way: ·

·

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Because it wants to enforce some innovation - the National goal) (for example, we do not want to support single-purpose radars at the edge of each village providing just current speed information, but we want the Traffic data model for beneficiaries – County and State – for example, for the road repair competition for quality or traffic safety solutions in municipalities – the number of trucks, cars and their speed in close real time (useful for nationwide census of Transport, coordinated planning of traffic constraints, Planning of new transport constructions, navigation of drivers and services for logistics companies, etc.). The service may have different technological solutions.

Each Innovative Public Service (i.e. Smart City innovation) must cope with the identification of stakeholders, beneficiaries, clients and providers in a standardized manner.

(You cannot build, for example, IoT infrastructure separately for eHealth, transport, water management… and then find that it is hard to fund the operation).

It only supports the emergence of innovation at the level of the community-type demonstrator. Thus, the part of the costs associated with the innovation itself and the participation of other equivalent entities and the stakeholders of its creation. The funding of solutions acquisition is inefficient, which proved in the eGovernment, where we do not have the necessary services, especi-

ally in small 5k municipalities, and for bigger municipalities there are 7700 separate expensive pilot solutions, which have a difficult sustainability and do not provide information to regional and national systems for digital planning. The logic of land support from the Technology centers of regions failed precisely because it was not determined how the project would look in the implementation phase. ·

Promotes the work of innovation structures, while protecting these structures from the influence of cartel-type players.

Their role is in creating the product breakdown of IPS.

Planned effects (from CBA) must be evaluated and Innovation funds should be created. These tools can be appropriately combined according to benefits of beneficiaries and financial and investment instruments.

Innovative stimuli need to be addressed in a holistic approach.

The problem with parking can only be solved at the level of motives for traveling by car, and with the related missing service offered in the place of residence, not with the parking lots with blue stripes!

·

TRUST/STANDARDS: A public investor should be safe enough when investing in innovations. The safety is made by existing standards of innovative services not solutions (i.e. not just the acquisition of assets, but also the operation and quality of the service provided).

·

SECTORAL SYNERGY: Existing public sector investments in public assets are smart when considering all the needs of the beneficiaries concerned.

·

INVESTMENT COHERENCE: Individual SC strategies should respect their surroundings, i.e. they are linked to strategies of higher level of public government or state-owned units (i.e. they fulfill national/regional/urban and municipal goals usually processed within the vision of the city/region, e.g. transport cannot be solved in the city, but in the entire catchment area).

·

DIGITIZATION: Investment should fulfil the principles of the Industrial Revolution 4.0, Investments consider the creation of data, data models and digital models and their management, and support the emergence of digital planning and data-driven management of cities, municipalities and regions.

Smartness is thus perceived as the ability of public administrations to invest conceptually, innovatively and interdependent among disciplines, among public bodies and regarding digital planning. Smart City is thus perceived as provision of innovative public services by public administrations in the territory. #David Bárta, Pavel Nácovský, open think tank RASC, Reference Architecture of Smart city

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Slovakia is working on the Action plan

for smart cities IN SLOVAKIA, THERE ARE MORE ORGANIZATIONS DEVOTED TO CREATING CONDITIONS FOR SMART CITIES AND REGIONS. THE MOST ACTIVE IS THE MINISTRY OF ECONOMY OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC. AS EARLY AS 2017, IT PUBLISHED A DOCUMENT THE SUPPORT INNOVATIONS IN SLOVAK TOWNS AS THE FIRST OFFICIAL STATE DOCUMENT DEVOTED TO SMART CITIES. IN THE MEANTIME, IN 2018, THE MINISTRY CAME WITH A SUPPORTIVE SCHEME FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED COMPANIES IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INNOVATIONS IN THE MUNICIPALITIES, WHICH INCLUDED THREE PHASES.

In the first phase, the ministry has supported pilots up to 10.000 Euro, and in additional subsidies of 20.000 Euro for feasibility studies funded by 100 %. In the second phase, the verification of the provided solution is up to a maximum of 150,000 Euro co-funded by 50 %. In the third phase, the commercialization should happen, where funding can be in the form of PPP, by structural Eu funds or by a bank loan. From 23 applications the ministry has supported 10 projects, which have been proposed by companies in cooperation with cities and towns, focusing on public lighting, data, transport and parking, quality of environment, city development and logistics.

After the publication and the support scheme for small and medium-sized enterprises, the Ministry of Economy comes to the next step and thus is the preparation of the Smart Cities Action plan. It wants to make use of good experience gained in the preparation of the Industry 4.0 Action plan, which was prepared by a close group of experts and commented on the broader platform. The platform was represented by all the critical actors involved in the topic. The Ministry has succeeded in patient negotiation to get material to the government without contradicts. Also, in the theme of smart cities the ministry wants to do the same.The Main objective of the Smart Cities Action plan, according to the experts, should be creating conditions

for the development of the smart solutions and innovative services and a support of Slovak innovations and new companies. It is not just about innovation for cities, but also for municipalities, Functional urban areas (the municipalities are linked to the center of the region by natural ties) and self-governing regions which use technologies to improve the lives of citizens, improving quality and efficiency of provided public services.The region or city as the center of the region will have the capacity to provide selected innovative services for the whole region, which municipalities or smaller citieswould not be able to purchase and operate themselves. The Action plan is to cover the period up to 2022and it should createessential environment for the development of the smart solutions and innovation market, includinghigher support of investment bythe Government.

The Ministry of economy wants by the actions from the Action plan to achieve an increase share of Slovak innovative solutions on the global market and promotethe creation of a Single Central European market in the form of innovative partnerships with Central European partners. It turned out well on 5th conference “Slovakia on the way to smart cities”, organized by the Ministry together with the Slovak Smart Cities Club. This conference has been held for the first time by the representatives of the ministries responsible for this area from the V4 countries who have adopted a Joint Statement on how they intend to continue their cooperation.

The development of a single smart solutions and innovation market will mean an increase in the supply of proven solutions and innovative services, notably Slovak but also foreign companies, based on the use of digital technologies and data production tools, their analysis and the creation of innovative services in order to be included in the Catalogue of innovative services.

This will be possible based on their verification in livelaboratories and within demonstration projects at the appropriate level of the governance enabling to scale-up innovative services in other municipalities and creation of the follow-up local innovations.

Based on the Action plan the municipalities will gain opportunities for systematic and strategic investment planning in the territory (digital planning), including standardized smart solutions and innovations, rather than isolated projects, including the interlinked digital planning at all levels of the governance and the use of digital models of individual agendas and services. The Action plan will support the systematization of existing data and new data on the key areas of life of the managed territory, their analysis and the way they are disclosed, including the quality of data and scenarios for their possible use.

Through the catalogue of verified innovative services, municipalities will be given the opportunity to prioritize those which meet their conditions and needs. And so, in the traditional areas of smart solutions such as smart mobility, adaptation to climate change, energy self-sufficiency, public space cultivation, the

development of communities or public engagement, as well as in areas where future innovation is still being incurred.

The Action plan will also bring together tools to improve the governance of municipalities, more effective cooperation between departments, more effective cooperation between municipalities in the territory, including staff digital skillsfor creation and implementation of smart solutions and innovations and the necessary training in this field. It bringsalso tools to better linking municipalities with citizens. The Action plan will also address the possibilities of funding for municipal plans, using own resources, savings-based funding, loans financing or by using the European Structural funds and Communitarianprogrammes.

The Action plan will also support domestic and international cooperation in this area, consisting of several actors, from Public authorities, municipalities, industrial enterprises, academia, up to experts associated in professional organizations. Similarly, cooperation of partners first within the V4 but also throughout the European Union, especially those with concrete results, asThe Nordic authorities, the British and Dutch cities and regions. This will allow for the creation of comprehensive innovative public services covering the whole chain of solutions compiled from specific suppliers‘ products that can be promoted in the European market for smart solutions and innovations only as a whole. It enables to Slovak innovators to establish prospective trade relations and extend the potential market through partners in a priority in V4+ who can activelyparticipate in the value chain of an Innovative public service.

For the elaboration of concrete actions, the experts proposed the following Priority areas: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Strategic planning for the development of smart solutions and innovations in the context of digital transformation Data pool for smart solutions and innovations Living Labs and demonstrators to demonstrate and scale innovative public services, create and manage the Catalogue of innovative services Smart governance, education and financing Domestic and foreign cooperation in support of the market for innovative services and the promotion of export of Slovak solutions

It is assumed that the Action plan should be processed by mid2019 and should subsequently be submitted for approval to the Government of the Slovak Republic. The Ministry of Economy aims to jointly prepare the framework and conditions for the creation of an ecosystem of smart cities. #Milan Ftáčnik

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eGovernment as part of a smart city I AM HONORED TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE TOPIC OF EGOVERNMENT AS PART OF THE SMART CITY. THE TOPIC OF EGOVERNMENT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR THE MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR AND I WOULD LIKE TO PRESENT WHAT THE MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR HAS BEEN DOING IN THIS AREA. AND I EMPHASIZE THAT THERE IS A LOT OF WORK DONE BECAUSE THE MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR HAS A DEDICATED ROLE AS A LEADER IN EGOVERNMENT DEVELOPMENT AND TAKES MANY STEPS IN THIS ROLE, WHICH IN TURN INFLUENCE THE PROCESSES WITHIN OTHER DEPARTMENTS.

I want to devote myself mainly to some communication and information infrastructure, which could be shared in the context of the concept of smart services in the future.

I recall the Integrated telecommunications network of the Ministry of Interior, the so-called KIVS (i.e. Telecommunication infrastructure of public services and the so-called Central site of Services (CMS).

CMS is a geographically redundant communication infrastructure comprising data centers and regional connectors connected by a mass-link network. I can guarantee that the infrastructure is built to be robust enough to meet not only the current requirements, but also the expected increase in data exchange and the range of services in the public administration in the coming years. Electronic communications networks are used and interconnected through the CMS and is the only place to exchange data among different public administration information systems, while at the same time the only point of interconnection to the public network of the Internet and specific non-public networks, e.g. Networks of the European Union.

Central publications of services in a secure CMS environment can serve both public administrations and in the area discussed, while respecting the rules for ensuring cyber protection and other operating conditions of the environment.

It is also important to talk about the Citizen portal. It is one of the pillars of our current work at the Ministry of Interior.

The citizen portal has been fully operational in 2018 and its usefulness depends on how it is used by citizens, for example, it is of utmost importance that Municipalities portals will connect to the Citizen portal.

The portal is already accessible by Social care administration services, The services of the ministry of Interior, State Institute for Drug control or Cadastral services. There is also access to the Business register, the Central register of drivers or to the General Financial Directorate.

The Citizen portal is simply a new signpost of public administration services of the Czech Republic. Likewise, and

with the Citizen portal, this topic is closely related, we need the cooperation of the municipalities to establish themselves as natural persons of the data mailbox. We did a few things to make them more accessible. We have redesigned the eGovernment data mailbox environment, added new functionalities, added responsive design, including the ability to be used on mobile devices, the ability to log into data mailbox using an eCitizen identity card. But if the officers at the desks will discourage citizens from the data mailbox or explain all the benefits, then it is certain that we cannot handle it.

Thank you for the opportunity to contact the reader with this post and I believe it will not be the last one on the topic.

#JUDr. Jaroslav Strouhal, Deputy Minister of the Interior for Information and Communication Technologies

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PROJECT KOMMUNAL 4.0 CONTRIBUTES TO DIGITALIZATION OF WATER INFRA-

SMART cities need SMART infrastructure

STUCTURE IN GERMANY. IN LONG TERM, INVESTMENTS TO PUBLIC WATER SECTOR INFRASTRUCTURE REACH € 7 MLD EVERY YEAR. MANY YEARS DEVELOPED SYSTEMS OFTEN REPRESENT THE MAJOR PART OF THE CITY PROPERTY. ITS 70% CONSIST OF THE WASTEWATER AND RAINWATER FACILITIES, SUCH AS SEWERS, TREATMENT PLANTS OR RAINWATER RETENTION SITES.

In the past, the design and proportion planning of sewerage networks carried out considering the evolution of population growth, industry or weather forecast for a very long period.

From today’s perspective, some of these assumptions seems to be weak or even inadequate. Nowadays, water network operators have to deal with the optimization of the infrastructure in the view of climate change and public sector needs and wants. Finally, changes in legislation require general paradigm shift and change in approach to planning and operating these often-complicated structures. Adaptation to new circumstances is necessary. To ensure the flexibility and optimization, real-time, well processed and evaluated data driven operation and planning is the way to go.

Water Locks W

Water Tower W

Combined Sewer Channels (CSO)

Precipitation

Water Shafts W

Polder Dams

Water Wells W

W Water works

SBR-Treatment T Plants

Your project Y

r ions

W Water ways

Sewer Networks Stormwater Pumping Stations

TTransverse Structure

Structures for CSO reduction

: Higher flexibility and digitalization

W Water TTreatments

: Project KOMUNAL 4.0 The KOMUNAL 4.0 project is one of 16 selected projects out of a total of 130 registered, in the selection of the German “SMART SERVICE WELT” Ministry of Economy and Energy (BMWi). This project is part of the so-called „Digital Agenda“ of the Federal Government of Germany. Launched in April 2016 and is due to end in 2019. The project is being processed by a consortium of three technology companies and three academic institutions led by HST Hydro-Systemtechnik GmbH & Co. The goal of the project is to develop a digital data and service platform that would allow flexible design in the future and operating all water infrastructure based on an already built or newly created Internet network.

: Problem definition

© HST Systemtechnik GmbH & Co. KG | K4.0 Bild 2017

a at wage

The current state of digitalisation development, Internet-based industry called as Industry 4.0 seems very inspiring.

The principles, ideas and products as well as services can also be implemented into municipal water-infrastructure. Based on this idea, a project called KOMUNAL 4.0 was created which aims to implement a wide range of digitalisation into the public sector. The two main areas, such as wastewater management and drinking water distribution were selected.

Designing and project works in municipal water sector is usually at local level. For example, sewerage sizing systems are always suitable for one limited area, so the excessive rainfall in another area may lead to overloading a wastewater treatment plant or a relief chamber. Thanks to system integration of all infrastructure that goes beyond regional arrangements, better utilization of the wastewater treatment volumes and adequate operation strategies can be designed and selected as gover-

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• • • •

• • •

Unification of data transfer from individual heterogeneous CPS Systems (Cyber Physics Systems) Web-based data platform development for transformation and storage the collected data Development of flexible data architecture for future use in the form of an intranet or the Internet Development of custom design engineering tools, benchmarking, network monitoring, maintenance optimization, etc.

To create a network and data security concept together with aspects of so-called cloud computing Development of digital economic models as a basis for future use in real municipal management Development of analytical modules for interconnection between municipal resorts such as transportation, city management, etc. (municipal e-Government)

: New ideas and its applications Use of today’s deployed smart devices, the so-called Smart Machines, merging them into local systems, adding another devices and subsequent integration into central systems is basic purpose of the KOMUNAL 4.0 project.

ning. The same methods can be applied to drinking water supply, which is especially emerging since the dry summer periods with increasing frequency are occurring nowadays.

So far, infrastructure data collection and transmission are today for this purpose insufficient. It involves not only individual areas, but in some cases within a single territorial unit as well. Another fundamental problem is often insufficient monitoring of important quantities, such as rainfall, wastewater flow, leakage, etc.

: Goals

but is concentrated locally, or at regional operating centres for wastewater treatment plants facilities and drinking waterworks. Furthermore, these data are very heterogeneous and exist in various digital formats. They should be all collected on a central platform, uniformed and secured. Then, selected data should be publicly available, and one could use them for management, optimization and designing new infrastructure and urban areas development.

An important aspect in the design of this platform is the creation of safety concept, backed up by legislation at both, local and international level (GDPR, etc.)

Theoretical designs and concepts and its feasibilities are verified in so-called pilot projects. Several suggestions and recommendations were collected from the water infrastructure operating companies and the most suitable selected for the project intentions of KOMUNAL 4. 0. The involvement of the infrastructure owners played an important role as well.

To verify the theoretical proposals, the members of the KOMUNAL 4.0 has developed digital modules and these have been adapted to infrastructure. Pilot list projects is listed below.

The selected sites were implemented and tested with basic modules KOMUNAL 4.0 for one year. Project KOMUNAL 4.0 and the outcomes of the pilot projects will be presented at the international trade fair URBIS 2019 in Brno, Czech Republic, on 5th to 6th June by HST Systemtechnik GmbH & Co. #Petr Hellmich, HST

The aim of KOMUNAL 4.0 is to create a central data service system and related service platforms. Employing these, it will be possible to conduct automatic water management infrastructure, to create datasets for new infrastructure of waterworks and networks and, finally, to design optimization of these systems. Large amount of data needed does already exist,

: Performance The first step is to define basic data format and data platforms that will serve as the headstone in the future for all other operations. Then:

Pilot projects KOMUNAL 4.0 Stadtwerke Schäbisch Gmünd (Gmünd City Services) – operation management and supply of the drinking water Entsorgungsbetrieb der Stadt Siegen (City Technical Services Siegen) – software tool on optimization, control and sewer maintenance City of Öhringen – mathematical sewer behavior module during rain events and follow-up precautions Heesefeld Association of Municipalities Wastewater Treatment Plant Sölingen – modern implementation of control strategies together with control the entire sewerage system

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Smart City Guidance Package: an open access tool for integrated planning and implementation of smart city projects

smart : one

1: Introduction Across the world, many cities and urban stakeholders have the ambition to create sustainable cities, adjusted to the era of digitisation, which are pleasant to live in. The wealth of urban data, the increased connectivity of urban objects through the Internet-of-Things (IoT) and advanced, interoperable ICT, energy and mobility technologies, have opened new avenues for the application of smart solutions and the transition to clean energy and mobility systems in cities. Cities are looking into this potential, experimenting in living labs and applying smart technologies in ambitious projects, such as Sustainable Energy Action Plans, Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans and Horizon2020 lighthouse projects.

2: A need for integrated planning and implementation of smart city projects The European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities aims since 2012 to accelerate the market uptake of smart sustainable city solutions. Industry, cities, research institutes and NGO’s work together in Action Clusters by exploring options, shaping the right preconditions and making deals through matchmaking between financial organisations and cities. However, persistent barriers have so far led to a highly fragmented market: less attractive business models, difficult engagement of citizens and other stakeholders, siloed governments, and an often-lacking long-term perspective for current policy and decision making. As a result, projects might be difficult to prepare and manage, overlooking potential synergies, underperforming in reduction of CO2 and energy use, or not delivering results valued by end-users.

Figure 1 Testbed in Brno, Czech Republic, 30 January 2019

The Action Cluster Integrated Planning, Policy and Regulatory Frameworks focuses on how to realise integrated planning and implementation of smart city projects, and how governmental responsibilities as policies and regulatory frameworks influence their success. It developed the Smart City Guidance Package (SCGP) to support integrated planning and implementation, by providing a roadmap, describing common situations in practice, and giving real-life examples of approaches and instruments that have been successfully applied. Because decisions on investments in the built environment and its infrastructures will have an impact on the city for decades, the life-cycle perspetive on such investments is at its heart.

3: Development of the Smart City Guidance Package The SCGP has built upon the experiences and expertise of cities, industry and researchers, not only in the Action Cluster but also from other networks and initiatives, such as Covenant of Mayors, Eurocities, CEN-CENELEC ETSI Sector Forum on Smart and Sustainable Cities and Communities, and the Smart City Information System. These experiences and expertise were collected in various workshops. Following, substantive desk research on deliverables of projects from CONCERTO Programme, EU Framework 7 and Horizon2020, was performed to gain insight into best practices and key success factors. A first draft version of the SCGP was published in June 2017. Methods developed by the European Energy Award, an association of more than 1500 local governments working since 1997 on energy efficient neighbourhoods, proved very useful as a basis for the SCGP roadmap and were adjusted to its wider scope. Lastly, interviews with key players in the field, project managers of demonstrators, shed light on barriers and possible solutions. The information gathering focused not only on best practices, but also on failures, and validated the needs of cities that want to start with smart city projects. In the end, a draft version of the roadmap was tested in five cities across Europe, namely Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Vaasa, Sofia, Brno and Parma in one-day workshops. All these cities are participating in Horizon2020 SCC01 projects as fellow cities, aiming to implement the solutions currently demonstrated in the lighthouse cities.

The feedback from the participants in these testbeds has been extremely useful to adjust the structure, language and communication style of the final version of the SCGP.

4: Beneficiaries and supported processes The SCGP wants to contribute to better policy and decision making, by informing both the political level of local governments and its strategists and advisers, and the operational level, such as directors of units, technical staff, and project managers of Smart City projects. What is more, the SCGP can also be used to in communication with key allies of the city, such as energy network and transport operators. The SCGP summarises lessons-learnt in smart city and low energy

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smart : one ctive, emphasizes cross-domain collaboration, and considers the different roles and interests of stakeholders in the local ecosystem. In this way, coherency and a holistic perspective are ensured throughout the process.

district projects and discloses this information to others. It is essentially meant as a self-help guide, offering a roadmap and inspirational examples to cities and urban stakeholders who have the ambition to start developing and implementing their own smart city projects in the nearby future, and want to orient themselves on what to expect and prepare beforehand with respect to integrated planning and management.

As such, the SCGP helps to prepare the next generation of smart city and low energy district projects, and to involve new cities and urban stakeholders, within and outside the EIP-SCC, thus fostering a pipeline of projects. In addition, the SCGP can support a wide variety of related other policies and initiatives,

The path from planning to implementation, as depicted in Figure 2, can be summarized as follows: •

If an overall long-term city vision is not in place, the first stage creates a vision that is shared with and supported by other internal and external stakeholders. Otherwise,

Permanent improvement « loop »

Vision

›

Decide & commit

›

Plan

›

›

Do

Check

›

Quality Management System approach

such as the implementation of the Urban Agenda, the Energy in Buildings and Community Programme of the International Energy Agency, Urban Innovation Actions, municipalities in the European Energy Award and the Covenant of Mayors, and any other local or regional smart cities initiative.

5: A roadmap for integrated planning and implementation It is essential to have a vision shared and agreed with major stakeholders, investors and especially citizens and local businesses.

The key question is: “how do we want to see the city we are living in, in 20, 30, or 50 years from now”? The SCGP roadmap ensures a coherent elaboration of this central vision during seven consecutive stages, each refining and concretising the outcomes of the previous stage. The methodology anchors the long-term perspe-

Act

›

Replicate & scale up

an overall long- term city vision or specific plans such as SE(C)AP, might need to be attuned to smart city developments. It describes the long-term objectives for the smart city plan(s); •

•

•

•

Figure 2. Steps from vision to implementation and permanent improvement

24

From such a consensual vision capturing long term expectations for the city, a political commitment/decision of the city and the stakeholdersis needed to start preparations. These work out the vision in a strategy and proposed actions. This commitment/decision also ensures a coherent alignment with other priorities; By prioritising actions, operationalising them and defining them more narrowly, by setting precise targets and milestones, allocating responsibilities, and selecting a portfolio of projects, one or more plan(s) are drafted. Usually an urban platform for information and knowledge exchange, both internally and externally, is established to facilitate the process;

Actual implementation of plans and projects takes place in the Do stage. With a culture of achieving results, this might imply substantial amendments and changes, using a feedback loop with the subsequent stages Check and Act. This enables an iterative cycle of improvement to achieve the set targets and agreed measures, to meet the vision collectively set up and agreed upon earlier. This stage uses the feedback from: Measurement of progress and evaluation against the targets as represented by the KPI’s during the Check stage.

This continuous assessment of progress of the project, gives clues for improvement if needed;

•

Improvement by making actual changes during project implementation to ensure that the targets are met in the Act stage;

•

The stage of Replication and Upscaling organises the preconditions and support for repeating the project(s) at other locations, both within and outside the city’s territory and jurisdiction. Sharing of experiences and best practices is key to such further market uptake and acceleration of smart city solutions, as success stories build trust and help to move from consultation to agreement.

Stage 1: Vision Question : How do we see the city we are living in, in 20-30-50 years from now on?

To do 1 : Define the problem by making more precise which problem(s) we want to adress or which existing general urban vision we want to realise with smart city project(s) To do 2 : Take stock of what you would need by becoming aware of financial and organizational aspects and of stakeholders which should be engaged To do 3 : Start organising the local ecosystem by identifying, engaging and informally conslting key stakeholders, and clarifying their roles and responsibilities To do 4 : Brainstorm by discussing different aspects of the problems(s) and issues(s) with key stakeholders

Per stage, the SCGP proposes a similar structure for planning and implementing integrated smart city plans. First the key question at this stage is discussed, then follows a checklist with to do’s for each step and expected output. Finally, it refers briefly to tools and standards that can help to define the actions for the city more precisely. The guide provides numerous practical examples for the to do’s. Figure 3 shows its structure for the Stage1, Vision.

To do 5 : Create a shared knowledge base by exloring possible solutions for the problem(s) and issue(s) at stake together with key stakeholders

6: Next steps

Output : Priority in long term objectives for smart sustainable development laid down in vision

At 8 May 2019, the SCGP will be launched at the Committee of the Regions in Brussels. After that, the document will be made available as an open access, on-line publication under a Creative Commons License. The EIP-SCC continues this work in future and organise additional testbeds, with the aim of further methodology refinement and inclusion of more examples. New versions might be published in future, possibly in collaboration with the Smart City Information System. Finally, the intention to translate the SCGP in various European languages, will lower the threshold for cities to make use of this work. #Judith Borsboom-van Beurden – Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Judith.Borsboom@ntnu.no #Bernard Gindroz - BMGI Consulting/eea Europe/CEN-CENELEC-ETSI Sector Forum on Smart and Sustainable Cities and Communities #Simona Costa – Tuscan Organization for Universities and Research for Europe

To do 6 : Explore legislation and commitments by charting the preconditions and obligations following from these, which may influence the design design of your solutions binding national and EU

Tools & standards Tools direct consultations, SWOT-analysis, peer review, round tables, focus groups, broad public hearings, World Café, benchmarks, scenario plannig, foresight studies, mind-maps, innovative brainstorming methods (i.e. tree of knowledge), Espresso Maturity analysis, NESTA method Standards ISO 18901 Diagnostic of city’s readiness setting a long term vision, ISO 37101 Quality Management Systems approach, national standards if applicable

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European and Asian smart cities Alicja Korenik : student at the University of Economics in Wroclaw in the field of international economic relations. Author of the scientific monograph „Smart Cities in Europe and Asia“.

In the globalizing world, the constitutive resource is information and, equivalently to it, creative human capital capable of processing this information and acquiring knowledge from it. States, regions, and cities, to develop effectively (and compete), undeniably must have these resources, but they do so to a different degree and at various levels. A specific example are smart cities, in which an extensive process of spatial transformation of information takes place in many spheres of the city’s functioning, depending on, among others, technological advancement, cultural patterns, availability of funds, but also, unfortunately, political populism.

When comparing Asian and European smart cities with each other, it can be stated that, firstly, in a collective approach, European cities are much more like each other than Asian cities (this follows firstly from the historical past and unification of development goals of the European Union). They also cooperate with each other and shall communicate the necessary information to one another in the field of implementing intelligent urban solutions (the Ruggedised project). They focus mainly on reducing pollution and activities aimed at the efficient use of energy while improving the quality of life of city residents.

In Asia, the processes of shaping smart cities are strongly diversified (due to differences in the political system, among other factors). Japanese cities can be described as a tool for solving domestic problems (aging society, energy crisis), which, based on effective preliminary analysis, take long-term actions.

South Korean smart cities are in turn business centres, are ubiquitous and built from scratch (in Europe there is no such intelligent city), but when they were being built, the everyday needs of society were forgotten (e.g. insufficient leisure time opportunities).

Malaysian Cyberjaya has taken the path of development towards smart city after not being included into the Multimedia Economic Corridor (equivalent to the Silicon Valley) and has become a technological centre generating and clustering start-ups and high-tech innovations.

Many assumptions of the development paths of Chinese smart cities have been imposed by the central government of China.

The Chinese city of Hangzhou is at least partly run by an AI artificial intelligence and is a city that invigorates societies on an unprecedented scale (it has a huge range of private data about every inhabitant). When it comes to smart city-states (Hong Kong,

Singapore), there is an emphasis on improving the quality of life of city residents, including providing support for local communities.

Asian cities are more „technologically bold“, they implement faster and more technologically advanced solutions (of course, it also involves failures as in Chinese Ningbo) than European smart cities. For example, in Asia, the advanced Internet of Things system (IoT) is commonly used, which is often implemented as one of the basic engines of the development. In Europe, this system is less common and extensive as well as has a different structure. However, a strong IoT ecosystem is required to achieve a high level of the advanced technology development that has just been obtained in Asia and is widely believed to be essential in smart city transformation - e.g. instead of buying and implementing intelligent street traffic sensors, cities buy and implement intelligent mobility.

Despite the significant assumptions of the development of smart cities (better quality of life, energy efficiency, etc.) they remain in the sphere of influence of politicians - the smart city concept becomes a „nice-sounding“ argument in the political game, a catchy slogan through which politicians promise various revolutionary changes

(they forget about, or do not want to remember, that the transition to a smart city should be introduced rather evolutionarily, being properly analysed in advance). Urban centres, that are in a way a political battlefield, have no chance for sustainable development in the long-term perspective. Very often, the smart city formula distorts itself through the postulate of implementing a single intelligent solution, without linking it (or a plan related to it) with another solution (or system). Uncoordinated introduction of even the most innovative technologies will not translate into an increase in the quality of life of city residents - it will only end in wastage of public funds.

In the perspective of the development of the idea of an intelligent city on both continents, emphasis can be placed on its growing popularization. It seems that the more effectively cities will allocate resources and improve the quality of life of city residents, the easier they will generate important socio-economic benefits. However, in order to do this, responsible politicians are needed who will not only be guided by private interests but also (or only and exclusively) by benefits for the city as the general population, which nowadays seems to be one of the most difficult postulates to meet. #Alicja Korenik

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smart : one The concept of Smart City builds on a holistic perspective overcoming the biggest obstacle, the silos thinking (not linking isolated agendas of various departments of cities/regions and their organizations). In addition, the current practice makes Smart City projects an additional „silo“; We have projects on mobility, energy,..., and smart city. The consequence of this approach is that a significant part of public investment has not left the silo‘s thinking and is not smart, which does not bring about the necessary change/added value. We do not invest wisely. The second consequence is that Smart City projects are not perceived as an advanced strategic approach to solving the problems of the city in 21. century, but as something extra, as an unnecessary „cherry on the cake“ or a marketing bubble.

To become smart, the city needs to adjust its existing investments to match current trends, threats and the long-term vision of the city.

Public investment is becoming smart when it considers the needs of other professions than the investor‘s one. It thus naturally acquires and operates elements that serve the highest strategic intentions of the city. In general, you can talk about so-called „smart places“, i.e. places where the city provides Innovative public services.

In a holistic concept, it is always a „network of places/services“ that the city provides (one „smart street“ does not help anything).

Author of the concept – Lukasz Kuciel, INNVIA Poland, www.innvia.com

: PUBLIC Transport Stop

Ordinary stop – extraordinary city TOGETHER WITH THE OSTRAVA TRANSPORT COMPANY (DPO) WE PUT TOGETHER THE FIRST PROPOSAL FOR A FUTURE STANDARD OF EQUIPMENT AND FUNCTIONS OF OUR PUBLIC TRANSPORT STOPS. IT IS A DEMONSTRATION OF HOW WE WANT TO WORK:

One of the objectives of the White paper on transport is to launch pan-European multimodal travel services by 2020 (planning, reservation of places and payments). For this purpose, it is necessary to establish real-time data collection and distribution systems at national levels of the Member States and to equip key infrastructure points, PT stops, with relevant functionalities to provide information to passengers. Fulfilling EU requirements is a further motive for investing in smart stops.

The current standard view of both the investor and the EU is the view of the transport company/organizer, which logically addresses only „its“ needs. The smart PT stop was mistakably interpreted as a stop to provide information about the departure of real-time connections in the form of an information panel.

Innovative companies have provided mobile phone charging service or measurement of various indications, such as temperature, humidity and air pollution in pilot projects.

behaviour and orientation of citizens, as well as the management of the city and the smartness of its investments.

Smart investing means having a strategy for building a network of smart places. Such a new strategy can only be created by a participative approach of different professionals and professions, and standard terms only make sense in a larger market, e.g. Central Europe.

: TEIPT Project (2013) The Concept of a smart stop was first described in a study in the Czech national project TAČR Telematics in public transport in 2013.

It contained of 40 examples of PT stops solutions from all over the world and is available at iCityPoint.eu in1 Czech language.

Smart cities are the concept of city equipment by means of detection, communication and information technologies, so that ordinary citizens get the information they need and actively participate in the creation of their city, and that the municipal authorities can more effectively and economically implement the city‘s agenda. For the installation of these systems, suitable, preferably permanently existing, places located on the road and on which citizens spend time are chosen. The ideal infrastructure points of smart cities are public transport stops, which now represent a network of regularly visited places by travellers, in the future they could turn into information points providing citizens and visitors with valuable information and services.

The smart stop combines the needs of transport service operator, the support of communities and local economies, digital planning and the environment, which can be fulfilled in one investment plan; this represents the result of a good long-term planning and technological advancement for more efficient public administration communication with citizens.

The concept of a smart stop is an innovative approach in the concept of systems for smart cities. Therefore, it aims to improve the communication of the city with citizens, to activate civil society and to offer it certain services.

DESIGN A CONCEPT, MAKE YOU COMMENTED ON IT ON ICITYPOINT.EU, THEN USE THIS NEW STANDARD AS A COMPETITION ENTRY AND FINISH WITH THE DEMONSTRATION REALIZATION. THE DPO ON URBIS EVENT ANNOUNCES A FOLLOW-UP COMPETITION AND ITS COMMITMENT TO REALIZING THE WINNING PROPOSAL.

All similar elements are meaningful only if they are provided as a service, i.e. as a network element, as a standard of equipment for all stops of that category. A citizen as a consumer of service is so led to the habit that a certain standard of service can consume in certain places, thereby bringing the necessary order into the whole thing. This has a very positive impact on both the

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: The city can use this concept

4 smart

in the form of · ·

Information local point (infobox) for citizens and tourists; Place of public transport – PT stops informing about the arrival of the vehicles in real time, planning a ride on the spot Location on the transport network – e.g. for the installation of traffic sensors Information on local points of interest, cultural and other events Point of the Metropolitan network providing internet connection Possibility of local advertising, support e.g. local communities Technological attraction – e.g. video, contests, augmented reality Interests of the state – e.g. educational social programmes, video spots with social themes, emergency issues such as the search for missing persons, etc.

· · · · · ·

stop modules

Information Tools

Types and sources of information

Data for digital planning

Furniture and networks

It is clear from the concept described that there is no point in implementing one or several smart stops, but it is necessary to approach the concept as a building a network of stops with standard features and services.

If the city targets the introduction of this concept, then it is necessary to proceed strategically: 1

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Transfer all the stops to the administration or even the property of one organization, logically a transport company, ideally long-term lease to one manager for a symbolic price Perform a digital passport, i.e. create a digital twin of all stops, for starters it is good to have just a single database record/ passport in digital form, with map and attributes of stops Categorize stops by key parameter, e.g. number of all the vehicles´ stops based on the timetable or number of passengers from the survey carried out Determine the standard of the city-level features and services provided for each category Project connectivity or other network requirements into just being implemented or planned projects of the city and city companies Build a plan of investments in the highest-category stops (biggest impact, value for money), i.e. building key points of the future network at the points of transport hubs Organize an ecosystem of content providers at city level, elaborate rules for appropriate content and personnel provision of the system operator

#David Bárta, Michal Bočvarov (DPO)

Tools for providing information to passengers Information panels one-sided Information panels double-sided Transparent information panels Information touch panels Non-touch information panels e-paper information panels Speakers Push up notification via mobile phone (email/SMS) based on geolocation Push up notification via mobile phone (email/SMS) based on pairing with WiFi Push up notification via mobile phone (email/SMS) based on audio (data-over-voice) transmission Captive WiFi portal Printed materials, banners Printed materials, stickers LED socket/Sidewalk (or LED projector projecting to the sidewalk) For a mobile phone (Smartphone Zombies/Facebook neck), connected with V2X (arriving bus = red) Passenger connectivity Electrical socket USB Wireless charging Wifi Bluetooth Data-over-voice Ticketing Vending machine for single tickets Vending machine for credit tickets

Types and sources of information Transport Company (solution and content manager) Central CMS solution (content management system) Timetables, Current delay, Movement of cars, Traffic interruptions, Searching for connections, Traffic information, Gamification, Direct connection to the application (Web solution/Android), Emergency line connection with operator, Remote management of the ticket machine City Cultural and sporting events Promotional concepts and campaigns of the city Visualization of city plans Social and community campaigns Emergencies (smog situation, accidents...)

City district Messages from the City district Events nearby Data source for POI (Point of Interest in the map) Connection via RSS/XML/API to the system manager 3rd party Weather forecast (Metrological institute) Status of individual transport Status of parking lots Train arrivals and departures Availability of micromobility (bicycles, scooters, etc.)

Events nearby Advertising partners (preferences of support of local merchants) Connection via RSS/XML/API to the system manager State Interest eGovernment reports (expiry of ID documents, tax returns) Report of the State Police (search for missing persons/children) Nationwide events (Week of mobility, to work on the bike etc.)

Digital planning Static Data – Passport Platform/stop ID, Village/town/city, Stop name, Driving direction, Manager/Owner, Photo, Surface (masted asphalt, asphalt concrete, concrete, paving cobbles, interlocking paving), Barrierless (yes/no) Micromobility (bike racks/pedelec/electroscooters – yes/no, number of slots) WiFi available, Power connection, Optic fibres availability, Shelter type Ticket machine type, Surveillance, Number of all the vehicles´ stops and other data according to the new concept Digital Planning – dynamic data From the ticket machine : Number of tickets sold per type (for the tariff strategy) From WiFi : Number of connections, The amount of data transferred Optical network : The amount of data transferred to the system LTE/5G : The amount of data transferred to the system IoT networks : Volume of transmitted data by the system, Data from the noise meter, Min. temperature and humidity data (Meteo station), Dust particles data, Vehicle transit data in the place/area, Vibration/Shock data Camera system : Camera only as optical sensor (no video output) for counting people, Camera recording (for use by police), Video-Recognition for people counting, Video-recognition for people‘s mood measurement, Video-recognition for vehicle counting, Video-recognition for cleanliness monitoring (filling of rubbish bins), Video-recognition for the evaluation and registration of emergency events Bluetooth : Counting around-passing vehicles, Supplementary data for passenger counting Microphone : Audio recording (for police use), Voice-recognition for evaluating and registering emergency events, Voice-recognition for communication with mobile phones (possible check-in) Speaker : The amount of data transferred, Communication with mobile phones V2X RSU (road side unit) : Communication with public transport vehicles (according to a use case), Communication with other vehicles Transport company infosystem : Searched connections, Use of the system

Furniture Bench Recycle bin Shelter up to 6m2 Shelter from 6m2 to 10m2 Shelter over 10m2 Green Roof Shelter Free-standing infotainment Built-in infotainment Micromobility: Bike racks Micromobility: Electric bike racks and power supply Micromobility: Electric scooters racks and power supply Energy Sources Electric network Electric network with battery storage (backup) Photovoltaic panels with battery storage (off grid/backup) Wind micro-turbines with battery storage (off grid/backup) Combination Connectivity for Infotainment Wifi Optical network IoT network (LoRa/SigFox/NB IoT...)

Local radio communication (LoRa, IQRF, TETRA...)

LTE/5G V2X

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5 337

Počet knihoven

4 553

z toho neprofesionálních knihoven

Smart library :

48 465

Počet vzdělávacích akcí

66 826

Počet kulturních akcí

55 479

Počet studijních míst

local public service center

63 376 126 Počet knih

2 356 490

1 008 636

Návštěvníci kulturních akcí

Návštěvníci vzdělávacích akcí

KNIHOVNY

V ČESKÉ REPUBLICE V ROCE 2017 50 997 273

54 935 443

THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED USERS, VISITORS TO EVENTS OR BOOKS MAY

Počet výpůjček

TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE LIBRARY, BUT ITS SIGNIFICANCE

42,4

FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MUNICIPALITY IS FAR FROM AFFECTING.

Not only because they are also in municipalities that do not have primary school, libraries are a crucial partner for the introduction of smart solutions to municipalities and towns. In addition to storing and accessing information, providing internet connectivity and reading support, libraries can reliably perform other roles that are essential for the effective deployment of smart solutions.

Smart solutions built on technology require people to learn how to work effectively with them. Libraries provide highly available lifelong learning – from birth (Project Bookstart grows reading through parents in newborns) until retirement (universities of the Third Age are one of the most common services offered by the library to seniors).

More than 1 million people in CZ last year came to the library to get some education – use of technologies, internet safety, financial literacy, healthy lifestyles, nature conservation, learn languages, train memory and more. Libraries have helped seniors to use computers, internet, tablets. They also follow the latest trends – such as in the city of Přerov this year they will expand the education course of robotics and programming with 3D printing; or respond to actual demand, e.g. in times of higher unemployment, some libraries offered help with writing CVs and searching for job vacancies.

Although they do not receive any resources from the Ministry of education, the libraries perform an educational role and consistently teach people to work with information and technology. Well and, in the end, it is very often a local librarian who people with confidence are turning to advice in different life situations. Online com-

Počet výpůjček na čtenáře

Počet stažených dokumentů

360 781 713,58

prostředky na nákup knihovního fondu

1 832 708

Návštěvníci využívající internet v knihovně

munication with the office is something in which library employees can be very easily trained to help people to learn. Advantage of existing internal organization of libraries at various levels can enable regional libraries to provide methodological support to smaller libraries, ensuring that information and skills are also given to the smallest municipal library.

This makes the library a place where both education and professional assistance can be integrated and assistance with smart technology is managed. And in fact, these technologies are being offered. In Aarhus library DOKK1 a public service point is situated so citizens can manage their health insurance, passport, driving licence or marriage. In several Czech libraries we can now find Czech POINT, Jiří Mahen Library in Brno is a partner in introducing BrnoiD (the city e-Identity system) and becomes its verification point.

There is one more reason to think over libraries as a place where a citizen meets the office. Libraries are public places where anyone can come and feel comfortable there, regardless of education, social status, political inclination or belief, but also abilities and limitations. Libraries actively working on their accessibility and help people threatened by social exclusion (for example, the book and the use of volunteers to read into homes for the elderly, mentally ill, to hospitals) have specific learning needs (the library in the city of Ústí nad Labem will shortly open the regional Advisory and Educational Centre, where common people or experts will be able to familiarize themselves with the teaching aids and methods) or different types of handicaps

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Počet virtuálních navštěv

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Počet počítačů pro uživatele

10 057

z toho (počet PC) připojených na Internet

22 236 066 1 375 588

Počet čtenářů

Počet fyzických navštěv

(Jiří Mahen Library is one of the best equipped libraries for the blind and partially sighted, its headquarter and 20 branches are accessible to handicapped, in the city of Liberec Library Employees filmed Instructional Guide Library for its clients in sign language).

Municipality’s smartness is not based on technology; in the first place, it is determined by how it meets people’s needs, facilitates their participation and cooperation, and develops local potential. A necessity for successful introduction of smart solutions is an ongoing survey and discussion with citizens. The library provides a secure background for this, accessible to everyone while helping to shape the community spirit of the place.

More than 2 300 000 people came to the library for culture in CZ last year, not only the book, but also concerts, theatre, film, travel discussions and others. The libraries with various activities strengthen the relationship of people to the place where they live – receptions with local personalities and mementas, guides and walks in important places, celebrating local anniversaries, storing and commemorating local history, customs and crafts (e.g. the library in Rožnov pod Radhostem cooperates with a group of local seniors and together they prepare a fun and educational game Rožnov Struha).

Libraries are incubators and facilities of local clubs, associations, entrepreneurs – meeting of people in the library creates maternity, senior and other interest clubs; at the book reception desk the library employee Mirka from Library in Třinec chooses

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SAVE THE DATE

city : demonstrator people with an interest, for example, a healthy lifestyle, cooking, yoga, and gives them space in the library to find an audience and become independent. Libraries reinforce cohesion, intergenerational sharing and integration – people gather here at events, jointly teach and debate, share, play board games, familiarize with other cultures and through the so-called live libraries with different life experiences. Foreigners learn Czech in libraries, in the municipality Březina near Brno, the librarer founded the children’s club so that newly immigrant parents can get acquainted with the locals and establish contacts in the new environment.

BVV TRADE FAIRS BRNO 5.–6. 6. 2019

: Libraries as a Strategic Partner If our goal is to build communities where people will live well, libraries are a strategic partner with which to work together.

In many places, libraries are already well involved in the local ecosystem of institutions and are often actively involved in the development; Vsetínská Knihovna has had its representative in all community planning working groups, libraries are often involved in Local action groups and are partners of municipalities in other areas.

The Challenge of the future is to reduce resource and material consumption and enhance local self-sufficiency. Libraries can play a role as places where people can borrow items they need only for a while/one time (see emerging The Library of Things), but also community marketplaces, where there is a lack of supply and demand for sharing or exchange of things, services, ideas, time, etc. Libraries can support local economy, be Municipal Laboratories for innovation and social innovation or places where people work together and create.

Project Social Innovation in Libraries teaches library staff new methods of work based on the principles of service design so that they can effectively fulfil the role of innovative hubs communities and to engage and pull people into the preparation of their activities. However, the main barrier to development remains the resources – finance and spaces – a lack of demand and motivation by the founders (municipalities). If this is found, libraries can fulfill many of the roles that the present and future will require.

UPGRADE YOUR CITY

DEVELOPMENT

C O M M U N I C AT I O N

STREET FURNITURE

WATER

ENERGY

#Eliška Bartošová, Masaryk University Brno

MOBILITY

www.smartcityfair.cz

SECURITY

WASTE

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city : demonstrator

smart : one Now coworking centres are built also by multinational capital companies. They become a common part of development projects in major cities and are not used by young people and novice entrepreneurs only. The offices in co-working are also ordered by larger companies for a limited time to cover their operational or time-limited needs. Flexibility and independence in some cases breaks the spirit of cooperation that stood at the birth of this phenomenon.

In the Czech Republic the number of co-workings is approaching a hundred and you can find them in smaller towns. Can co-working centres become a Development hub for local communities?

: Relation to libraries

Coworking centres as Smart Hubs in rural areas SINCE 2005 CO-WORKING CENTRES HAVE BEGUN TO EXIST AS SHARED WORKSPACES TO BUILD UP A COMMUNITY OF INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONALS,

There is a great history of libraries in the Czech Republic and they always have been community, information, cultural and education centres of municipalities. With the coming of internet, they have become, thanks to state support, first and often the only publicly accessible places to internet in smaller municipalities. Their role is still irreplaceable. Their often-small spaces and a relatively narrow specialised focus, however, do not provide opportunities for larger community activities.

BOOM TO CO-WORKING CENTRES HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY AN OFFER OF FINANCIALLY AVAILABLE AND WELL-EQUIPPED SHARED OFFICES. AND START-UPS OR SMALL COMPANIES COULD AFFORD SUCH SERVICES.

The core of the physical form of the twin is an open shared space with reception, offering small snacks, and a separate meeting room.

Furthermore, the centre contains member open space type office locations, so called closed offices for 2 to 8 persons, and lecture halls. The operator is a social enterprise Co-working cooperative Together, focusing on integration of people with disabilities into everyday life. In the first phase, the enterprise created three jobs for this target group of employees.Co-working employs 6 people in total and others engage in the form of volunteering or external cooperation. With a growing conference activity, they are planning to create additional jobs.

This role could be taken just by co-working centres. They often have larger spaces, conference spaces and enough staff for organisation of community activities. Due to the focusing on business innovation and use of the latest technologies they become an ideal place for connection of local communities, technologies and information. Thanks to this, they can create a smart centre, so called smart hub, where anyone can gain the guidance he/she needs.

If we emerge from the logic of „digital twins“, a true digital transformation, and hence its territorial realization, called Smart City, then we can work with network models of Smart Hubs with services for communities approximately 10 – 20 thousand inhabitants. These are both city districts as well as catchment territories (called municipalities with extended competence). This network provides community development and services in a common pattern. This will help to change the relevant competency and financial models to ensure the sustainability of this effort.

JOINTLY COOPERATING ON DIFFERENT PROJECTS. VERY QUICKLY THIS CONCEPT FROM SAN FRANCISCO HAS SPREAD VIRTUALLY ALL OVER THE WORLD. GREAT

made on more than 600 m2. Let’s imagine it as a possible pattern for emerging smart hubs in the countryside. In this context, we can talk about the Demonstrator according to the RASC methodology.

We are ready to share the experience and the necessary tools for operation. At the same time, we want to be active in organising further progress in both national and Central European space.

: Demonstrator from Humpolec One such a co-working that has an ambition to be more than just a workplace for the community of freelancers is the co-work “Together in Humpolec”. In the town with a total of 11 thousand inhabitants, an Innovation centre with a strong social impactis being

Other social enterprises from the region are involved in co-working.

Marketing activities are provided by the social enterprise PTL, s.r.o., catering for workshops and conferences is provided by a social enterprise “Sheltered workshops of Vysočina”. Other social enterprises provide food for sale of refreshments, another social enterprise provide regular cleaning services etc. New social enterprises will be created on the premises of the Smart Hub and at other premises suitable for small production. The co-working space will be used for social rehabilitation and for educational activities by local non-profit organisations, e.g. Medou daily service centre.

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Sheltered workshops of Vysočina

smart : one Fair & Bio coffee roasting

PTL, s.r.o.

Want to build a similar hub in your city?

Do you already run co-working and would like to elevate it to a higher level?

Coworking centre Together in Humpolec

other social entreprices

We will provide an information system to manage user access to internet Ave Kave

• •

The local dimension is also underlined by close cooperation with the Local Action Group: “Company for Humpolec region development”. It uses co-working spaces and mediates information related to development activities and potential funding opportunitiesboth to members and other bodies in the region.

A cooperation with local primary and secondary schools is also being prepared with a focus on Technical Science teaching.

Architectural concept, equipment and decorations express environmentally friendly relation, respect for human dignity and benefi ts of cooperation. Dozens of experts participate in the centre’s activities through regular lectures, workshops and conferences.

Modern information technologies are the basis of every quality co-working. The Co-working cooperative Together provides its own and complete online management of co-working membership, login to events, reservation of meeting rooms and also includes tools for establishing new contacts. E.g. on the screen in co-working there are contacts on users actually residing in the premises and interested in cooperation. To achieve this only a corresponding setting of the user profile is needed, and the login made with a chip or in the application when entering the co-working. On the Web there is an on-line overview of the current workload of co-working and availability of the meeting rooms.

The services offered include fast colour printing to A3 format, using smart Logon. E.g. the registered user can send the print file to the printer from home and the next day when visiting the co-working the file is printed after triggering the printing machine by his/her chip.

: Is this the way?

Unlike large towns, rural areas are more limited in community life. There is not a large offer of clubs, background of universities and cultural activities are not too rich. The Smart Hub can be a hub for meeting and networking. Although people know each other personally in small towns, practice shows that facilitation of meeting creates new forms of cooperation which would otherwise not occur. There could be a closer cooperation with the city/town where the co-working becomes such a neutral place for meeting with citizens when discussing local issues.

: Smart hub impact on the region

•

The impacts of the co-working on the local community are as follows: ·

Create jobs for people with disabilities.

·

Use of local resources for most activities.

·

Providing modern facilities for existing and new entrepreneurs.

·

Promoting „networking“, establishing new contacts and collaborating.

·

Improving education in the area of the use of information technology, healthy lifestyles and personal development.

·

Developing cooperation between business entities and non-profit organisations, younger and older, healthy and people with disabilities.

Become more attractive for both existing and new users • •

• •

·

Bringing new visitors to the city and supporting of local tourism.

we will incorporate your place into our marketing activities. by means of a shared membership whoever can travel, use services of more co-workings, without having to pay a stand-alone fee for each. Everyone in the network gets paid for the time the relevant member spent there.

Win-Win for all parties.

We will help with preparation of professional events and communi -cations with local actors •

In Humpolec they are open to share their know-how and even their information system, which is scalable for use in other places.

ensuring security of the local network and the protection of the operator in the illegal activity of a co-working user. controlling of entry into co-working areas, including opening relevant door, according to the user’s set access rights. three-tiered access structure: Publicly available web, members-only information, administrative part with rights for operators and administrators.

We will explain the principles of the social economy and help create a social enterprise.

We provide long-term support and training for integrating people with disabilities into the working process.

We can mediate fair suppliers of support services and products.

# Vít Skála: managing director of coworking družstva Together

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Qualitative evaluation of bids by the

m4E method

smart : one

: Ideal of evaluation criteria The public investor should have a set of assessment criteria available for normal practice, which can be used · · · · ·

without major adaptations to a wide range of contracts repeatedly simply self-governed by the investor transparently

All the above meets the Best Value Approach (BVA) method, or its part devoted to selection of supplier, Best Value Procurement (BVP), which is a powerful inspiration source of the m4E method.

For the m4E to function properly, it is necessary that the tender documents contain an explicit expression of the – „What should be fulfilled“. While the purpose of the contract is from the category of ideas, the subject of the contract is described by minimum technical conditions – requirements for „what will be fulfilled“. If the purpose of the contract is expressed and where the effective evaluation criteria are represented in the terms of the tender, any disproportion between the purpose and the subject can be effectively addressed. In the context of the evaluation criteria, the purpose of the contract must be perceived as a general preference for what suppliers are heading to fulfil.

: Evaluation Criteria of m4E In the basic variant, m4E offers the following composition of evaluation criteria:

IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC WE HAVE NOT MANAGED TO RELIABLY ENFORCE ANY UNIVERSAL MODEL OF QUALITATIVE EVALUATION FOR PUBLIC PROCUREMENT. THERE ARE NO STANDARDS OF EVALUATION FOR SPECIFIC SECTORS OF INTELLECTUALLY DEMANDING SERVICES OR SUPPLIES (TYPICALLY E.G. IT CONSULTANCY, DEVELOPMENT AND

· · · · ·

level of expertise risks advanced solutions features and abilities of project manager offered price

DELIVERY OF SW), FOR WHICH ANY OTHER THAN QUALITATIVE EVALUATION CANNOT BE IMAGINED. HOWEVER, THE TIMES ARE CHANGING AND ONE OF THE EVIDENCES IS THE METHOD OF EVALUATING TENDERS M4E , WHICH GRADUALLY BEGINS TO PENETRATE THE PRACTICE OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT.

: m4E - Level of expertise The evaluation criterion level of expertise is encouraged by suppliers to provide claims of their expertise, which will be

supporting the fulfilling the purpose of the tender. The claim on the level of expertise of the supplier is assessed positively only if its effect, i.e. the relation to the purpose of the contract is expressed as a numerical value. Another prerequisite for positive evaluation of the claim is the fact that the effect of the claim is verified and so its achievement on a particular contract is real.

Thanks to its openness, the criterion thus designed allows all suppliers to exhibit the same degree of expertise. If it leads to the maximization of the purpose of the contract and suppliers will be able to calculate the effect of the expertise in relation to the purpose and prove its realism, they gain maximum point profit.

: m4E - Risks The purpose of the Risks criterion is to point out a supplier that can identify the potential risks of a particular procurement and, by virtue of previous experience, skills or expertise, to eliminate the possibility of their creation or at least minimize their impact. For the evaluation within m4E, the relevant risk · · · ·

may make it difficult or even to compromise the fulfilment of the tender, is the risk of the public investor, achieves a certain (predetermined by the investor) financial significance, can be addressed by measures with a proven, real effect.

For those measures whereby suppliers demonstrate high effi ciency in the ability to eliminate or at least mitigate its negative impact, they will receive a maximum amount of points.

: m4E - Advanced Solutions The main objective of the Advanced solution criterion is to allow suppliers to offer more (higher value) above the minimum requirements of the investor. The minimum requirements can only be improved but not denied, even in part. This criterion also responds to the contracting authority’s defined purpose of the contract. Suppliers are thus looking for „gaps“ between the

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city : procurement purpose of the contract and its subject matter and propose improvements that will lead to a better achievement of the purpose.

In addition, the investor shall define the requirements for adequacy of the individual improvements; i.e. to set limits for improvements, in particular in terms of their impact on the time and price of the execution of the contract, costs related to the operation of the construction or other subject matter of the contract.

: m4E - Features and capabilities of the project manager The m4E also includes a criterion which allows the investor to verify, in an interactive way, whether a key person (project manager) on the supplier’s side is actually able to carry out the contract in question, or whether that person has the personality traits and managerial abilities required by the investor; these are specified beforehand in the terms of the specifications.

The progress of verifying these properties and abilities, i.e. the interview is managed by the investor, it must not be a free presentation of the interviewed; de facto, the interview is like the job seeker’s interview with his or her prospective employer.

The interview process should be appropriately captured; in practice, the combination of a written record of the evaluation based on a prepared control sheet and an audio-visual record appears to be ideal.

smart : one 1

thus comments and presents the relevant documents for numerical effects and values, which proved the reality of the achievement of the effects also on the public contract in question. In the following part of the Verification phase, the selected supplier devotes to the preparation of the contract execution.

Upon completion of the Verification phase, the investor shall confirm whether the supplier has succeeded in defending all the points allocated in the relevant criteria, decides on the final number of points of the supplier. Only then the investor can proceed with the decision to select the supplier and then conclude the contract.

: Practical experience m4E slowly and surely thrives in the Czech environment. From Masaryk University and the VUT university, whose employees stood behind the first realization attempts, is gradually spreading, especially thanks to the initiative of the State Fund of transport infrastructure. In particular, the utility/road/rail infrastructure managers are currently advocating further procurement procedures using m4E. Railway infrastructure management has been successful in the first pilot project, The road and motorway Directorate finalizes the text of the procurement conditions of the sub-limit contract, while the Directorate of waterways has already identified appropriate projects and the working group is gradually starting its activities.

Perhaps this article will give courage to other investors and inspire them – whether for entry through m4E or otherwise, considering quality.

: m4E - Offered price

: EXPERT LEVEL DOCUMENT Basic information

1

Reconstruction of the railway bridge

The participant submits the claim below and honestly declares the following in this context.

1.

The claim is relevant to the subject of public procurement, 2. Effect of The claim is verified and its achievement on the public contract in question is so real.

3.

The participant declares that he/she is ready during the verification phase to a) Demonstrate the effect of the claim b) Submit at least plain copies of the documents provingthat the effect of the claim is real.

2 •

•

2

•

What do you offer us?

Please indicate the claim (your expert level, which is demonstrably beneficial for fulfilling the purpose of the contract):

•

Type text

3

What does the claim mean to us – in figures – in relation to the purpose of the contract?

•

• •

Quality: Add at least one numerical figure and what it relates to On time; If the lockout period is shortened, the better: Add at least one numerical figure and what it relates to With the smallest environmental impact in the vicinity of the building: Add at least one numerical figure and what it relates to

•

•

• For the maximum number of points, the effect must be quantized in relation to all the points in the procurement purpose. Required field.

•

4

Demonstrate that what you offer works..

If the above-mentioned effect of the claim is real, you can demonstrate:

the highest possible value of the bidding price; value that is the lowest possible in terms of evaluation.

: m4E - Verification phase

After the bids are evaluated, the investor asks the vendor who placed first in the order to perform the Validation phase.

First, it is the task of the supplier to confirm and defend that the values stated in the offer for the Expert level, Risks and Advanced solutions criteria are true and real. The project manager

On the previous min. similar Fill in the number of experience of a project manager or other key staff, where the above-described professional level has also been used; If necessary. Attach the accompanying text On the previous min. of Fill in the number of the participant‘s procurement where the professional level described above has also been utilized; If necessary.

Attach the accompanying text Otherwise: (e.g. expert studies, research) and the realism of the effect justify the

Here , instantiate what you described above.

If you want to gain 10 points, you must comment on all points of the contract purpose. Your „Offer“ to each point of the contract purpose must be expressed as a number.

Fill the numerical effect with a simple Description. The contracting authority must be clear about what the performance Of Your company will bring.

Be brief and clear. The evaluation shall only be based on the information in the offer; the sponsor cannot otherwise complete any conceit or offer.

Be prepared to defend all the effects in the verification phase. The offered values will be checked during the implementation of the contract in the verification phase, you tell yourself how the sponsor should check you. So give only what is real, what you can accomplish.

4 •

The selected is supplemented by the symbol „x“; Select at least one of the options. Required field.

# Mgr. Petr Jelínek, Mgr. Roman Novotný, Mgr. Jana Plachetská, all 4E consulting, s.r.o. and JUDr. Lukáš Klee, Ph.D., LL.M., MBA, CCConsulting s.r.o.

Describe your Professional level. In What subject are you better than competitors? What will your „portfolio“ contribute to fulfilling the ideas of the sponsor? Sell your best abilities and skills.

You must Bind the claim to the purpose of the contract – Nothing else the sponsor cares.

Such as know-how, established procedures and standards, technical equipment, organization, qualification or experience, etc. – all that is beneficial for fulfilling Purpose of the contract..

Fill In the document the expert level is an opportunity to demonstrate quality, not obligation.

3

Add at least one numerical figure and what it relates to

•

Within the framework of the m4E, the bidding price criterion is to be worked in such a way that it is effectively linked to the quality criteria and has not devalued the result of the evaluation within them. Therefore, contracting entities specify · ·

Binding instructions for completing the expert level document • Fill in all required fi elds. Otherwise, you are exposed to the risk that the claim will not be able to be evaluated.

• The maximum number of points can be reached based on specifi c and accurate information.

• The fi gures make the evaluation transparent.

Take them to the maximum extent possible.

• The expert level document (including this cover page) must not exceed 4 A4 pages while preserving the text format – Calibri or Carlito font, 11b font size.

•

Convince the sponsor that your offer will work.

We have above offered numbers supported by these Reference Contracts, the experience of the persons who will achieve the contract purpose or otherwise (certificates, awards, own or foreign studies). The specific proves will be required to present and verify in the verification phase.

All the effects, you have indicated above, must be supported.

43

44

city : procurement

smart : one

A new town hall

Prague 12 into effect just in September 2017. Since then the responsible team managed to create complete design documentation, and to obtain both urban planning decision and construction permit.

Investor Municipal District Prague 12 is working in close cooperation with specialists from companies NEWTON Business Development, a.s. functioning as Engineer and ROWAN LEGAL, advokátní kancelář s.r.o. providing comprehensive legal services.

Nová radnice A NEW TOWN HALL IS ABOUT TO BE CONSTRUCTED IN MODŘANY BOROUGH. THE BUILDING WILL BE LOCATED BETWEEN STREETS GENERÁLA ŠIŠKY AND PÍSKOVÁ, NEARBY CURRENT SEAT OF THE PRAGUE 12 MUNICIPALITY. THIS MODERN ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDING SHALL UNITE INTO ONE PLACE ALL DEPARTMENTS OF THE MUNICIPALITY CURRENTLY SCATTERED AROUND THE MODŘANY BOROUGH WITHOUT CONCEPTION.

Location of the future town hall is currently more or less unattractive brownfield. New town hall will become the new landmark of the borough. The building design emphasizes one of the new town hall’s purpose - to create lively and attractive public space in this natural centre of the area. Besides the main space for the Municipality administration, the overall multifunction design of the building includes commercial spaces and a multipurpose hall suitable for cultural and social events.

The new town hall will provide high standard of services and comfort, both for general public and Municipality personnel including members of local bodies.

The construction phase of the project has just started following a construction permit which came into effect in March 2019. The interesting thing is the contract of work concluded with consortium of companies KLEMENT a.s. and GEOSAN GROUP a.s. came

Especially in context of real-life Prague construction processes, applicable legislation and Prague Building Regulations, it should be pointed out that realization of such a process right from beginning of the design phase without urban planning decision till the actual commencement of construction in just approximately one and a half year time-span, shall be considered to be a great success. Such a short period of time was achieved not just as a result good cooperation between the Investor and the Contractor, but above all thanks to application of “design & build“ method.

It represents a concept already widely used by private sector investors. However in the Czech Republic it is very rarely used by public sector. The “design & build“ method essentially means the investor chooses one contractual partner who creates a comprehensive project of the building (he effectively creates both architectural and technical design), performs engineering (i.e. provides all necessary steps in order to get the design approved, and to get the construction permit and all other administrative necessities for the construction) and finally he realizes the construction itself. Compared to a conventional process used by majority of public authorities which is composed of tendering a building architectural and technical designer and then general construction contractor, the “design & build“ method provides several major benefi ts, also for the public sector. In particular:

· · ·

speed integrated liability of the contractor both for design and the construction phases higher level of predictability and control over the costs of the project by the investor.

A well performed application of this method radically accelerates the preparatory phase of the project. Compared to the conventional approach, the investor tenders only one contractor for the whole project. Additionally, the realization phase may follow the preparatory phase immediately, without any unwanted delay. The conventional concept means the public authority shall first tender a designer who creates all the stages of the design documentation and subsequently the authority is procuring all the necessary permits. Following the construction permit obtainment the public authority on its grounds and on grounds of the design documentation tenders a construction contractor.

Another “design & build“ major advantage is integrated liability of the contractor both for design and the construction phases of the project. Because in legal terms the designer and the construction contractor is in relation to the investor only one entity, the risk of unclear division of liabilities between the designer and the construction contractor, is eliminated. The “design & build“ method effectively eliminates an in practise quite frequent scenario when in case of technical issues or construction delays, application of contractual sanctioning mechanisms and distinction between designer’s and construction contractor’s liabilities, may be difficult for the investor.

Both in case of design and construction matters, in relation to the investor the contractor is only one responsible entity.

At the same time, the “design & build“ method provides the investor with much greater control over overall costs of the project.

Right at the beginning, the contractor sets a complete price for the whole project regarding all the investor’s requirements. This price is binding for the contractor during both the design and realization phases. In case of the conventional approach the investor gets (at least approximate) estimated price of the project only after the design is completed. As a result of current high inflation rates in building industry, the construction tenders often significantly exceed the estimated price set up by the designer.

The Prague 12 new town hall represents one of pioneering design & build projects in the Czech Republic run by public authority. A fact that this major milestone has been currently achieved in this project, proves the method to be an applicable concept for the public sector, which brings a number of substantial benefits to the investor, while still compliant with all the relevant legislation. #Mgr. Lukáš Sommer a Mgr. Jan Bořuta, ROWAN LEGAL

45

city : tool

Decidim a unique online tool from Barcelona helps European cities with participation

MORE AND MORE CITIES REALIZE THAT

: Why actually participate?

INVITING RESIDENTS AND RESIDENTS TO DISCUSS THE FUTURE OF THEIR SETTLEMENTS IS ESSENTIAL FOR ITS DEVELOPMENT. BARCELONA IS ONE OF THE CITIES THAT HAS LONG BEEN THE EURO-

Public Participation on decision making on a local level is a matter of value and a practical approach. It can be beneficial for citizens and individuals as well as city governments as it avoids conflicts and allows long-term solutions that respond to the real needs of people. Participation strengthens trust between the various actors and between the public and the public administration, and the municipality becomes a partner in the debate with citizens.

PEAN LEADER IN PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT. RECENTLY THE CITY PROVIDES ITS CITIZENS WITH INFORMATION AND DECISION-MAKING THROUGH A UNIQUE TOOL THAT COMBINES ONLINE AND OFFLINE METHODS OF PARTICIPATION IN A MEANINGFUL WHOLE. CAN CEE CITIES GET INSPIRED BY BARCELONA?

The citizens are those who know their place the best. The Role of experts and professionals is certainly needed in processes such as territorial strategic planning or budget preparation. But to decide on places where they live and work, users and people, who will bear the impact of these decisions, should also make decisions. They can help to identify problems and bring possible solutions. If city government understands the knowledge of local people as a unique source of information for the balanced development of the city, it may be easier to come up with solutions or policies that are tailored to the needs of the population.

The Decidim platform has proven its value as the tool is used by the city of Helsinky or Catalan government.

Source: Drets de Ciutadania Participació i Transparencia / www.fl ickr.com - CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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smart : one

: Engage Everyone Barcelona started this strategy in 1984, when the city’s governance structure was reformed towards greater decentralisation. Two years later, the promotion of participation first became part of the municipal decree regulating the new organisational structure of the city.

The last revision of the public participation rules passed in 2017. The document, prepared in a participative manner, establishes and guarantees the functioning of basic ways of engaging the public, including both online tools and face-to-face meetings.The document emphasizes the inclusiveness of the methods because it wants to consider the diversity and different needs of Barcelona citizens. In other words, city does not want to serve only those for whom it is easy to participate, but to all that Barcelona is home to. To make this possible, it is essential to prepare a wide and varied cocktail of used methods: for older generations it is more difficult to orient themselves in online tools, for a woman with three children and a heavy purchase in turn can be difficult to get to meet at the local gym.

: Decidim or we decide One of the most important tools of this system is the online platform Decidim (in translation from Catalan „we decide“). It is an „open source“ platform that allows public involvement in decision-making at the municipality level, but can serve, for example, to companies as well. Decidim helps municipalities to discuss new rules with their citizens, gives residents the opportunity to submit their own proposals, comment and vote on other proposals and monitor the implementation of decisions already approved. This allows to engage population into processes of varying scale and size, from those demanding and long-term, such as community strategic planning, participatory budgeting or local elections, to minor interventions such as landscaping. Finally, these online discussions are organically connected with face-to-face meetings.

The citizens are thus more easily orientated in where the process is located, what is the main goal of the meeting and what topics are out, the platform allows to share outputs like records, photographs or results. In total, this contributes significantly to the transparency of decision-making processes in the municipality.

Citizens can participate in discussions and voting through the allocation of an individual identification number, their own profile in the platform can also be obtained by citizens‘ associations or organizations, but they can only publicly express their views, not vote.

The evaluation of discussions and forms of adoption of the final decision will then differ from the process: in some cases it ends with a vote, in other responsible politician, after considering all the contributions and opinions, decides on the outcome, knowing whether he has heard the needs of the inhabitants and their expressed interest in the process.

Operation of the whole system is supported by so called Moderator panel, which moderates the online discussion and participatory processes, and which can report potential problems. At a higher level, there is a group consisting of experts and professionals Metadecidim, which focuses on developing, researching and improving the platform to contribute to a functional participatory democracy.

: From Barcelona to Europe The Barcelona platform works as the main tool for participation since 2016 and has 30 000 users. It enabled participation, for example, in the preparation of the Barcelona strategic plan. The city’s Action plan, which is part of it, was adopted in 2016, just through a platform Decidim and citizens have had almost 7 000 proposals. Thanks to the system features, they can monitor online at what stage the implementation of each approved design is. The government perceives these great processes as those building the confidence of the population of Barcelona in this instrument, as well as in participation as such.

Of course, the fact that something like this is possible cannot be made without care and support at the level of the whole city. The participation is handled by a team around the platform Decidim and also by a specialized office that helps to set up participatory processes both locally and in specific topics common to the whole city. The Barcelona public participation authorities are present at city, district and neighborhood levels. The City also has 17 thematic councils dedicated to engaging citizens in the debate on specific topics, ranging from education, sports, economics and culture, to the rights of women and minorities.

The Barcelona example inspired many others who started to use the platform Decidim. The platform thus serves to the Catalan government, Helsinki or Energy Cooperative Som Energia. Barcelona provides consultations and assistance to new candidates in the platform which has been translated into Spanish, English and Finnish.

The Central Europe cities that got inspired by Barcelona example should realize that it is not just to take over or develop a great online tool. It entails a lot more: to connect online participation with face-to-face opportunities, to have experts on participatory processes not only at city level, but also in city districts or single offices, to accommodate those for whom participation is more difficult for various reasons. It requires little by little to change the minds of politicians, civil servants and residents towards the fact that the municipality and its inhabitants are partners in the debate, in which everyone has a common goal: a sustainable and happy life in a place that is at their heart. #Radoslava Krylová

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48

city : demonstrator

smart : one Key areas of the Climate plan by 2030

Superblocks: everything or nothing

2030 Green gas decrease by 45 % -20%

- 45%

+20%

Increase

car traffic decrease by 20 %.

5times increase of solar energy energy renovations of 20 % of buildings

of green places by 1,6 km2

Green funding by 100 % Decrease of drinking water consumption

-100 l/day

=0 SUPERBLOCKS ARE THE CURE FOR POOR AIR QUALITY, CONGESTED TRAFFIC AND

x5

under 100 litres daily per person

Zero energy poverty

€1.2

Allocation million euro on grants for collaborative participation projects (200 000 euro every two years)

The main idea of superblocks was to decrease the noise levels in the city. In 1980’s Rueda mapped the noise levels in Barcelona, the data showed clearly the relation of noise with traffic. The noise limits were exceeding 65 decibels in half of the city territory. The recommended level of noise according to WHO should not have exceeded 55 decibels otherwise it is harmful. „If you have cars in the streets the noise level cannot decrease under 65 decibels “, Rueda says. That is why he has looked for ways how to reduce car traffic in the streets and have come with the concept of superblocks and presented them for the first time in 1987. If superblocks are implemented in the whole area there will be a relief of 70 % of the public space used nowadays for traffic. By this a huge decrease of noise levels are to happen but more the public space changes as a whole.

The basic principle of superblocks is a system of one-way routes within a defined city inner space reducing the access of cars in a way to provide enough public space for pedestrians, cyclists, green space and meeting points. The maximum velocity is 10 km/h. At the same time the parking spaces are removed from the public space and are replaced by underground parking.

THE LACK OF PUBLIC SPACE IN CITIES. SOME OF THEM STAND UP THESE CHALLENGES AND TRY TO IMPLEMENT RADICAL CHANGE OF FUNCTIONS OF PUBLIC STRUCTURES. ONE OF THE CITIES IS BARCELONA WITH ITS SUPERBLOCKS. IT SHOWS THAT THE MOBILITY PLAN SHOULD NOT BE ABOUT MOBILITY ITSELF BUT ABOUT URBAN CONCEPT OF THE CITY.

Barcelona is a pioneer with ambitious plans to face nowadays significant problems of cities. It tackles the climate change, polluted air or public space full of cars. An important tool for real implementing of the plans are strategic documents of very high quality. They serve to formulate a long-term vision of the city development as well as to definition of priorities and setting a roadmap of specific steps.

Barcelona has worked out two significant documents to face the challenges: Climate plan and Urban mobility plan (SUMP). In the Climate Plan, 2018, it commits to decrease CO2 by 2030 by 45 % in comparison with 2005 levels and in the same time to increase the share of green spaces by 1,6 km2. In the Urban Mobility Plan 20132018, the new plan is being commented and approved) Barcelona commits to decrease the car traffic by 21 % and change 60 % of the places for car traffic to public spaces.

Commonly used urban structures have stopped to be suitable for fulfilling the commitments so new procedures in urban planning have been looked for. To help to reach the goals the concept of Superblocks (Superilles in Catalan). Superblocks are urban wholes consisting in several adjacent streets where car traffic access and movement is very reduced. Salvador Rueda, an urbanist, have designed them, now he is a director of Urban ecology office of Barcelona.

The first superblock was opened in 2003 in Barcelona district Gràcia that is today famous for a lot of small bars and restaurants. It is a historical town with a lot of small and narrow streets. That is why it was not so difficult to introduce a superblock concept. In the streets, car traffic was significantly reduced, the number of one-way roads has increased as well as access bans but also small squares, benches and green places.

The superblock in Gràcia has also served as a pattern, model and simulator that helped to improve the follow-up implementations. Some results were imposing: walking has risen in the locality by 10 %, cycling by 30 %. Car traffic has decreased by 26 % and in the inner streets up to 40 %. The cost of the transformation to superblock is not, in comparison with other relevant public space renovations, so high, it is about 55 000 Euro. For whole Barcelona the total sum of 50 million euro is needed. „We can completely change the structure of the city simply as we change traffic according to the model of superblocks, a network of superblocks “, says Rueda about his idea. The principle, however, is everything or nothing. Several superblocks randomly placed in the city are not enough; we need a strategic implementation on the whole territory of the city.

Only then the impact of traffic measures in various parts of the city start to be mutually beneficial and their impact increases.

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city : demonstrator

smart : one

: Ambitious documents as a base The superblock development is present in the Barcelona Urban mobility plan that has been prepared also by Urban ecology office. The office defines in the Urban mobility plan that if 13 % cars are removed from the streets, they will relieve 70 % public space for other activities. „The urban mobility plan is not about traffic only, but generally about urban concept of the city “, Rueda explains.

But how to encourage a diversion from the use of cars, which is necessary for the success of Superblocks? The Urban ecology office proposed a dense network of bus lines in the year 2002, complementing the superblocks. Its basic attributes are short distances between the stops of individual lines, the proximity of the transfer stops, the short time interval between the individual connections and the bus lanes with priority on traffic lights. This scheme of bus lines was completely launched in the autumn of this year. „My projects always count on people’s habits, so we need to include research into human behaviour. The frequency of the bus lines must not be less than every 4 to 5 minutes. Why? The clocks in our minds start to tick after 2 minutes, because the average wait time is 2 to 2.5 minutes. The length of travel from place to place is also important. You usually travel 35 minutes, if more, you choose another means of transport, „says Rueda.

With its geometric footprint of regular rectangular streets, Barcelona is the ideal city for superblock deployment. One superblock

consists of three horizontal and three vertical blocks of streets with a dimension of about 400 m2, which, in addition, leave the enlarged area of the square in its centre in a specific octagon shape. Many therefore doubt whether a similar format can be applied in other towns with a less regular structure. The Office therefore produced an analysis from which more than 100 cities showed how the model is applicable in settlements with a different urbanistic structure. „The principle of superblocks is transferable to all cities, because the rules of high noise are the same for all cities and the principles of mobility are the same for all cities,“ Rueda adds. His team now introduces superblocks even in Vancouver, Canada, whose structure differs considerably from the structure of European cities.

While the process of introducing superblocks is discussed with neighbours, local businesses and other people concerned, it is not always the inhabitants and residents of superblock implementation who are excited. The emergence of the last implementation in Barcelona’s Poblenou district (2017) is a testament to this: before the reconstruction of the streets, locals protested against the superblock, even held a local referendum. The uproar brought in particular the increase in distance that the inhabitants had to walk from home to their parking space. To calm the streets in this district, however, despite the disagreement of the neighbourhood, the majority of the locals were satisfied with the transformation. „The biggest problem is changing the habits of people. If you change any of them, people are nervous, browning. When they see that these changes have brought about an increase in the quality of life and public space, they are satisfied, „commented the resistance of the local population Rueda.

In Barcelona, so far, the ambitions of the Urban mobility plan, which counted the introduction of 503 superblocks in the city, have been succeeding slowly. Why? The reasons are mainly political – there is no agreement on flat-fee parking in the local council, which is an important part of transforming the public space into superblocks.

Parking is, like in many cities and in our country, a controversial political issue that divides both town hall and public.

The political consensus about parking was achieved in the roughly 250 000 Basque city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, which had its mobility plan also drawn up in the Urban ecology office. Here, the process of expanding superblocks across the city is faster. Even thanks to the unanimous political consensus of the local councillor to reverse the trend of increasing passenger cars in the streets. So, in 2008, a large investment in the construction of a new bus network and the promotion of bus services could be carried out. This increased its use by more than 50 %. The development of cycling and suburban rail transport followed as well as the emergence of a new parking system, which raised the price for parking in the streets up to three times. This allowed the transformation of streets into superblocks, so there will be 40 of them in the future. The results of the measurement of the first superblocks already established indicate a decrease in nitrate concentration by 42 %, a drop in dust particles by 38 %, a drop in noise level from 66.5 to 61 decibels and a rise in the pedestrian area by 29 %. Vitoria-Gasteiz won the Green Capital Award for the year 2012 for its conceptual approach to improving the quality of life in the city. #Barbora Bakošová, Nesehnutí

Evaluation of superblock Poblenou between 2016 and 2018 2016

2017

2018

Result

Space for public

31 575 m2

47 797 m2

54 276 m2

22 700 m2 of new public space, 59,1 % of more m2 per citizen

Space for pedestrians

2,2 ha

3,7 ha

3,8 ha

76,8 % increase of space for pedestrians

Space for motor vehicles

5 ha

3,4 ha

3,3 ha

Reduction of the space exclusive for cars by 33,9 %

Number of seats

36 units

624 units

624 units

588 new seats for rest

Green spaces

7 195 m2

7 195 m2

12 516 m2

5321 m2 of new green spaces

Number of new planted trees

500 pcs

693 pcs

693 pcs

193 new planted trees

Cycle paths length

802 m

2 028 metrů

2 028 metrů

11 226 m of new cycle paths (including shared spaces)

Source: Urban ecology office

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city : association

smart : one ving people at the same time, the companies and city gather direct feedback that can help strengthen the eventual roll out of new business models.

Smarter cities for smarter citizens

Barcelona’s ‘open digitisation plan’ focusses on developing digital policies that put citizens at the centre and create more collaborative and transparent government infrastructures. Importantly, Barcelona aims to manage its own ICT infrastructures and reinforces the ethical dimension of data use. Its open data portal grants space for further transparency and participation in how it uses citizen data.

As one of the proponents of the coalition Cities for Digital Rights, which is actively supported by EUROCITIES, Barcelona advocates for citizens being given a choice in how their data is used. This extends to access, not only of personal data, but for using and sharing best practice in open data. Sharing data in this way can also act as a boost for innovation.

Amsterdam is another city taking the digital challenge seriously.

Its ‘Codam’ programme gives people the chance to learn coding, empowering them in our ever more digitised world. Together with Eindhoven, Amsterdam has also been leading efforts within the Dutch municipalities to guide citizens and entrepreneurs on the values and norms of digital infrastructure. As a partner in the EU-led project DECODE, Amsterdam is also involved in designing tools that put people further in charge of their data online.

YOU MAKE A CARD PAYMENT, YOU USE AN APP OR A SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT, YOU DRIVE, OR SIMPLY WALK THROUGH THE CITY – AND YOU LEAVE BEHIND YOUR DATA. COMPANIES AND PUBLIC AUTHORITIES THEN PICK UP THIS DATA, BUT HOW SHOULD THEY USE IT RESPONSIBLY?

: A smarter horizon As authorities dedicated to the public interest, cities want to use data in a socially responsible way, to improve decision making and enhance the efficiency of public services. Armed with this information we can better design, for instance, sustainable local transport networks and services, by monitoring things like traffic flow, noise pollution or carbon emissions.

Yet understanding how best to do this, while preserving and reinforcing citizens’ rights, is a challenge. That’s why EUROCITIES recently spearheaded an effort to create a set of principles for cities on the responsible use of citizens’ data.

: Citizen focussed, city-led As we create more digitised services, we develop a greater need to understand how to use data-generated knowledge to improve urban life. There are many actors within the data ecosystem and collaboration between local governments, businesses and universities, for example, can help develop better services based on the real needs of citizens. This includes putting

in place mechanisms and practices to give citizens control over their data.

Accessing ‘big data’ and using connected devices allows city administrations to monitor things like traffic flow, noise pollution or carbon emissions. For example, having access to specific datasets collected by automated and connected vehicle operators and digital platforms, more specifically (anonymised) data related to origin/destination travel patterns, occupancy rates and environmental performance, could allow city administrations and transport authorities to better enforce traffic rules and to better design, manage and optimise sustainable local transport networks and services.

Yet, there are obvious tensions when it comes to using data, most notably between transparency and privacy.

The concept of citizens’ data encompasses both personal and non-personal data, at the point when that data becomes aggregated and anonymised, thus aiming to maintain personal privacy. The use of technologies such as blockchain could offer a way to allow people to choose how their personal data

might be used and retain control of the digital public space.

Nonetheless, data can be used in other ways and there can be a potential for harm.

EUROCITIES data principles which we recently launched in Eindhoven at our knowledge society forum, start from the idea that citizen data must only be used in the public interest and that it should generate tangible benefits for citizens and society.

Many cities are already good examples of how data can be used and managed responsibly and in a way that allows citizens to benefit.

Turin, for example, has set up an online participatory platform, based on the initiative of Madrid. ‘DecidiTorino’ allows citizens to have a say, and shape the technologies ultimately designed for their use. Allowing people to manage their digital infrastructures helps promote the concept of data as a common good. In addition, the city is trialling several ‘city labs’ that allow companies to test innovative solutions to city challenges. One of these is based on possibilities around the Internet of Things and use of data. By testing, and invol-

At EUROCITIES our concept of what makes a city ‘smarter’ begins with the citizen. We hope that as cities become smarter, and invest in new types of technology, that they will scout around for best practice from other cities, including how to manage, store and use citizens data.

There is a growing need for quality data in the development of smarter cities, which comes with challenges to the privacy and protection of personal data. At the same time, citizens must be able to access, use and manage their own data. To do so, they need the appropriate digital skills. As the level of government closest to citizens, cities are collaborating to tackle these challenges and ensure people can trust public authorities with their data.

EUROCITIES is the political platform for major European cities. We network the local governments of over 140 of Europe’s largest cities and more than 40 partner cities that between them govern some 130 million citizens across 39 countries. www.eurocities.eu #Anna Lisa Boni, secretary general, EUROCITIES

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city : Pardubice

smart : one

Pardubice,

the parking leader UNIVERSITY AND REGIONAL CENTRE ON THE CONFLUENT OF THE RIVERS ELBE AND CHRUDIMKA, APPROXIMATELY 100 KILOMETRES EASTWARD FROM PRAGUE AND TOGETHER WITH SIMILAR BIG REGIONAL CENTRE HRADEC KRÁLOVÉ CREATE AN ATTRACTIVE CATCHMENT AREA. PARDUBICE HAS NEARLY 90 000 INHA-

lays on the railway corridor connecting Prague with Morava and so the attractiveness of the city is high which has an impact on traffic. In 2014 the city supported a study on holistic strategy of traffic telematics for the Functional Urban area of Pardubice/Hradec Králové in the frame of ITI programme and the nowadays deputy mayor Petr Kvaš was responsible for its implementation. The study proposed the architecture of the whole intelligent system of traffic control in the area as one for both cities and their catchment areas and specified single investments in several modules. The modules covered traffic control at the crossroads, strategic detectors for collection of key traffic data, e.g. by camera system, parking regulation and/ or cycling support and the whole system to be controlled from a single traffic information centre.

BITANTS AND ARE THE TENTH BIGGEST CITY OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC. THE CITY IS FAMOUS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF SEMTEX OR THE PASSIVE RADAR SYSTEM TAMARA. THE COMPANIES FOXCONN OR PANASONIC HAVE PRODUCTION PLANTS HERE AND THE NATIONAL HORSE RACE

„If you want to govern and plan long term and consistently you need a clear vision and sufficient insight about what is going on in the city. One of the most important area for data collection is traffic. I spent two years to prepare a tender for camera system which is now one of the biggest and most advanced in the Central Europe”, the deputy mayor says. „Camera system covers the whole perimeter of the main roads to the city, so in simple words we know how many vehicles arrive daily to the city, from what direction, how much time they stay and where they exit the city. This enables us to plan much more better traffic measures and relevant investments.“

HAS BEEN HELD HERE FOR YEARS. WITHIN THE SMART CITY CONCEPT PARDUBICE IS THE LEADER IN PARKING. 1295

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CZ

Petr Kvaš : managed the city police for 21 years and had become the longest-term director of the city police in the Czech Republic. After that he worked as its chief of information system. In 2018 He succeeded in the election and has become the deputy mayor who is responsible also for smart city agenda. “Within the smart city concept, I consider as the most important an ability of the city to plan and prepare investments in a consistent way. “

: Traffic strategy Pardubice is an industrial city with tens of thousands of everyday commuters. Thanks to flat landscape it is a cyclist city,

The operator manages 220 cameras in total that are operated by different owners. The use of existing tools for a common purpose Petr Kvaš considers as “the smart”. „We have managed to negotiate that one operator uses third parties’ camera systems as the city development fund, city police, state railway operator, the swimming pool and a private provider of BikeTower. This enable us to better monitor the traffic burden but also to enforce and protect private assets, e.g. bike thefts or other delicts and use the camera outputs for traffic engineering tasks. We can follow the hockey fans arrival from very railway platforms to the stadium and act if needed right away”. The system is connected to State Police presidium and enables to enforce the state level issues (e.g. stolen vehicles).

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city : Pardubice The system is set up in such a way to enable the further development and use of more advanced tools as central control and data management, use of big data and advanced analytics but also to extend the system with other modules through standardized interfaces that Pardubice has defined. The long-term plan enables technology and energy synergy in the system development.

: We are looking for a data platform Petr Kvaš when serving as the city police director has implemented an advanced monitoring system of its wardens. The wardens, besides their standard watching activities, are stimulated to actively monitor their territory. Through their mobile phones they have become the moving sensors, collecting the data into a common database. Besides the distance walked the manager can reward the wardens also based on real performance, the number of collected inputs. The city police function started to remind the British standard of “to protect and to serve”. By these surplus agenda a valuable data about city life and technical infrastructure can be collected and it is the first step for data driven government. „Data is a key driver of every smart city and it is important to consider how the data is obtained, if they can be gained continuously and in a standard quality and how much it costs.” The city has good data sources now and regarding the planned investments they are looking for suitable analytical tools for its management, scenarios and its visualization. „We have edge computing in the cameras and control systems so the next steps is user friendly interface for the operators, e.g. how to interconnect maps with camera view. The user interface is seen as the important part of an efficient work of the operators and with new data sources we are considering a new data platform, but we have no specific view on that. This is the reason we are attending the Smart City fair URBIS in Brno and run a round table to discuss the issue with the providers on one place, directly and together and so to avoid single visits at our municipality. We want to discuss the various solutions potentials for our needs before the procurement definition. We are also to profit with sharing experience with other cities that already have the experience with data platforms, e.g. the city of Kladno that is piloting a data platform already. “

: Bravery for parking Parking is a big theme of all cities. Parking regulation requires courage and a long-term well-elaborated strategic plan, otherwise the effort to regulate will be reflected in electoral

smart : one failure. The new deputy mayor first step has been dedicated to parking, the skeleton in the closet, to be conceptually solved. „Over the last 25 years, we have a 2.5-fold number of vehicles, the price increase index is 4,5 times, and compared to the year 1994, we had a four-fold public transport fare. But parking prices have not changed. Therefore, after 25 years of parking in Pardubice, I decided to increase the parking prices dramatically, and after many discussions I found a coalition consensus. It is clear that the decision raises drivers’ emotions, but the situation needs to be addressed „, says Petr ’Kvaš. „It does not mean

the supplier chooses to perform this contract, it will depend on him,“ said the Mayor Martin Charvát in the local press, stating that in the case of this contract the city also used the possibility to list the so-called negotiated procedure with publication, so that the terms of the procurement procedure can be supplemented and modified during the negotiations with the suppliers.

The tender is cleverly divided into three modules, which is procured separately, and suppliers can offer one, two or all the three. It is a system of real-time occupancy monitoring of 4 150

with the monitoring system contractor, the city is also looking for suppliers of new parking machines that will allow identification of vehicles based on registration license plates and online transmission of information to the central system. The advantage of new parkomats will be the possibility to pay parking through a regular payment card. Even in this case, the chosen method of technology for identification will depend on the selected supplier, „ said the mayor. Another point in the procurement procedure, in addition to providing monitoring and parking machines, is the introduction of a new system of issue of resident and subscription cards, including a customer web portal, which should manage the entire process from pre-registration and insertion of documents through data editing to the payment of a parking fee for the selected period and to greatly simplify to users and avoid the repeated annual visits to the customer centre. #David Bárta

Petr Kvaš concludes his smart strategy

that the city only collects more money, on the contrary we want to offer modern „smart“ services, such as navigation to free parking spaces, resident parking or card payments in vending machines. Progressive parking rates are intended to lead to higher turnover and, therefore, to a higher offer of free parking spaces, but also to the cultivation of public space. I don’t want the Pardubice square to be a parking lot. We need to revive it!“ In addition to reviving public space, it also encourages the fact that around 3700 parking spaces are available, but 4000 parking cards have been provided. Therefore, Pardubice decided to solve the parking in wider area and as a single parking system, so far the largest in the Czech Republic. „Thanks to the single parking system, we will have information on how the parking spaces are used and then we can also work with this information and control the system better. What technology

parking lots, payment machines delivery and an integrative superstructure, i.e. navigation, payment and issuing of parking cards application, etc. The City does not prescribe any technology. The great success of the well-prepared intent and openness of the competition is evidenced by the interest of 14 suppliers, even with the participation of the New Zealand supplier, who succeeded in the British market. „The Key to success is the ability to prepare and subsequently request individual modules of the transport system proposed in a single strategy. We have defined the interface for future SC modules, allowing suppliers to come up with innovative solutions. The city does not limit innovation and avoids vendor lock-in, which is essential for the sustainability of the system being built. „ Petr Kvaš commented.

With the introduction of a single smart parking system, all existing parking machines disappear from the city. „Along

The parking strategy success requires a thorough preparation and sufficient time, so I did not hesitate and right after the election I started to act. You cannot just increase the price of parking or control the access; we hate to provide people with necessary services as navigation to free parking lots. We can use much better the existing parking lots as to build new ones require a long-term construction permission procedure and a lot of money. The collected parking fees will serve to funding new parking houses as well as support alternative transport and reviving of public space,“

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city : Žďár nad Sázavou

Smart Žďár For each idea, we look into whether it has been successful in the long-term

smart : one

: What do you understand under the term Smart City?

MM: For me, these are modern technologies that help solve the city’s problems and improve the quality of life of its inhabitants.

MB: The main aim is to help the town, not to redesign it according to the Smart City concept. We are looking for ways to further develop Žďár and Smart City is one of the promising ways. Nowadays, Žďár has to cope with many challenges, and we are now thinking about how to do it with the tools offered by Smart City. :

How important are technologies in finding those solutions?

MB: Technologies are just a tool. They are important, but certainly not the main component. The key is mutual agreement of people and organizational changes, thanks to which technologies can be used in a meaningful way. Smart means to make things easier for people with the use of smartly implemented technologies. Of course, technologies have always been used in cities, but wireless communications, remote energy sensors, online information transfer to mobile phones and computers for processing large amounts of data are only now available at affordable prices.

MM: For everything you do, you need to clarify the reasons and expected benefits to people. Žďár faces significant challenges that are already obvious today. These include for example further growth in road transport, rising energy prices, changes in waste treatment laws and regulations, drought and erratic weather, and outflow of young people. Similarly, all comparable cities in the Czech Republic are facing such challenges.

Martin Mrkos : The current mayor of the town, Martin Mrkos (MM), has established himself from the civic association We live in Žďár (Žijeme Žďárem) and leads his town in accordance with the principles of transparency and openness. With a colleague of his, the Smart City Žďár project guarantor Michal Bačovský (MB), he is now involved in introducing and thinking though a Smart City concept. We talked about technologies, their pitfalls and what they managed to make happen over the five years since his party won the local elections. Žďár nad Sázavou lies on the border of Bohemia and Moravia on the territory of Vysočina. Its history dates back to the 13th century, with significant Baroque monuments by Jan Blazej Santini-Aichl located near the town centre. His Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk on Zelená Hora is on the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Around twenty thousand inhabitants live in Žďár and, besides tourism, it also has an active civil society developing.

MB: Modern technologies are attractive, but they have their pitfalls: initial installation of untested technologies is costly and risky. Not every technology is useful in practice and a seemingly good idea can be a folly in disguise. Therefore, Žďár chose a strategy - to be a successor. In Žďár, we will only introduce what has already proven to be successful in other towns and cities. They use the Smart City concept in Kolín, Valašské Meziříčí, Písek, Kladno, Brno, etc.

For each idea we want to see how it has done in the long run. In this way we avoid many mistakes and save a lot of money. Renting an electric car for the town council is an example of this approach.

Why buy an expensive e-car if we can try it out for free first? : What Smart City project is currently the most important for the development of Žďár?

MB: The creation of the Smart City concept Chytrý Žďár. It must clearly state what we need and in what order we will make it all happen. Today, businessmen use the word smart as a lure when

they want to sell something. A businessman confidently declares that „this product is smart and who does not want it is not smart and not modern and does it wrong“. We do not want to become subject to this trend. Typical examples are solar benches: a technician cries and an economist rages over them. :

What are you doing to avoid these mistakes?

MB: While still under the leadership of the former Mayor Zdeněk Navrátil, we started to outline the Smart City concept. We set out the problematic areas of the town, we have invited various exerts and professionals from Žďár who can contribute to the development of the town. The Digital Economy Academy, which won the tender to be the contractor for the Concept, has also supplied us with important experts. The Smart City concept includes not only the appropriate solutions for our town, but also the sequence in which these solutions should be implemented in order to make sense. Of course, if there is an opportunity to do something beneficial already during completion of the Concept, we will do it. :

Do you mean something specific?

MB: A particular example is an electric car charger that is located in the central car park. Electric car users have become accustomed to charging in Žďár and people from all over the country are stopping here while passing through the town. The town benefited from it during the European Mobility Week, where owners of luxury cars often arrived for free and drove around visitors of the event in their vehicles. Furthermore, we have the ZDAR4U app, which is an information application for tourists in several languages, which provides short piece of information about interesting places of the town. There is an application available at public transport stops called “When will it arrive,” which informs passengers of the up-to-date bus arrivals. The two busiest stops have LCD panels that display the same information for people without cell phones. : Reduction of car traffic is addressed in other cities. Have you already found ways to achieve this?

MM: Nowadays we have an advisory board for the Mayor specialising on public transport. It consists of various officials, municipal service clerks and representatives of the transport operator, as well as an associate professor Pavel Drdla, a Žďár patriot who works at the Transport Faculty of the University of Pardubice. We greatly appreciate this help. Regarding public transport we are on the borderline: we are not such a big town that public transport should operate in a way it does in bigger towns, but not so small that it should not be here at all. For economically active people who can afford to drive, public transport is not attractive. Previously there was a change in public transport routes. I want to focus on

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city : Žďár nad Sázavou

smart : one cting information about individual processes in the city: passage of cars, movement of public transport vehicles, energy consumption of municipal buildings, utilization of individual departments at the municipal office, local hospital doctor’s opening hours, utilization of the local sports facilities, number of tourists and the sights they visited, number of cyclists on the cycling path, cross-country skiing trails…

The data will be freely available to the citizens of the town to use for their purposes, such as how to start a business. :

What difficulties have you encountered so far

MB: Everything has pitfalls (laughs). The main problem is wrong expectations from the Smart City concept. You can have the best parking guidance system, but if there are too few parking spaces you will not find a free spot. Similarly for buildings: you need trained users for everything to work as it should. And only a certain kind of people will appreciate online communication with the municipal office. :

increasing the profitability of public transport and increasing the number of passengers. Traffic data shows peaks around eight o‘clock when students and people go to work, to factories, and then to seniors going shopping during the day. They have free public transport. But in my opinion, what is free has no value; even if it cost only a hundred crowns a year, it would be meaningful. :

So sustainable mobility is one of your priorities?

MB: Yes, mobility is undoubtedly our number one priority. It would be suitable to ease car traffic, improve the functionality of public transport, support further development of cycling and the newly expanding electro-cycling by building charging points and safe stands resistant to rain and thieves. But only when the road bypass of the town is built, it will bring significant relief.

MM: Smart City priorities are based on the town’s priorities, which were formulated before Smart City was considered a possible solution. As in all towns and cities, transport and sustainable mobility in general are also priorities in Žďár. There are a lot of cars driving on our streets, parked badly, there is noise and traffic jams. We only have three sets of traffic lights, but there are a few crossings without traffic lights between them, so it’s not possible to switch all the lights green when need be because a pedestrian crosses the road uncontrollably. The square is damaged by the car traffic, but so far it is not possible for a driver to take a detour. This really is a priority.

I personally am a great believer in the trend of electro mobility. That is why we are now starting with preparation for future building of the

necessary charger infrastructure for every new building site, e.g. in a housing estate. : What solutions did you have for energetics and management of buildings.

MB: We live in Vysočina, where it is cold for half a year, the rest of the year is raining or it is hot. We deal with energy management of buildings: the town owns 52 buildings; their annual operation costs about 25 million CZK. At the same time, it is not just about saving energy, but also about making the buildings more user-friendly.

There will thus be CO2 production reduction, modernization and renewal.

MM: The environment and energy sector is focused on the cultivation of the environment and increasing the energy efficiency of urban buildings. The time of cheap energy is gone forever and the price will only rise. Experience from other towns shows that thoughtful energy use can lead to 50-70% savings. Probably the most successful town in this area is Litoměřice, with which we started closer cooperation last week. : And how does your open communication with citizens work?

MM: Yes, communication with the town council is the third priority.

We want it to happen online so people don’t have to go to the municipal office if they don’t need it. The municipality is also about colle-

What a prerequisite for successful implementation?

MB: Žďár meets two fundamental prerequisites for the Smart City concept to be well received: urban infrastructure is in a good condition, and its capable and educated inhabitants. Žďár can become an attractive town. We would like to return young people to the town on a larger scale after graduating from the university.

It is them who can move Žďár further. :

And how important are the citizens themselves?

MM: The Smart City concept is meant to help solve real problems of our town. It is natural that citizens who know the town’s problems best from their daily experience are involved in this work. Everyone who

enjoys thinking about the problems of our town and how to deal with them effectively is welcome. As soon as the concept is complete, the individual sub-parts of the Smart City will begin to be realized. It is a project for the long run; it definitely exceeds one electoral term. So Smart City is conceived as a non-political subject. :

you also have a participatory budget experience…

MB: The participatory budget has been used in our town since 2016. At the beginning of the year, the municipal administration will announces the amount of participatory budget and the terms and conditions for submitting proposals. The total of 600,000 CZK is available for various publically beneficial projects. Citizens submit their projects, but the public is ultimately voting on each proposal, so it is essential that as many people as possible benefit from it. Typically, this involves adjusting public areas around apartment buildings or setting up sports fields. Six to eight proposals are submitted each year. After the deadline, town employees will assess the technical feasibility of each submitted proposal. Subsequently, the proposals are approved by the Town Council and then voted on for by individual citizens over 15 years of age. If the winning project does not use the entire budget, the rest of the money can be used for another project. An essential element in the participatory budget is the community coordinator, who can explain to the inhabitants how everything works. :

Do you have positive feedback from people?

MM: When I look at the statistics, first off there were 420 voters; today there are over 800. I am glad for that. Over time, people see that projects have actually been implemented and that it makes sense to be interested in public affairs. They see they can influence their immediate environment. :

Was there anything that failed?

MM: We have made one significant change for the better. In the past, 600,000 CZK were allocated for at least two projects, but it turned out that some winning projects require more than 300,000, so this year even one project can use the full amount.

Furthermore, we have extended the implementation period to two years, because when more stakeholders are involved, more time is needed. I would certainly mention increased public awareness of the whole process of participation. In a nutshell: a proposal that meets certain requirements will firstly be assessed for feasibility by various town departments, and then it is decided whether it does not collide with any of the town’s subsidy titles or specific budget item. #Tereza Škoulová

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city : gdynia

Gdynia

smart : one

1926

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PL

Polish smart city Gdynia is a city with many assets, such as a strategic location and good transportation links. One of Gdynia’s most attractive features is its high quality of life.

As the first city in Poland and in this part of Europe, Gdynia had its urban indicators evaluated and received a smart city certifi cate (ISO 37120). This document proves that the city constantly monitors all areas of its activity and reacts in emergency situations or when living conditions of its citizens are threatened.

The city also topped the list for its human capital and lifestyle.

The international jury of CEE Shared Services and Outsourcing Awards 2017 voted to award Gdynia, as part of the Tri-City Conurbation, the title of the most dynamically developing city. Every year Gdynia wins awards in the French competition of ECO-VILLE (ECO-CITY), and in 2018 it came first in as many as three categories. A clear advantage over other major cities is Gdynia’s clean air. The city was reported to have had Poland’s cleanest air in the report of the Polish Smog Alarm.

Michał Guć : Gdynia’s vice-president for innovation : Involving Gdynia in the life of the city, listening carefully to their opinions, engaging in a discussion about changes or encouraging them to initiate - we are putting this on and developing it in Gdynia for many years.

Over the last dozen or so months, we have carried out four consultation processes involving thousands of residents, and thanks to the expansion of the Citizens Budget formula, we have adopted over 340 district projects. This is our Gdynia record. I believe that thanks to Urban Lab, Gdynia’s participation will reach a new level. This year, we will be thinking about how to strengthen it, how to make the codecision tools work more effectively, how to encourage greater involvement in the social life of district councils and NGOs. This topic will also show us good practices for Urban Lab itself. It exists and operates as effectively as effective residents, officers, councilors, representatives of the third sector, experts - everyone else who cares about the common space - the city, Gdynia

For many years Gdynia has been constantly improving the living conditions of its citizens, e.g. by implementing innovative solutions and becoming a leader and a role model for other cities to follow.

One of the smart solutions implemented in Gdynia is a smart transport, aiming to encourage people to use collective means of transportation. It is based on electric (trolleybuses) and low-emission (buses) vehicles and thus it’s eco-friendly as well.

Battery powered trolleybuses may provide transport also in areas without overhead lines.

An important element of Gdynia public transport is undoubtedly TRISTAR traffic control system, which improves traffic flow, its security and comfort of journeys on Gdynia roads, as well as guarantees better quality of transport for public transport users.

In 2017, in order to improve living standards and meet legal requirements regarding electro-mobility, Gdynia made first steps to create space for electric cars. The city decided to initiate car-sharing service for low-emission cars first, which are supposed to be replaced with electric cars until 2020. Therefore, as the first city in Poland, Gdynia has introduced privileges for such a service with a City Council decision.

This initiative has been approved by neighbouring municipalities, which declared to cooperate with Gdynia in this area.

Another important area of a smart city is its data and their accessibility. Following European standards, in 2017 Gdynia made its public data available, joining cities that share this

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city : gdynia

smart : one Gdynia is also a city aware of the fact that changes require consultation and participation of its citizens. Public consultations on i.a. districts’ revitalisation have been conducted for a few years on a current basis. Citizens eagerly cooperate with the municipality to develop the best vision of the space they live in. Currently the changes take place in six areas of the city within the “Gdynia od nowa” project (Gdynia from scratch).

The city enables citizens to independently design the surrounding through the participatory budget programme, allowing to submit innovative projects where winners are selected in voting.

It has always been Gdynia’s ambition to grow dynamically and wisely. Adopted in 2017, the Strategy for Gdynia 2030 is a resource of knowledge which helps to understand the city’s current and future potential. The document is designed to respond to new trends and externalities such as the global economy, fast pace of technology advancement as well as social and cultural changes.

Known for its unique quality of life, Gdynia is appreciated by nearly 90% of its residents. Life in Gdynia is good thanks to many factors, among others, its high levels of safety, environmentally-friendly transport, clean air, unique modernist architecture, high quality education, culture and sports, the sea and forests within easy reach and prominent events such as the Open’er Festival, Polish Film Festival, Red Bull Air Race shows, Gdynia Sailing Days, Ladies’ Jazz Festival and Poland’s biggest triathlon race - Ironmen 70. 3.

kind of information. Increasing the accessibility of data and the scale of its use is one of our priorities. Gdynia open data portal, as one of the first of this kind in Poland, applies innovative technologies dedicated to data collecting and sharing. Their aim is an active collection of data from various sources and its standardization. Currently, the city shares 126 sets of data available in CSV, API and JSON formats, which may be used without the need to adjust them, in order to create urban applications or innovative ICT solutions.

Next essential aspect is the accessibility of urban services. In Gdynia, each citizen may use so-called e-services on a daily basis. E-governance portal, created in 2015, enables settling an official matter without leaving home.

With the help of smart solutions one can also apply for a place in a nursery or kindergarten, as well as monitor child’s school results on a current basis via the e-Dziennik online platform.

ICT solutions are also applied in order to enable payments e.g. for parking. A payment may be done traditionally, by cash or card, as well as with a special application.

What is of great importance for living standards is the security of citizens and visitors. There are 141 modern cameras in Gdynia watching over the security. The system is operated by city guards working in three-shifts. It is based on innovative solutions and increases the chances to detect crimes and offences, which undoubtedly makes the citizens feel safer.

A smart city is also a city looking for savings through smart technologies. A city lighting system is such an example. Since 2003 Gdynia has been gradually modernising the city lighting, which resulted in replacing ineffective sodium lamps with LED ones.

Moreover, the applied power reducers allowed to generate savings without lowering the comfort and security of citizens.

Waste management has also been modernised in recent years.

Currently, all waste containers have identification numbers, which allows to monitor the correctness and timeliness of waste disposal by external companies. Moreover, the citizens gained the possibility to notify the need to dispose of untypical waste, e.g. hazardous products, household appliances, furniture or even a Christmas tree. The notification is done through an electronic form, and collection of waste is free of charge.

As well as consistently scoring high on quality of life among the people of Gdynia, the city’s good track record is confirmed by the experts. Gdynia has been named Poland’s best city to live on several occasions, a result established in the Social Diagnosis of the Social Monitoring Council run by Janusz

Czapiński. In 2019, third time in a row, the city was also awarded by the fDi Magazine, which is a part of the Financial Times group, with the title of „The Polish City of the Future“ in the 2019/20 edition. During the 2019 edition of the MIPIM in Cannes, Gdynia won the main category for medium-sized cities, as well as the „Economic Potential“ category.

Gdynia’s Urban Lab: an unusual place to talk about the city Such a place, which has recently been operating in Gdynia, is nowhere else in Poland. In Urban Lab, for which the local government gained PLN 3.5 million from the Ministry of Investment and Development, residents, officials, city activists and experts will work hand in hand to improve the quality of life. This year they will focus on the broadly understood participation.

It is run by the Social Innovation Laboratory - a unit of the City Office that implements activities involving the inhabitants of Gdynia, involving them in co-deciding and initiating changes.

Our mission is to search for and implement innovative solutions that improve the quality of life, and the activities of Urban Lab perfectly fit in with it - notes Aleksandra Markowska, director of the Laboratory of Social Innovation in Gdynia.

#Mateusz Jarosiewicz

Inaugurating the activities of Urban Lab, Michał Guć, Gdynia’s vice-president for innovation, emphasized: We would like everyone to use it and that everyone could, thanks to interesting ideas, contribute to changes in our city.

To make you feel that being in this place and participating in the process - because it is not just a place, but a certain way of thinking about the city - actually contributes to a change for the better, to what we call raising the quality of life.

We hope that what Gdynia is to achieve thanks to Urban Lab will be disseminated as good practice to other local governments.

The rules of operation of Urban Lab are simple. The expert group diagnoses the problem - a challenge for the city. With extensive cooperation with various environments, he creates a potential solution, implements it and, at the last stage, evaluates.

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city : ajdovščina

smart : one

: Municipality of Ajdovščina

Ajdovščina

The Municipality of Ajdovščina is the cultural and economic centre of the Vipava valley, which lies in the western part of Slovenia, close to the Italian border. The municipality has a population of roughly 19 000 people and relies economically on its food industry, the textile industry and wood processing. The windy mediterranean valley is renowned for its wine and its fruits.

pioneering participatory budgeting in Slovenia

: Participatory budgeting in Slovenia

Tadej Beočanin : Tadej Beočanin became the mayor of the Municipality of Ajdovščina in 2014, at a young age of 32, making him one of the youngest mayors in Slovenia. The impressive support he received among the electorate was in no doubt due to his outstanding track record as an active citizen. Before assuming office he was the president of the Youth board of Ajdovščina, where he established both the Youth center and the Hotel Ajdovščina. His avid engagement with his local community, both through the Youth board as well as other organisations, has raised the attention of the National council of the Republic of Slovenia, which awarded him with the award of excellence in the field of community work. As mayor, he puts a strong emphasis on job creation, youth engagement and a polycentric development of the municipality. He is currently serving his second term as the Mayor of the Municipality of Ajdovščina.

2000 př. n. l.

19 000

SLO

Participatory budgeting is a democratic process which empowers ordinary citizens to participate in the management of their municipality. It is a form of direct democracy in which citizens directly influence how a part of the municipal budget will be spent. The practice first started in 1988 in the Brazilian town of Porto Alegre, where it was conceived by the Worker’s party in order to tackle poverty in the municipality. Great successes in Porto Alegre, where they managed to quadruple the number of schools, reduce child mortality by nearly 20% and fix both the sewage and the water system, have since carried the idea of participatory budgeting all around the globe. It is now a part of the municipal strategy in more than 3000 cities.

However, the idea is very plastic and exists in different forms in different parts of the world. To a great extent, the form of participatory budgeting, as well as its goals, depend on the social circumstances and the political climate in the cities in which it is implemented. Slovenia has joined the movement of participatory budgeting quite late, as the first municipality to employ it was the Municipality of Ajdovščina in 2014. Although there was interest in the idea before, such as in the second largest Slovenian city - Maribor, all previous attempts have been unsuccessful. Tadej Beočanin, the Mayor of Ajdovščina, has thus earned the title of the pioneer of participatory budgeting in Slovenia.

Participatory budgeting is a two-way learning process....

: According to our information your municipality, under your mayorship, was the first to implement participatory budgeting in Slovenia. What led you to the idea?

Correct. We are the first municipality in Slovenia that has fully implemented the process of participatory budgeting. Of course, in other countries, participatory budgeting is already well established. When we were planning the strategy in our municipality we mainly wanted to activate the citizens, strengthen the community spirit and, of course, include the citizens in the municipal activities and decisions. Participatory budgeting has also proven to be an excellent tool for addressing all those micro local problems that arise in different parts of our municipality and could otherwise have gone unnoticed by the municipality management. : What were the expectations of your office when implementing the program and have they been realised?

Apart from the broader goals that I have mentioned before, we expected that the greatest impact of participatory budgeting will be in the field of public space management, therefore, that most projects will relate to infrastructure. These expectations were cofirmed. In terms of community engagement, in the first cycle we received 100 proposals and 70 were selected for voting. In this cycle 10% of eligible voters showed up at the polls. In our version of participatory budgeting you are eligible to vote at the age of 15. However, in the second cycle, the results were even better. We had a 20% voter turnout with a large increase among young voters, which was the aim of the new strategy in which we sectioned a part of the budget specifically for youth projects. : What percentage of the municipal budget are you managing in this way? Are you planning to increase it?

More than 1% of the municipal budget. This means we can carry out at least two projects in every subsection of the municipality. We have found that with this amount of funds we achieve the main goals which I have stated earlier. But we have to understand that around 70% of the municipal budget is reserved for the normal day to day functioning of the municipality and is not really subject to any decision making. Therefore the 1% that we are talking about actually represents about 4% of the so-called “free” part of the budget. However, increasing this percentage is not out of the question.

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city : ajdovščina

: One of the functions of participatory budgeting is that it exposes certain issues in the municipality that otherwise go unnoticed or that it brings in new ideas that are based on local knowledge. Have any of the initiatives surprised you in any way?

Yes, there have been several projects that went through the initiatives that we haven’t thought about before. People have good ideas and some proposed projects showed a very thorough understanding of the microlocal environment. For instance, through an initiative, members of different villages came together and joined several bike paths and walking routes into an organised whole. With this project, they enriched the tourist offer of our municipality. : If it is even possible, can you name and describe a few projects that stand out?

It’s almost impossible. All the projects that we carried out were necessary. For a great many of them, we can say that the municipality would have pursued them in the following years even in the absence of the public initiative. The projects were very diverse: playgrounds, restoration of central squares in villages and even a tourist guide. So yes, it is quite impossible to say which projects were the best ones or the most important.

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: Since one of the main objectives of participatory budgeting is the inclusion of citizens in the workings of the municipality, would you say that the people who were involved in these initiatives show greater care for what came out of them?

The people who were involved in these projects are very proud of their work. I have to say that this mode of participation has been very successful in strengthening the feeling of responsibility for public property in general. In addition, those who participated learned a great deal. In almost every one of the projects, they encountered problems that we at the municipality management have to deal with on a daily basis. I think they now understand better why some municipal projects take longer than one would expect. So it is really a two-way learning process. : Can you give us a specific example of what you have learned from the citizens?

I would go back to the project that I have mentioned before, in which the local residents connected different bike routes. It can happen that, while tied up in all our work, we, as the municipality, can overlook certain opportunities that are offering themselves. Such projects that make us think again about the things we already have at our disposal are great for developing long-term strategies.

: Since you were the pioneers of participatory budgeting in Slovenia and have set a good example are other municipalities now coming to you for advice on how to carry it out?

Indeed, we have carried out a great number of presentations of our project for other Slovenian municipalities. Both at the national congress of participatory budgeting and on an individual level. There has been a lot of interest and several other municipalities have decided to employ it themselves. According to our information, as many as 25% of all municipalities in Slovenia are planning to implement it in the following term. : Do you have any advice for other municipalities that are about to implement participatory budgeting?

The one general piece of advice that I give to everyone is that the management of the municipality is obliged to ensure a high level of trust between them and their citizens. Therefore, when you go into participatory budgeting you need to carry out the projects as promised. For instance, what happened in Maribor a few years ago is that the municipality selected the projects, the projects have been voted on, but they never went through. This can not happen. If the citizens are invited to participate, they have to be listened to. #Atila Urbančič

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smart : one by post-sent paper letters or CDs. Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection rejected the possibility of sending information by an e-mail attachment because theoretically banks could freely change or delete the message.

Nowadays when most of us have access to the Internet and digitisation is taking place in more and more areas of our lives sending paper documents by post becomes a bit ludicrous. The same situation applies to CDs and DVDs, which are expensive to record on and fewer and fewer computers are factory-fitted with disc drives.

Both forms of durable media are environmentally unfriendly and generate huge shipping costs.

Toruń : the blockchain leader Toruń : a nearly 800-year-old city in northern-central Poland with a population of over 200,000. A large economic and commercial centre as well as an important road and railway junction. Toruń is also the academic, scientific, cultural and tourist centre. The largest university in the city – Nicolaus Copernicus University has over 20,000 students. The great tourist attraction of the city is the medieval city complex (the Old Town, New Town and Teutonic Castle) entirely inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Toruń is also the birthplace of astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.

Torun Shared Services Centre (in polish language TCUW – Toruńskie Centrum Usług Wspólnych) was the first public sector entity in Poland to implement solutions based on blockchain technology. The services offered by Exea Data Centre and Atende allow the Centre to replace paper prints and CDs with secure digital documents.

ving. For this reason, TCUW decided to implement an innovative solution of durable medium based on blockchain technology. This solution is addressed to all companies and institutions that require a secure data archive and implement a paperless policy, such as banks, financial institutions, insurance and energy companies.

Torun Shared Services Centre provides financial, accounting, payroll, tax and reporting services to 75 organisational units, mainly educational institutions of Toruń municipal council. Its main objective is to increase the efficiency of the units and optimise their costs through joint provision of services from one central location.

What is a durable medium? According to Polish law: it is a material or device enabling storage for a necessary time, resulting from the nature of information and the purpose of its preparation or transmission of information contained therein in a manner that makes it impossible to change it and that allows the reconstruction of information in the version and form in which it was prepared or transmitted.

Centre books over 46,000 documents annually. Such large data generates huge costs associated with their processing and archi-

Banks must provide all information about fees or regulations changes via a durable medium to its customers. So far it has been done

Atende ChainDoc, a proprietary solution that supports TCUW’s activities by authenticating documents transmitted electronically, reduces the need for paper and other costly solutions. ChainDoc has been integrated with the ISOD (Internet Document Circulation System) platform, an existing solution previously developed for TCUW. Its main goal is the electronic exchange of documents between TCUW and customers.

Electronic communication between units is much more efficient, faster, provides both parties with full access to the document and enables us to limit usage of paper documents. Imagine that if we handle 46,000 invoices annually, these documents would have to be physically transferred to accountants who would include them in the financial and accounting system - says Paweł Modrzyński, Director of Torun Shared Services Centre.

ChainDoc automatically marks the Centre’s financial and accounting documents with time sign so it is known when they were entered into the system. Their registration and verification ensure that they have not been modified by third parties – so they remain unchanged.

The service is built based on a confirmed open code blockchain engine, guaranteeing the transparency of the solution and giving certainty to its scope of operation. It is a closed and private blockchain based on trusted computer nodes located in Poland, including Atende and Exea Data Center in Toruń. Exea as the only server room in Poland that has a prestigious Tier III of Constructed

Facility certification, which confirms the highest level of offered services ensuring that all stored data is there fully secure.

The entire process of secure archiving the data would not be complete without adequate storage space. TCUW uses another innovative solution – software based durable storage – WORM as a Service. WORM (Write Once Read Many) is the data storage technology that consists of writing data once on a medium without any subsequent modification to prevent accidental deletion or alteration of confidential information.

There are WORM solutions based on physical arrays which are costly due to the need to invest in equipment, its maintenance and service (replacement of drives, space in the server room, cost of electricity, updates, etc.). The software solution in the service model which uses the object memory system offered by the secure Exea Data Centre is much more effective. Several security mechanisms prevent both accidental and intentional deletion of data and the lack of the need to invest in physical equipment and its maintenance makes this solution much more financially efficient.

Additionally, Exea Data Center guarantees TCUW unlimited space for data adapting to the current demand.

ChainDoc and WORM as a Service both form a modern sustainable durable medium solution for TCUW. Centre documents are transferred in a much faster, safer and cheaper way. The employee who books the documents does not have to additionally secure or mark the documents, everything happens automatically in the background. Such durable medium has its special application in the public sector, where the reliability and transparency of all information is of key importance – summarises Tomasz Pasikowski, CEO of Exea Data Centre.

The proof of the innovativeness of software based durable medium is the Man of the Year title for the President of Toruń Michał Zaleski achieved during this year’s Smart City Forum granted for solutions based on future technologies implemented in TCUW. The Centre, as a representative of the public sector, is thus paving the way for other entities, among which the latest solutions are still not as common as on the commercial market. #Aleksander Wangin

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smart : one and standardization of P+R car park in the whole FUA is missing. That is why KORDIS decided to implement a pilot project of a smart parking solution and use it for spreading of experience to other municipalities in the FUA. It is foreseen that KORDIS JMK role as the coordinator of the public transport services in the South Moravian Region is to extend to a provision of technical recommendations to the municipalities to create a single monitoring system with standard and open data.

“The sustainability of the system can be achieved only with the common rules for various public and private investors, this is the only way how to enable the integration of any technological solution made by any of the municipalities within one system and pro-

The SUMP target values:

Smart solution for regional P+R

· · · ·

increase in the percentage of mass public transportation > 54% of the modal split increase in the use of P+R, P+G to 98% of capacity (on workdays) reduction of individual motor car traffic in the centre >10% improvement in air quality – fulfilment of the relevant strategy by > 95%

A SPECIFIC GOAL OF BRNO MOBILITY PLAN (SUMP) IS DEVELOPMENT OF NEW P+R FACILITIES IN THE BRNO METROPOLITAN AREA IN CONNECTION WITH HIGH-CAPACITY MASS PUBLIC MULTIMODAL TERMINALS. THE MOBILITY PLAN PREFERS PEOPLE LEAVE THEIR CARS OUTSIDE OF BRNO AT KEY TOWNS´ RAILWAY STOPS AND CONTINUE THE JOURNEY BY TRAIN.

To provide a good decision-making tool for both the assets manager and end users a single information system on occupancy of P+R has been projected by KORDIS, the coordinator of the Integrated public transport system (IDS JMK). Within the Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE project SOLEZ (Smart Solutions supporting Low Emission Zones and other low-carbon mobility policies in EU cities) KORDIS, with the technical assistance of Transport research centre (CDV), has focused on piloting an IoT solution of real time occupancy monitoring of the biggest P+R in the town of Blansko.

The aim of the pilot action was to deploy a low-cost parking occupancy monitoring system, that will be able to provide drivers with

information if the carpark is full or not and to inform drivers about the next departure of a train by a dynamic traffic sign. P+R users are also informed about the occupancy of the car park through a mobile app and the IDS JMK website. Commuters to Brno park often their cars at many railway stations on the main railways toward Brno. The reason why they use cars for part of their journey is the high frequency of train services and the feeder bus lines from / to the railway station (local hub). Now, parking at many railway stations is disorganized.

Cars are parked on surfaces that are not determined for parking (lawns, cargo ramps, brownfields et.). Some of the municipalities in Brno FUA have already built car parks that are in line with the technical standards and traffic regulations however a systematic approach

vide the information to end users via various tools. We have created a new feature, P+R occupancy information, within our mobile app commuters are used to get information from and we are ready to integrate other data.” says Květoslav Havlík, deputy director of KORDIS.

: Pilot system design Smart parking system pilot in Blansko has been designed by CDV, SOLEZ partner responsible for technical assistance to all the project partners. “The key input for the design was free flow solution and future scalability, i.e. minimum cost and maintenance”, says Zuzana Švédová, CDV project manager. “We have considered various technologies and their architecture designs, and chosen a single IoT system managing traffic flow magnetometers combined with parking occupancy detectors on the spots that are occupied as the latest, identified by our investigation made in place. So, we have decreased the price as much as possible while eliminating inaccuracy.”

: Findings All occupancy data is aggregated into a central element of the system, which was also designed by the SOLEZ project. Data transmission is used by local Internet of Things network collecting data from 15 detectors only. “The system has shown that there are about 2500 cars coming to the place per day for various reasons, so traffic free flow detection was the right choice.

We have also considered camera-based system but due to poor lighting conditions at the place, property and GDPR paperwork issues we have decided to go the easiest way possible,” says Zuzana Švédová. The CDV technical assistance could then focus on other issues like the IoT system evaluation, standardization of the cloud system and its easy use by KORDIS but also other potential investors in the future. The software central element provides data through the application interface. The software is operated in a cloud solution and is scalable according to the requirements of the system operator. “We have learnt from long-term data that the system has 98,5 % reliability and it is the best value for money option which is a very important result for CEE market potential where public investments still consider the cost as the prime requirement”, adds Zuzana.

“Besides occupancy information for drivers we have gained the valuable information on the real occupancy of the P+R for future decision making. As the official capacity is 213 parking lots, the peak capacity of the place is about 245 parking vehicles. People use public transport more and more as the result of long queues at the arrival to Brno as well as the introduction of Resident parking scheme in Brno. As the coordinator of public transport system, we do care much about good service provided and their improvement. So, the real data helps us to consider better the overall scheme of P+R in the whole FUA regarding suitable capacities and the information system itself. The SOLEZ pilot project was very useful as we can now provide the municipalities and the region with the proper guidance”, says Havlík and concludes with the mission: “we would like to provide people also with the travel time comparison between car and train options to make them decide wisely what transport mode they use for travelling to the city. We have been already contacted by other towns which are considering of similar monitoring system”.

With Brno Air quality plan and the planned LEZ introduction the importance of the regional P+R network and the parking occupancy information system will significantly grow. So the low cost of the system as well as the data integration in standard way in the single system are the key elements of the future success.

#David Bárta

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GoodVision Video Insights reduces costly errors of humans performing data collection and makes it constant while the output quality is better. GoodVision is delivering more than 95% accuracy in all conditions. To get the perfect data, all you need to do is to provide input data with reasonable quality - in this case the video footage.

What is happening

: From traffic modelling to pedestrian analysis in the city GoodVision combines capabilities of various sensors and detects all vehicle types at once. Traffic engineers use it on roads, intersections, roundabouts or pedestrian zones, with fixed or temporary cameras, even with drones. Use-cases go from traditional traffic counting, through traffic modelling, to pedestrian analyses in the city.

in your city?

TYPICALLY, WE SPEND AT LEAST 5 HOURS WEEKLY IN A TRAFFIC CONGESTION. DID YOU EVER THINK WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY IT IS? ARE CITIES AND ORGANIZATIONS REALLY MAKING ROAD DESIGN DECISIONS WITH 30-YEARS IMPLICATIONS BASED ON POTENTIALLY POOR DATA WHILE WE ARE WAITING IN THE TRAFFIC JAMS? WHY DON’T YOU DO

process including traffic modelling, intersection design and mobility planning. Traffic surveys are performed continuously at regular intervals. But… Traditional data collection methods on travel and transportation infrastructure are generally inefficient. They are either resource -intensive or time-consuming, providing static data and thus leading to infrequent analyses based on small samples or outdated data. Human counters have a high degree of inaccuracy and provide just a static data like counts. Invasive sensors like tubes had to be physically installed, maintained and have limited capabilities. Traditional computer vision methods are not trusted because of it’s limitations in various climatic conditions, low light situations, shadows and light reflections, dense traffic and others.

traffic survey. Yes, that means that even 10 000 hours long video is processed in 1 hour.

You don’t need to specify any conditions up-front, the product extracts complete traffic information and let’s you do your search and filters afterwards, repeatedly. Your video is processed just once. GoodVision recognizes eight classes of vehicles including pedestrians and bicycles.

: More than just traffic counts There are many various types of traffic data and information about traffic behaviour which can be collected in the streets or from the roadways. Following are key traffic data types:

ANYTHING ABOUT IT?

Traffic cameras are producing 15 billion gigabytes of data weekly and it is obvious that most of the recorded footage won’t be reviewed by human eyes no more. It is beyond human capacity to do so.

Videos from city cameras is a raw material for traffic engineers, who relies on high-quality traffic data that are the crucial starting point in their projects. The limitations during it’s collection can be easily solved today, thus many organizations are moving to traffic collection using AI video analytics. This is a reliable alternative of data collection under various conditions.

· · · · · · · · ·

Traffic data accurately reflect the real-world traffic situation in the area, therefore they play the crucial role in every traffic engineering

You don’t have weeks of waiting for results. GoodVision provides 1-hour turnaround time regardless of the duration of your

Accuracy in traffic data collection is fundamental in that the resulting data serves as the foundation of planning for road infrastructure.

: GoodVision is for everyone : If cities had a magic wand

Traffic Volume Counts Origin-destination multi-modal traffic monitoring 8 classes of vehicles including pedestrian classification Exact traffic trajectories Passage times and traffic delays Time-gaps between vehicles Near misses of traffic attendants Acceleration and deceleration data Heatmaps and advanced traffic reports

GoodVision Video Insights is self-serviced ready-to use product running at my.goodvisionlive.com. GoodVision is paid only by volume of video-hours processed from 4 EUR per video-hour. Every other feature and traffic reports are provided to users for free.

: About GoodVision GoodVision is a Czech company fully devoted to innovate the ways how traffic data is collected from real world and transform it into actionable insights towards smarter cities. Our award-winning traffic video analytic service is available worldwide and currently serving users on five continents.

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A House designed outside the passive standard?

A meaningful solution or an outdated concept?

WHEN DESIGNING BUILDINGS, WE SOLVE THE QUESTION OF ENERGY PERFORMANCE VERSUS ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, SPATIAL REQUIREMENTS AND RETURN ON INVESTMENT IN ENERGY SAVINGS. IT IS ALWAYS A WEIGHING, WHICH APPARENTLY DOES NOT HAVE A SIMPLIFIED SOLUTION, GENERALLY APPLICABLE TO ALL HOUSES. EVEN HERE, THE CLICHÉ IS USED, THAT HEALTHY COMMON-SENSE WINS.

On the example of a family house, which we have completed in early 2019, I will try to approach the process of creation, in our opinion, in a meaningful modern solution.

The investor’s initial wish was to build a house for his young family, where it would be possible to work and relax and DIY in a rather large garden. The original intention was to build something of natural materials. Healthy energy-saving housing. Of course, everything had to look nice and fit into the surrounding countryside.

In this case, the situation was also specific in that a change in the local master plan was discussed, which would prohibit the building in this locality. In addition, there was no access roads and other challenges, time pushed…

Although we have experience in building houses from natural materials, eventually the choice of materials was not too natural.

However, the original intent was not completely abandoned, and the natural materials were used indoors and on the façade of the

house. The house is therefore classically based on the foundation lines and the underlying concrete. Masonry is made of sand-lime bricks, which are insulated with grey polystyrene thickness of 220 mm. The roof is flat with a roof made of wood and beams and a vegetation cover. It is a one-floor house with a rear side recessed into the terrain. The shield walls and the rear recessed wall are lined with stone and front larch plates. The natural character of the house remains. The house from the front part follows a roofed terrace, passing through the undamped façade of the house. The roof of the terrace is supported by torsion of the trunks and is made also from wood. The terrace itself follows the pavement, which connects the garden cellar with a sauna and a parking shelter with a workshop. Both accompanying objects are located sidewise across the plot and in their center, there is the house. All buildings create a uniform functional and aesthetic whole.

The materials in the interior have the task of creating a pleasant and healthy climate. Since it was a holiday house, it was not

possible to apply subsidies for passive houses, and that is why the investor did not move beyond the passive standard. Even though the house is not passive, its energy site is well balanced, and it did not cost much extra.

The land was not quite ideally oriented, the residential, and therefore the glazed part of the building, is eventually oriented southwest. Passive solar gains are therefore not ideal. But nowadays the investor appreciates a rather good passive shielding than maximizing watts from sunny rays.

Already during the construction of the house, the investor was pleasantly surprised how easily it was possible to heat the building.

During the construction, a portable power supply of 2 kW was fitted inside. This source proved the entire building with a built-up area of 185 m2 to be heated at 18 °C in large frost in January, February, under constant coring of craftsmen inside and back.

After this experience, the investor decided not to restructure the

heating in the house in the designed range and to reduce the proposed radiators.

Heating is ensured by electric heaters supplemented with heating mats under the pavement in the entrance door and two bathrooms.

The bathrooms are equipped with electric ladders. The living room has a heavy storage stove of the Finnish type with a power of 2.7 KW. A vital component that contributes to the heating of the house is a heat recovery unit with a return gain of heating, which is equipped with two heat pumps with a power of 1.3 and 1.6 KW. It is a compact unit Pichler PKOM4, which can heat and cool supply air while being able to heat hot water to its 200-litre reservoir. Hot water heating is solved by a second heat pump and an electric cartridge. Both heating systems are independent of each other and are located inside the compact body of the unit. The device looks like a larger refrigerator, leading to air ducts and pipes of cold and hot water. There is virtually no other technology in the technical room. The advantage of this unit is that it does not have an outdoor splitter and thus does

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not produce noise and does not hype the façade of the house. From the house only to the northern façade there is just an air outflow. In a small technical room, a central vacuum cleaner, washing machine, dryer, network RACK, main water supply with filter and electric switchboard, all on an area of 4.6 m2, could be included in the compact unit. There was also a closet with storage space. There are no other technologies in the whole house, so the floor area could be used for housing needs. Recovery is equipped with quality filters in the F7 outdoor air class and for the M5 exhaust air, after two months of operation, the inlet filter was relatively dirty (blackened), indicating the purity of air on our villages in the heating season.

The overheat of the house is ensured passively by roofed terrace, embedment into the terrain and by overall orientation of the building. Active cooling is ensured by the mentioned heat recovery unit, which thanks to the heating pump can operate in reverse operation and therefore cool. The house also has a preparation for the installation of photovoltaic panels on a flat green roof. Electricity from photovoltaics would then positively compensate for the overall annual energy balance.

The house is connected to only electric energy and drinking water networks. The wastewater treatment plant is again solved relatively simply and without energy intensity and mechanical equipment. In the original plan the vegetation treatment plant was considered, but in the end, an assembly consisting of a quality 4-chamber septic tank and a pulse-filled vertical filter were used.

Purified wastewater is sunk on the investor’s grounds. The sys-

tem is only gravitational and works without the supply of any media and with the efficiency of water infiltration into the underground.

On the plot a well was drilled for utility water, which will be used in irrigation, washing etc. The project also included the construction of a natural swimming pond, but this investor will grant it after he is recovered from the initial investment.

#Ondřej Bízek

Overall, it is a building that is inconclusive in the landscape, allows for pleasant living, with enough space for the family and which is operationally undemanding. If we wanted to achieve the parameters of the passive building, it would have to increase the thickness of the insulant to 30 cm or more, to mount the FVE for greater gain of energy from renewable sources, and even then it would not be certain whether the passive standard would be achieved. This is mainly due to A/V shaped index. In this case, the investment invested in acquiring the passive standard would have a too long return and would probably be unjustifiable without subsidies. In our opinion, the resulting solution is based on a meaningful creation and corresponds to current trends. The user of the house is satisfied with the housing and the existing energy needs show that it will be an economical living.

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Innovative public services in the communal water sector

: Drinking water quality and supply management In the field of drinking water, there is a general consensus among experts about what technologies to implement ideally, what they are beneficial for and how they can improve the quality of the service, The difference indeed is what is practically feasible and who is supposed to pay for the innovations.

Monitoring and subsequent artificial intelligence is crucial to the detection of anomalies, elimination of leaks and ensuring high efficiency of water management infrastructure operation.

The system should work according to the prepared scenarios, be able to decide autonomously. There are already options for creating a so-called digital twin network on the market that simulates and selects the most suitable operating scenarios. The big

that this person carries is low and difficult to enforce. The is a great need for demands on the professional person, their authority and responsibility to be higher. A very good service is now being carried out by mandatory Water Safety Plans and adjusting the institute of professional representative would be another logical step to improve the level of drinking water supply in the Czech Republic.

: From leaks reduction to supply restrictions In connection with the actual topic of drought, the issue of supply restrictions resonates not only by the water sector experts but also the public debate. Monitoring is crucial for a thorough analysis of the issue. At present, the area of Smart Metering is develo-

A WORKSHOP WITH REPRESENTATIVES

„Water infrastructure in some small municipalities still does not even reach the stage of industry 3.0“

OF INFRASTRUCTURE OPERATING COMPANIES, CZECH ADMINISTRATION, INDUSTRY, ACADEMIA AND TECHNOLOGY SUPPLIERS WAS HELD ON 7TH MARCH 2019 IN PRAGUE TO FIND A GENERAL MATCH ON THE CURRENT DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SMART AND INNOVATIVE

advantage is the use of a mathematical model to predict the real development of parameters on the distribution network. Online monitoring of qualitative and quantitative parameters, even in combination with an advanced management, or even artificial intelligence, can be an effective way to reduce the risks arising from safe drinking water supply plans. However, the introduction of these technologies is limited by the fact that there are not enough qualified personnel with digital skills even in large companies, let alone in an extremely fragmented environment such as the water sector in the Czech Republic.

PUBLIC SERVICES IN THE COMMUNAL WATER SECTOR IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC. ITS OUTCOMES HAVE BEEN ALREADY IMPLEMENTED IN THE PROJECT “SMART CITY STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK” WITHIN THE UNION OF TOWNS AND MUNICIPALITIES OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC AND WITHIN THE SUBSEQUENT ACTIVITIES BEING DEVELOPED IN THE CITYONE PLATFORM.

The fragmentation of the Czech communal water sector and the high number of operators are huge problem that hampers innovation. On one side we have large group water mains and larger cities, where advanced analytical technologies and remote-control elements are installed, and on the other side, we have villages where it is considered a success that water is available and there is great doubt about its quality. The problem is not only in the financial power of smaller cities, but in the availability of experts and professional service. In such cases, the role of a “professional representative” is crucial, but his expertise is very low in practice, and the responsibility

ping very dynamically, in this field it is mainly the remote reading of water meters, for both, the industry and municipality consumers. These “smart water systems” are used to provide billing data, network data acquisition & control, and data provisioning for customer service. Individual operators implementing these elements of the digitization of the infrastructure have mainly gone through pilot projects. Completely covered sites with smart water meters are, for example, Vohančice and Ostrovačice near the city of Brno. Relatively quickly progressing in the digitization of water management infrastructure, for example, is the city of Ostrava, which is to be completely equipped with remote reading of water meters until 2024.

Operators are currently addressing technical challenges and operational issues in Smart Metering: · · · ·

the choice of technical solution of the meter (and regulation) the choice of technology to transfer, process, store, use and access data visualization of data to the customer specify the investment and operating costs of digitization

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city : one In addition to water meters, there is also the issue of drinking water savings or avoiding excessive demand of water resources by a limited group of customers. In the workshop, consumption reduction scenarios were discussed in two cases: 1) reducing water losses on the network; 2) water shortage periods reduction. The first example is handled by the operator only and is not, in principle, interested in consumers. The second case already directly affects the consumer and different approaches can be observed.

In the summer of 2018, over 50 municipalities in the Czech Republic had to proceed to a temporary restriction of underground or surface water utilization by announcing a Public Decree prohibiting water utilization by citizens for specific purposes - irrigation, recreation, etc. Furthermore, there is many municipalities that were forced to provide external water supply. However, checking the compliance of such a Decree is not in the means of the municipality and such a precaution is usually ineffective. Restrictions on the supply of drinking water (e.g. when the contracted limit is exceeded, the network pressure drop, or the complete customer disconnection) are already being tested by some operators

smart : one not easy. For this reason, it should only be used by professionals, and sharing should take place at e.g. Water Authorities, Central Water Management Dispatch of catchment area, Hygienic Stations and e.g. the National Institute of Public Health.

: Advanced digital tools and Smart city Approaches

Consensus was reached on how to handle water data. Water quality data is sensitive, and the interpretation of such results is

An example of supra-regional infrastructure management is the Smart Crisis Centre in the city of Hradec Králové, which will serve as a supra-regional dispatching of the East Bohemian water supply system in the case of extreme climatic events (floods, drought, power outage, cyber-attack, contamination of drinking water, etc.), the dispatching of the operator Královéhradecká provozní a.s., and then as a showroom and museum for the public.

the principle of blue-green infrastructure. From the field of water management, it defines the need for, for example, data files: · · · · · ·

Water supply and sewerage network (current passports) Energy potential of waste water Water demand and real-time water consumption Drinking water quality in real-time Hydrological subsoil Total precipitation and impermeable areas

Satellite data Detailed imaging of the Earth surface was used in the city of Beroun as part of the water leak detection method. The principle is to scan the Earth’s surface from a satellite (it is possible to use drones as well) in a suitable wavelength spectrum and then evaluate these images with an advanced system. Especially the speed and efficiency, which is incomparably higher to classical „invasive“ fault detection methods, is an advantage. The output of the analysis is to indicate places with likely water leakage.

„The supra-regional dispatching is unique in monitoring and ensuring the operation of the water supply system of several operators.

By sharing data between operators, the dispatching centre is highly efficient.”“ (by installing so-called active control elements on the customers house connections together with a smart water meter) and in 2019 the first real regulations can be expected. The problem may arise with social acceptability, then it will be up to the setting up of the contract between the operator and the customer. An alternative, generally more acceptable, is a multilevel price, i.e. a change in the demand price of water in the case when the contracted limit is exceeded. Of course, there would be a service informing the customer about the proximity or exceeding the limit, such as SMS or email. This solution does not bring the desired savings if the water price is not an incentive for the customer. On the other hand, increased income from water bills can serve to provide temporary or conceptual arrangement to provide enough water for all.

Regional dispatching management

The proportion of confirmed suspicion of leakage was reportedly around 80% in this case.

Digital twin The mathematical models of water networks (water supply, sewerage, urban drainage systems) allow for effective decision making by the operator / network administrator. With the boom of information technology and the interconnection of real-time data models from online flow / quality sensors, network behaviour can be monitored in real-time while predicting unusual situations to prevent losses (in terms of quality, efficiency of operations) and supply failures. Typical applied mathematical models are in the so-called digital twin, i.e. simulate e.g. the connection of a new customer, torrential rain or sudden contamination and its distribution by the network.

: The concept of street databank Because the smart city concept is about interconnecting and meaningful use of data across sectors, a Street Databank has been designed, the first concept that allows synergies between disciplines and preparation for digital planning. It concentrates the data needs of individual fields of human activity on specific streets of the city. This creates requirements for conceptual data collection and management, but also allows for integration of requirements into existing investments (e.g. street reconstructions, water supply network, etc.) and to plan investments in detection technologies synergistically. The resulting data are used for effective decision-making by investors, all departments of the city, municipal companies as well as private companies or citizens. Using such data, we can compare the quality of life and make realistic decisions about global issues such as climate change, air quality, lack of housing or planning for sustainable transport, or just the management of rainwater in cities based on

: The critical outcomes from the workshop · · ·

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Lack of expertise in land-use plans and water and sewage development plans The incorporation of concepts and a long-term strategy of water management in the Czech Republic is missing The Czech Republic does not have a system of holistic economic assessment of the water factor, necessary for planning in both water management and long-term sustainability assessment for the complex needs of all consumers of drinking and service water in the Czech Republic The development of water management infrastructure is retarded due to the extreme atomization of water sector; there are 6.700 owners and 2.800 operators of public water and sewage infrastructure in the Czech Republic

# Petr Dolejš, Jindřich Procházka

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Efficient renewable energy sources in municipalities

side payments, the biomass instead can be produced, for example, by technical services established by municipalities and can have a positive effect on their economy (and finance the deficit waste collection and sorting). The Partner of such a project can be, for example, a local agriculture business. It is possible to conclude several mutually advantageous relations with the municipality or extend already existing relations. If the implementation of the biomass project achieves comparable final heat prices for the customer, weighting the investment, the funds do not run outside the municipality and the value of the property of the municipality or the company established by it increases. The Broader material, energy and financial relations of the project shift the question of the economics of energy investments very far from the simplified perspective using a simple return on investment. Similarly, it is possible to look at phenomena such as photovoltaics, battery storage and electromobility.

The Municipality should always ask the question of where the money is going, taking into account the mechanism of implementation of its budget.

In general terms, investments with low investment costs usually drain from citizens and municipalities through high operating costs to energy suppliers. For Investments with higher investment costs, i.e. usually those in renewable energy sources, the operating costs are significantly lower, and the investment increases the value of the investor’s assets ideally. In many cases the second view is very „worthwhile“ for the municipality.

THE ISSUE OF THE ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF RENEWABLES IS OFTEN HEARD IN VARIOUS FORUMS, CONFERENCES AND DISCUSSIONS WITH THE MUNICIPAL EXECUTIVES. IN GENERAL, THE ENERGY IN MUNICIPALITIES IS A „MULTI-LAYERED“ PROBLEM.

The municipality should not carry out only a simplified evaluation of the economy of investments in renewable energy sources based on a simple return using current energy and technology prices. The reason is because it is exposed to the great danger of not taking into account the important effects that the investment brings to its economy. It is good to perform CBA (not only revenues) in a broader sense, including not only financial but also non-financial aspects of the project in the medium term. For example, to find the answer to the question of whether and how much are we willing or able to pay for the energy independence or security that the use of renewables can bring? What is the value of the fire brigade’s ability to intervene through its own energy resources in situations where the municipality is without electricity?

ries or contributory organizations. A good economic evaluation with the quantification of cash flows is then an auxiliary indicator of how the realization of the investment is reflected within the particular part of the municipal budget. It is ideal to process the above-mentioned cost-benefit analysis with the evaluation of broader project links on the organism of the municipality.

Primarily, the energy investment projects should be meaningful, i.e. fit into the logical framework of the municipalities and its subsidia-

The CBA evaluation specialist can draw attention to the fact that while natural gas costs leave the municipality in the form of out-

CTU-University Centre of Energy Efficient Buildings (UCEEB) in Buštěhrad (Kladno) is a background for basic research and experimental development of technologies for decentralized energy.

The development of devices for production of electricity and heat from biomass with a power supply suitable for municipal authorities, schools, gymnasiums, swimming pools, wellness centers, farms and small businesses began at the CTU in Prague at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in 2008 and today it has had more than ten years of history. In 2013 The development team moved to their own laboratory of organic Rankin cycles and their applications to UCEEB. A complicated project path was accompanied by several blind roads. The equipment placed on the market in the year 2019 under the Wave brand is already the sixth modification of the original concept and is experimentally operated in the laboratory of LORCA from its debut in June 2016.

The Wave Unit can be simply imagined as an automated biomass boiler producing also electricity. While the conventional boiler consumes electricity for its operation, Wave will cover its electricity consumption and supply excess electricity to the premises or sell it

to the distribution network. Electricity production is solved through thermal circulation, which is similar to that of a conventional coal-fired power plant. Instead of water the more suitable working organic substance is used for circulation, therefore this cycle is referred to as organic Rankin cycle (ORC). The heat is partially transformed into electricity after passing through the cycle and transferred to the heating water for the building or other technological use. Wave operation is fully automatic, including diagnostics and security systems. The device can be put into operation using the mobile application and easily shut down.

The Wave micro cogeneration unit was installed as a pilot commercial application in Mikolajice (Opava district), where it supplies the municipal office, the shop and the fire brigade with heat and electricity. The Project was initiated by the mayor Martin Krupa, who sought a more comprehensive view of energy savings in the municipality.

The unit in a container design with an output of almost 50 kW of heat, together with a photovoltaic power plant is part of a larger energy unit, in which, covers the the heat needs of connected buildings and supplies electricity to the distribution network. As a fuel it uses wood pellets, as it has been easily and cheaply available on site. The equipment is designed even for the use of problematic types of biomass, such as the lower quality wood chips. The unit could be operated after further adjustments without connection to the power distribution network in full island mode.

An authorised emission measurement took place on the unit prior to the final approval in autumn 2018, confirming compliance with the emission limits to the level of the so-called Ecodesign. All solid fuel boilers on the sell must meet the Ecodesign requirements no later than January the 1st 2020. In addition to the emission limits, the UNIT also complies with all pressure safety attestations, revision of electrical equipment, noise limits, etc. The press conference took place on 20. 2. 2019 in Mikolajice, showing to the public not only the Wave device, but the whole project containing photovoltaic power plant and battery storage. The Unit at that time had already been in operation for almost the entire season so it was possible to talk about its operational characteristics.

The Following already commercially attractive generation of Wave product assumes a boost in unit performance to 120kW thermal and 6kWel. The reason for this transition to higher performance parameters is the significant improvement of economic efficiency.

Such a device with higher performance will find its use for example in municipalities for heating of larger offices and cultural houses, pensions, hotels, apartment buildings, farms, etc., wherever the resources of biomass are cheap enough, albeit less quality, and the investor is looking for the most effective use. The First unit of this size will be installed during the year 2020, the projects are being prepared and interesting subsidy funds are available. #Jakub Mascuch, Michal Tobias; CTU University Centre for Energy Efficient Buildings

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Waking up sleeping places

REFILL OFFICE IS A CITY-BUILDING SERVICE OPERATED BY THE OSTRAVA CULTURAL CENTER COOLTOUR. ITS MISSION IS TO FIND OPPORTUNITIES FOR SHORT-TERM USE OF EMPTY HOUSES - WHETHER URBAN OR PRIVATE. LENKA HOCHOVÁ, TOMÁŠ ZETEK AND ZUZANA VINKLÁRKOVÁ WALK THROUGH THE CITY LOOKING FOR EMPTY HOUSES AND THEIR OWNERS. THEY THEN CONNECT THE OWNERS WITH POTENTIAL TENANTS FROM AMONG THE CITY‘S ACTIVE CITIZENS, WHO ARE LOOKING FOR INEXPENSIVE RENTAL SPACES FOR THEIR IDEAS AND ACTIVITIES.

Nová radnice Ostrava, like other European cities, has long been struggling with a number of unused buildings. You can come across them not only in the suburbs and areas of the city where the socially excluded live, but also in the historical centre. Those dilapidated buildings then spoil the impression of the city. They attract undesirable social phenomena, mar the streets and reduce the value of the surrounding real estate. And that is exactly what they want to change at Refill, to the full potential of those „sleeping“ places.

As the only city in the Czech Republic, Ostrava has decided to support the setup of such an office. The annual pilot project launched in June last year and its coordinator Lenka Hochová told us about what has been done so far.

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Did the city reach out to you or vice versa?

The City of Ostrava was involved in the two-year European Union project Refill, where representatives of ten cities from the EU shared experience with temporary use of empty spaces. Ostrava then decided to support the establishment of our office and commissioned the cultural centre Cooltour to run it.

We are a one-year pilot project; we started last summer. So far we have arranged short-term rentals, the longest of which lasted three months. It was an NGO that creates emergency shelters for the homeless, which help them survive the toughest winters.

The project, just like the actual shelter, is called Iglou. They were looking for spaces for the shelter assembly, but they didn’t know

how long for. In the end, they lasted three months, and then they managed to find a company that would produce Iglou for them in a manufacture and in large numbers to satisfy the needs of all the interested, mostly charities and municipal departments of social services. We are very happy to have helped with the workshop and the still project continues, though in a different mode. Right now we are looking forward to opening another space that we have provided for temporary use. It is a project aimed at the rap community. It will be a music store and a meeting point.

(laughs): I work here with Tomáš Zetek, and Zuzka Vinklárková helps us part-time. The city of Ostrava finances us. They help us to negotiate with city districts, but also with marketing. The urban project FajnOVA shares our Facebook events. Or we take our posters to the information centre. Our office is based in space owned by the city and rented to us at a very fair price.

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Yes, we cooperate with a lawyer who has prepared model contracts for property owners; those can then be customized. We offer his services individually according to the needs of the project.

How do you make your living?

The Cooltour cultural centre has two and a half employees

: You are two and a half, but you also offer a lawyer’s services. Do you have other co-workers?

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city : space Recently we had a house viewing - this house has been empty for ten years. It is owned by siblings who inherited it along with a company, but they have no use for it. We offered them a specialist to evaluate the state of the building and what the investments to reach a usable state. We also have a graphic designer who helps us when need be. We have money for those people in our budget. :

How do you find suitable houses?

We get information from the public, walk around the city and write down what we see, look into maps. Then we look up owners in the land register, try to get their contact details, and finally reach out to them. This is how our internal list of empty houses is created, which we put on our website after verification. But the buildings are not necessarily available. For some houses, we did not have a chance to connect with the owner, and the fact that we placed those houses on out website is a kind of „appeal“ to try to locate or contact them through someone else. There is a public database of houses we have recognised as empty and properties we are working on. We also have our own internal database. There are buildings unsuitable for use, or municipal buildings, or those that we know will soon be under reconstruction. Or they are simply ruins, unsuitable for our purposes. : Do private owners worry about renting their houses out?

How do you convince them to trust you?

Of course some are distrustful, afraid of losing control of their property. I often feel distrustful of mentioning NGOs and socially oriented projects. On the other hand, business start-ups with commercial potential are interesting for the owners. At the moment we are for example looking for a space for a dance group is based in a shared area, but they would like to have their own studio to organize dance courses. Once they start making money, they could pay commercial rent. This is the model we want to present: to revive a space that has been empty for a long time, rent it out cheaply and for a limited period of time. During that time the dance group would have a chance to prove how well they can do. :

How long can a project in a „borrowed“ house last?

Quite often these groups or associations offer to volunteer to de-clutter, clean up and rebuild the space – in exchange for a very low rent and service charges. After a while which can be months, but even one year, they meet with the owner, evaluate the situation and agree how the lease will continue. So first we arrange temporary rent for a symbolic amount, but the relationship between the owner and the tenant can prove to be working out and can continue, on commercial basis as well if agreed. :

So your role is to bring these two parties together.

Exactly. We are just an organization trying to connect two parties.

smart : one perty and their hands are tied by various internal guidelines. These are some kind of security safeguards to prevent possible unrighteous treatment of public property. However, excessive precaution stands in the way of more flexible dealing with empty spaces. Ultimately, the potential of many buildings remains unused.

The contract is then signed between the owner and the tenant, who has a plan how to use the space. We help with preparation work on the project, we advise people on how to finance their projects through various grants, and provide a lawyer who prepares the contract. The two parties arrange everything else. We then work only as an independent observer. We have the right to ask about how the project is going, whether the conditions are complied with, and we can use the project to promote ourselves and the idea of temporary building use in general. :

Why temporary?

Temporary because such use basically gives users a chance to try out their project for a limited period of time, and at the same time offers the owner’s a chance to think about what they would want to do with the property. Additionally, thanks to the tenants, the property does not go on dilapidating, and the owner saves on costs for example for security or heating.

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And what about cooperation with other organizations?

Usually we organize the events ourselves, but when they are related to the subject of urbanism, the city, the public space etc., we like cooperating with those who are interested. Once it was with the Colourful Layers Festival, which focuses on the historical heritage of our region. We already planning another event with them. We also cooperate with the Landscape Festival, which Ostrava will be hosting for the first time this year. We hosted two debates where the Landscape Festival was presented; there was a discussion about the public space and the reasons of the present-day landscape of Ostrava. We welcome cooperation with anyone whose activities are somehow related to what we do.

: You are also looking for inspiration organizing some sort of a discussion between Ústí nad Labem and Ostrava.

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Yes, from Ústí there was Jitka Žambochová from the platform ID Ústí, we met at the conference Empty Houses. Then we came up with the concept of a comparative workshop. It was held in Ostrava to compare which of the post-industrial cities is worse off, all taken with a pinch of salt – a bit of humour and irony was there.

Yes, it is Moravská Ostrava and Přívoz, the central district, where we feel the largest demand for spaces for bringing into life creative ideas and trial operation of commercial enterprises. More time those areas are very visible. We have been in contact with officials and politicians from the central district for a months; the results of the negotiations are coming in slowly but surely.

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Do municipal representatives attend such events?

They do. Just this abovementioned workshop was actually a debate with representatives of both towns. They presented their opinions on different areas of city life. Among others, Ostrava was represented by Ondřej Dostál from the Strategic Planning Department, who is in charge of the FajnOVA project. So we can say that we cooperated with the city on that debate.

So is it a question of bad legislation?

The issue is legislation, internal regulations or rules… It just takes too long. We need city halls to decide which premises should be rented out for temporary use, under what conditions and the whole process to be transparent. We understand that the city must maintain certain protective mechanisms we would not want to bypass.

But it would be ideal for us to be beneficial to people, the rents to be affordable and there would not be any need to wait for months.

What is specific about temporary use?

Our office has been inspired by the ZZZ agency in Bremes, which has been around for ten years. For the first three years they only offered municipal spaces, which is logical: starting with city-owned houses, and when the collaboration works, it is easier to win over trust of private owners. That is why cooperation with the city and its districts was our main goal from the beginning. The temporary nature of the rental was chosen for it is about bridging a certain period of lifespan of a building which would otherwise stay empty.

It is a matter of unleashing one’s imagination and experimenting with the possible use of space. Some solutions do not work out; others can set a path for longer-term use. :

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The city’s interest will be reviving the city centre itself…

What relationship do you have with the city?

The relationship is good. We are currently discussing a specific mechanism for renting city-owned empty spaces. :

Does your cooperation have any pitfalls?

The biggest pitfall is the lengthy process. We understand that the city and its districts must be cautious when dealing with entrusted pro-

Is there something done in cooperation with the city?

Last year we revived the vacant space through the Flower Hall at Masaryk Square, where we organised an exhibition in cooperation with the Embassy of Sweden. The agreement with the central city district was smooth and provided us with free space for one month.

We have thus confirmed that in places where there is no need for special approval, there is a will and willingness to deal with things right away. Unfortunately, this is more difficult for buildings and longer-term use. It is necessary to change some internal processes of the city districts, which requires more complex changes to the internal procedures of the town halls and hence further negotiations. :

What is the ideal activity for is worth looking for spaces?

For us it is important, and this we have been presenting the whole time, that the projects we support must be beneficial to the city, communities, neighbourhoods, city districts, a group of people…

As the city finances us, we want to give something back to the people. It does not necessarily have to be a start-up with commercial potential, even though they are welcome too. :

What has made you happiest so far?

Our greatest success is the workshop for Iglou. We contacted the property owner in connection with another space, but it proved to be unsuitable. He tried to accommodate us and came up with an alternative solution. We quickly managed to mediate cooperation.

Lenka Hochová studied English at FF OU. Her main job for Refill is to communicate with building owners and people with ideas for their use and linking those two groups. „But we are here for two and a half, so we all do everything,“ she laughs.

In her free time she reads and dances. #Tereza Škoulová

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smart : one of cooperation. The aim of our efforts is to magnify the cultural, social and material value of the currently unused property.

New Cvernovka for Trnava County ALL MANUALS OF THE SMART CITY TALK

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In what form of cooperation do you hope? What is its goal?

We know that our buildings can be used better than in the past. If the former government did not cope with the problem, they simply sold its assets, often at unfavourable prices for both the county and its inhabitants. Or let the property just be understood. That’s why we focus on how to make better use of assets. We have addressed an entity that has experience and can help us. If we can offer our inhabitants an interesting product – a meaningful use of our buildings for new, public purposes, it will be a great success for the county.

ABOUT HOW IT PAYS TO COLLABORATE ACROSS SECTORS: PUBLIC, PRIVATE, ACADEMIC, NON-PROFIT, CIVIC, ETC. YET THIS KIND OF COOPERATION IS STILL RARE. ONE EXAMPLE IS THE TRNAVA COUNTY, WHICH, BASED ON EXPERIENCE, HAS APPROACHED THE NEW CVERNOVKA ASSOCIATION TO HELP IT WITH THE USE OF EMPTY MUNICIPAL HOUSES. THE PROGRESSIVE MAYOR OF TRNAVA REGION JOZEF VISKUPIČ BRIEFLY MENTIONS THE ADVANTAGES AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF SUCH COOPERATION.

: To this end, the Manual for use of abandoned buildings is prepared. Is the document available for other cities?

This project is funded by the EU funded Operational Programme Effective public administration and we implement it from April this year. As soon as this general public policy manual is ready for this area, it will of course be available.

Trnava County has many buildings for which we are looking for ways to use them in the most efficient way. We have approximately six hundred buildings in the administration. Because in the past former administration did not pay much attention to the topic, the new management begins with the technical overview of assets and currently we are solving software support.

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: For the duration of your cooperation, how do you enjoy working with the non-profit?

One of the advantages of working with entities from an external environment is that they offer you a glimpse of the problem from the outside. They are not burdened by other circumstances and focus only on solving the specific problem. Our county has a very wide agenda, so we want to engage in the events of the region and people from the outside. In the foreseeable future, we should have on the table the first solution to use our building in the town of Piešťany, a pilot project of our cooperation with Cvernovka.

How did you reach Cvernovka?

Since the advent of the new leadership of Trnava’s self-governing region, we have begun to deal with effective management of unused property of the county without having to significantly encumber the regional budget. We also stopped its sale.

That’s why we addressed the Cvernovka Foundation, which has experience with similar projects, to help us invent their new, public benefit use for buildings. Together we signed a memorandum

Obviously! Solutions arise from constructive discussions. When you are in cooperation with an external entity, it gives you a different perspective. This may be for public administration, say-non- traditional.

It is important to look for ways to find a balance between processes in public administration and solutions from an external environment. :

Are there more areas in Trnava where you have chosen to use the know-how of non-profit organizations?

When a nonprofit has know-how and public administration an enlightened policymaker

: How do you think the cooperation of municipalities with non-profits is beneficial? : What is the situation of empty houses in Trnava? How many are they and what is their use?

: Have you come across anything that your opinions and Cvernovka are different? And have you been able to accept the criticism?

As I said: The outside expertise is very inspiring for us and broadens our horizons. The municipalities should be open to that. Our philosophy is to involve people in the region as much as possible to be part of the decision-making process. That is why we have embarked on cooperation with the non-profit sector, for example, in a participatory budget project, in which we let people decide how much of the funds from the budget of the county will be used.

We cooperate with the Civic Association WellGiving in the field of electronic submission of applications for subsidies, which are provided by our county in the framework of its support schemes. In doing so, we want to facilitate the application process, which is practical, significantly simpler for the applicant and it is ecological, because there is no need to use a single sheet of paper for submitting the application, and finally it is also transparent. And we thrive: we register increased interest in subsidies compared with the year 2018. A total of 1006 applications were submitted for year 2019, representing an increase of 17 %.

We also started a project of the participatory budget, where we cooperate with the Civic Association Utópia, which has its know-how in this area. During our encounters in cities we are interested in this way of participation in decision making, which is very fine, so we want to continue. : What do you think prevents the cooperation of the public with the non-profit sector to work better?

Governments have their competences and powers to implement new projects through cooperation with the non-governmental sector. Rather, I perceive it as a willingness to embark on it. It is a fact that our governments rarely engage in innovative projects or in cooperation with external environments. It also points out that our county is one of the first to break down similar projects. It is important to give people the opportunity to make something. Our time offers amazing opportunities and it is up to us, politicians, to get them to the fullest extent possible in public policies and to improve people’s lives. #Tereza Škoulová

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92 nments to be capable of an open dialogue, and support some associations despite differences. :

Auto*Mat

How can one avoid a fiasco?

This is always complicated. Most non-profits are financed from grants. For example last year, grants that the grant committee already approved were in the end not given to Auto*Mat and Arnika by the Prague City Hall. Then politics came on the scene.

Some representatives have advocated the view that they would not give the grant to Auto * Mata because we criticize them. Even that can sometimes happen. This is quite serious if the association is largely dependent on grants. Thanks to the money that is outsourced through grants, we are in the end more independent than if we financed via special-purpose subsidies or contracts. :

How do you survive if you didn’t get a grant?

Fortunately, Auto*Mat also has individual donors that partially help us cover such outages. At the same time we monitor all sui-

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Are you commissioned by the city in any way?

It is problematic with direct commissions. The law says that without a tender, you can’t get a contract worth over a hundred thousand crowns. However, the possibility of non-profit organizations to operate in this way is limited. It usually takes more time to negotiate on the project than the project itself and before the formal agenda is arranged. Often it is a case of pettifoggery: for example, going below one hundred thousand, dividing the commission into multiple instalments, which certainly does not benefit the NGO’s image in the eyes of the public, even though this is not something the NGOs would go for. :

Are you facing obstacles by legislation?

It is a fact that if you are already well known, you can easily apply for grants. The civil society development foundations and some grant agencies and foundations want you to have some history.

This is the most common barrier for many non-profits. Grant agencies don’t want to give a million to somebody they don’t know,

Do activism so that people don‘t feel it is activism AUTO*MAT IS A CIVIC ASSOCIATION THAT WORKS ON IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN CZECH TOWNS AND CITIES. IT HAS ESTABLISHED SEVERAL SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS, WHICH SUPPORT LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND PUBLIC SPACE. THE MOST PROMINENT OF THEM IS THE NATIONWIDE EVENT DIFFERENT CITY EXPERIENCE, THEIR OTHER PROJECT

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BIKE TO WORK IS ALSO GROWING.

They study specialisations include anthropology, geodesy, construction or urbanism and they have formed a team that designs, promotes and expands infrastructure and fair public space from different perspectives.

In addition to its own projects that activate the public space, Auto*Mat also cooperates with the city in multiple ways. Its members follow up-to-date decision-making about the public space and transport situation in Prague, comment on and make their own studies. As a part of the Prague Development Activity, Auto*Mat team tries to direct Prague transport towards sustainability. We talked about their cooperation with the city with one of the members of the so-called „Watchdog“ team, Michal Lehečka.

table grant calls. We are good with money, we have a modest budget, It is more than twenty of us but hardly anyone works here full-time. We do not have any additional funding from local governments except for grants.

: What is the first and necessary condition for a city to work with a non-profit?

If the city wants to work with non-profits that have counselling and development experience, it’s good if there is somebody in the town hall who is familiar with the agenda of the NGO sector.

It is not to be expected that a non-profit will defend at all costs the interests of politically elected representatives. Similarly, it works the other way around: people from NGOs have to learn to understand how local governments work. If this is not the case, it can lead to an unpleasant situation - it does not meet the expectations since it may have politically problematic views, for example on disadvantaged groups or minorities. Logically, no town hall would support anyone that criticizes it. As an attribute of advanced democracy it should be possible for the local gover-

Can we go back to working with the city? How’s it going?

We are regularly in contact with all who want to talk to us - informally and formally. At the same time, we are asking for patronage from the city and the city districts in the projects Different City Experience or Bike to Work. In our „watchdog“ activities, i.e. commenting on and monitoring the development of the city, support is usually weaker, as it is constructive criticism rather than patronage.

because it’s hard to get money back if need be. :

Collaboration happens often. But it is the case of what kind of organization it is, what activity it does and what the city wants from it. For example, in the areas of social care, education, culture or the environment, cooperation is very well developed. The problem during collaboration may start off when you have a research or activist role, sooner or later there will start a tension. It is different for a non-confrontational organization that has a non-confrontational, non-political, „honourable“ agenda… :

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So you feel the cooperation with no profits is rare?

… while you stand out against car transport.

In addition to grants, how are you „linked“ to the city?

The city and its development is a network of relationships, so there is some permeability that is quite common from the point of view of civil society development. In the course of our history, it has happened that some people who had worked in Auto*Mat then got a job in the Prague City Hall. At the same time, however, we have a code of ethics and, among other things, one of the rules is that our employee must not be politically active at the same time, nor her or she can be an employee of the local authority.

We are primarily not against cars. We are in favour of a reasonable discussion and consensual development of the city towards sustainable development and better air, which we believe is not happening. Unfortunately, the development of the city is subject to power relations, in other words, whoever is strongest - socially, economically, etc. The automotive industry is among these strong players. Until there is a global consensus that truck transport will be limited, something that is already happening in the Western world, nothing much is going to change.

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What else can be improved?

It’s a positive and playful event. We are getting people who participate in the event for the sake of sport or because of teambuilding to think about sustainable mobility. And people who might not even think of cycling start with it because of the campaign. We do not expect that all the participants will ride a bike every day for the rest of the year, but even one weekly ride will relieve the city. This year we also tried a weekly January challenge, which was supposed to reverse the belief that you could ride a bike only half of the year. It turned out that in Prague it is enough to dress better and you can do without any special equipment. In addition, this year we are pleased that Mr. Hřib, the City Mayor, has been a patron of the Bike to Work call.

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Why cities do not work more actively with non-profits?

I’d say they do work together. But it is often about a particular political representation. Many politicians prefer to give contracts to private entities rather than NGOs, be it for ideological beliefs or simple clientelism from which they financially benefit. However, the quality of the result is usually the same, if not worse, at a much higher cost.

For the ninth time, Auto*Mat has announced a nationwide call Bike to Work. The aim is to motivate as many people as possible to get used to regular cycling to get rid of fear or shyness and to contribute to sustainable transport as a community. The campaign thus seeks to change people’s minds. We asked Anna Kocianová how this is working and how the city can benefit from the Bike to Work call.

Plus last year you had one significant conflict with the city…

We were dealing with an issue where management of one of Prague’s districts rejected the grant support at very the last minute. It was an initiative of one particular politician (from Prague 3 district), who has long felt an overwhelming antipathy towards Auto*Mat. With the help of several colleagues, he invoked a special vote in order not award grants to Auto*Mat and Arnika. Then it was enough label us as cyclo-terrorists, just in case, and the vast majority of politicians abstained from the vote, which was enough for the proposal to be passed. Although all the formalities and compliance with the urban strategy were fulfilled our end, and an independent grant committee had already approved the projects. So we lost a lot of resources we relied on.

How to prevent such conflicts in the future?

It would have been enough for each politician to use their common sense to find out the real benefits of the particular projects for the city and its inhabitants and not to be manipulated by particular individuals. Which is, of course, a bit naive.

Why do you think it is such a success to work on a bike?

Sometime in 2005, we responded to a public announcement by the Prague Municipality: think of a programme for the European Mobility Week. Our predecessors, members of the non-profit organization Oživení (Revival) and members of Motus - the production of the Alfred ve dvoře Theater, came up with the idea of closing Smetana embankment in Prague 1 for cars and turn it into promenade with cultural program. After two years, when a private company took over the event on Smetana embankment, we moved the festival to Prague 2, where the first street participated in the event. The number of such streets grew every year, and today there is over seventy of them participating.

In our case, it would be beneficial to sign a PR cooperation agreement with the City of Prague. Every year we separately reach out to newspapers and websites of all city districts with promo texts about Different City Experience and we hope they publish them for us.

Many of them do not, and we will have problems reaching out to te locals. On the other hand, it would be a goal of every non-profit that would, like us, claim to act in the city’s best interest. :

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: What works well in Auto*Mat? And what is the success of the Bike to Work campaign?

We are managing to be well established. This is also related to the fact that our campaigns are successful. Both Different City Experience and Bike to Work are gradually expanding, both in terms of the number of participants and participating regions.

We are also pleased that companies are becoming increasingly interested in our Bike to Work event. :

I would love to ride ind Prague on bike, but I am afraid…

That is why we are trying, with the use of various infographics, articles and with the help of the Prague By Bike portal, to persuade people not to be afraid. You can try out a few things, such as driving a bike to work at the weekend, when traffic is quieter. You’ll try the intersection where you‘re not sure and prepare your tactics how to best cross it. Thanks Bike to Work you can arrange to ride with someone more experienced and go with them couple of times.

When someone has been riding for a couple of years, he can show some of his tricks to the colleagues. : Do you have any insight into any particular places or areas with security or accessibility issues?

We do! Participants of the Bike to Work event record their routes in different ways. One of the ways is with the help of mobile apps, such as the City’s Prague by Bike (Na kole Prahou) or Urban Cyclers. When a person logs routes into the system, we can use these anonymised data. So far we have used the data to see who has travelled the most kilometres and which route they took. This

year, we got in touch with programmers who, with the agreement of the city, can locate problematic areas. So far, we have tried it in Brno: when the city supplies the programmers with map data to show where there are most offenses are committed, where cyclists ride on the sidewalk, or where accidents happen often, we find out what the bad spots are or where the infrastructure is insufficient.

And because we have the know-how of a cycling infrastructure, we can advise them on what to do with such an area. :

So the data can be used to improve urban infrastructure.

Exactly. Thanks to Bike to Work, urban communities are gradually being created. Those are linked to local Facebook groups where people are discussing these issues. As a result, people get together and do something. Some towns and cities involved in Bike to Work organise debates with locals or participants - this is an example of how non-profit activism can influence public administration. The Bike to Work is playful, and even those who do not feel involved, go to the town hall to discuss something. : Is the situation in Prague getting better? Will we ever have as many cyclists as they do in Vienna or Copenhagen?

In Prague, the public view on cycling is distorted in terms of folklore. Bicycle rides are common all over the country, but much less in Prague because the conditions are far from ideal.

However, there are hundreds of smaller towns where people ride bikes everywhere: to the shop, to the doctor’s, to the office. Our goal is to increase the proportion of girls and women on bikes, at the moment girls often don’t ride because they are afraid. Thanks Bike to Work they can try it out. In Prague, the ratio of female cyclists to male cyclists is one to four, while in Vienna women are cycling more than men, and in Holland it is fifty-fifty. There is a terrible disproportion in our country and we want to change that too. #Tereza Škoulová

Does this mean that they motivate employees to participate?

Sure. For example, one particular bank managed to get three hundred employees participate in the campaign. It’s part of their corporate strategy. Companies are beginning to think more about ecology, about energy performance of the buildings they are based in, think about transport, waste management, heating… In short, they think about sustainability. At the same time they take Bike to Work as a kind of teambuilding, which we tailor-made for them.

Anna Kociánová

Different city experience has been pardoned the fee for occupation of communications in most Prague districts. Even though, for example, the previous management of Prague 3 really did not like us and for a few years there was quite a bit of tension.

It helps the local organizers to save up to tens of thousands of crowns per street. Also, Prague services have themselves paid the rental of traffic signs in previous years. The City Hall provided several free advertising spaces (so-called citylights). This all really counts!

How did you get to work with the city?

Jakub Holzer

: What do you value your cooperation with the city?

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Michal Lehečka

In addition to commenting on current political issues and decisions regarding transport or public space, Auto*Mat is actively involved in improving the urban space - not just in Prague.

Their largest project, which has gradually involved dozens of cities and towns across the country, is called Different City Experience. Jakub Holzer briefly explained how Prague helps them to organise this unique street festival.

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