MAKING-CITY, along with 29 other European initiatives and projects under the umbrella of the European Commission, participated in the Smart City Expo World Congress 2022 from 15 to 17 November in Barcelona.
Scalable Cities Secretariat and Smart Cities Marketplace spearheaded the organisation and management among partners to bring forth a joint presence of projects, including MAKING-CITY, named “European Smart Cities and Communities” that are collectively leading the way and piloting cutting-edge innovative solutions with the aim to replicate them across cities in Europe on the path to climate neutrality.
The joint presence of all partners was felt and seen in various forms at the event. The focus point was a joint booth that hosted numerous smaller sessions organised by attending projects throughout the duration of the event. Projects and initiatives also took part in four large sessions, called the agora sessions, which included a larger and more diverse audience. In addition, smaller private meetings and matchmaking sessions took place concurrently to the main programme.
MAKING-CITY was present at the joint booth all three days of the event.
The project was mentionned in one of the first booth sessions “What’s in it for cities?” by panelist Pieter Fabre (Cities Northern Netherlands). Fabre discussed the impact that the knowledge, methodologies and systems brought by MAKING-CITY has had on Lighthouse City Groningen and its energy transition.
MAKING-CITY, represented by Emilio Miguel Mitre ( GBCe), participated in the agora session “The need foor innovative financial schemes for cities” on 15 November 17:30-18:15. Mitre brought up the idea of pursuing business as “unusual” and looking at how the aspects of the energy transition in cities that are not monetised could be monetised by creating a new dynamic.
The project, represented by coordinator Cecilia Sanz-Montalvillo, also participated in the booth session “Positive Energy Districts: Still so much to find out!” on 16 November 12:00-13:30. Sanz-Montalvillo brought three valuable questions to the lively debate: How can PEDs help society? What are the mechanisms to enhance energy trading between citizens? How can PEDs facilitate the transition to climate neutrality in cities? Sanz-Montalvillo then shared that MAKING-CITY is working closely with different stakeholders to adapt and redesign #PED implementation strategies based on their needs, and that the focus on social innovation in the project is placed on the follower cities, where replication is taking place. She also expressed that replication, when adapted, is possible, and that PEDs are one of the mechanisms that could held achieve climate neutrality in cities.
In parallel, a workshop on knowledge and competence for smart city governance and management took place from 12:00-14:00 on 16 November. Dr. Sari Hirvonen-Kantola, post-doctoral researcher at the University of Oulu and MAKING-CITY partner, presented “Stakeholder management in Positive Energy District project: challenges and management model.” Learn more about the workshop here.
Thank you to everyone that stopped by at SCEWC 2022 (Booth B21) to witness interesting discussions and to meet city representatives.
