Tomorrow's cities face many challenges. The global population is projected to reach 9.6 billion by 2050, citizens have greater expectations from their political leaders and the digital revolution is shaking up traditional thinking. This was the starting point at yesterday's EU OPEN DAYS seminar entitled Cities of the Future: Smart, Connected and Open, which was chaired by Michael Schneider, President of the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions. Following a debate on how to better connect Europe's cities and identifying the necessary building blocks to make them sustainable, participants concluded that creativity, convergence and innovation will be essential to turn the challenges into opportunities.

 

Investment support options for EU cities

"European cities face tightening budget constraints at a time of greater investment needs" Werner Schmidt, Director of the Environment and Regional Development Department of the European Investment Bank, explained before adding: "The smart response is to develop more adaptive investment strategies, apply innovative technologies & take advantage of new financial instruments." This was echoed by Colette Maloney, Head of the Smart Cities and Sustainability Unit at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology who encouraged participants to make the most of the significant opportunities that are present in the 2014-2020 Cohesion Policy.

Changes are happening at an unprecedented speed

Despite hearing many definitions of smart cities, one thing was apparent: the rapid changes brought about by digital technologies are forcing local and regional governments to transform the way they think and plan. "What we are about to experience in the next 10 years will have an unprecedented impact on your job, your business and your life" Bas Boorsma, Director for the Internet of Everything at Cisco, stressed. "We need to find affordable solutions for all cities – big and small". Fredrik Kekalainen, CEO of Enevo, added "Cities today are constantly required to cut costs, yet citizens and businesses are demanding better service - new disruptive technology is the key to facilitate this change."

Citizens want to be well connected

The contribution of sustainable, urban mobility and transport to city development was highlighted by Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso, Vice President of the European Parliament, and Spyros Spyridon, CoR rapporteur on the White Paper on transport. Ophélie Durand, a policy officer at AGE Platform Europe, underlined the importance of keeping citizens at the heart of urban policy development. "A city cannot be smart if it is not people-friendly" she said. Iñigo de la Serna Hernáiz, President of the Spanish Network of Smart Cities, also expressed his views that there is still a lot to be done.

More work to be done

In his closing remarks, Markku Markkula, President of the European Committee of the Regions, underlined that the debate has only just begun. "To develop cities of the future, Europe needs to foster interaction between universities, civic society, local and international businesses as well as citizens. In the forthcoming Dutch Presidency, the focus will be on the renewed Urban Agenda. In this context, a High Level Event is scheduled for the 30th May 2016 in Amsterdam focusing on smart cities and the integrated development of metropolitan areas in Europe."

The event was followed by the launch of Lambert Van Nistelrooij's latest book "Cities in the Spotlight" where he repeated his call for a "Pact of Amsterdam" on urban policy under the Dutch EU Presidency. "Ministers of Urban Affairs must show leadership… After all the well-meaning statements, there is no more time to waste."

 

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