Open Innovation 2.0 Yearbook 2013 - European Commission - Europa

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CHAPTER II
Trends and country reports
2.1. Open innovation towards smarter cities
Introduction: smart cities as
innovation-led development model
Cities of today are confronted with immense problems
in terms of economic development, inclusion,
housing, transport, environment and climate, infrastructure,
public security and more. The current economic
crisis is making it even harder for cities and
their citizens, neighbourhoods and businesses, and
many European cities are in a state of decline. Cities,
particularly in rural areas, face the implications
of an ageing population in combination with economic
downturn [1]. At the same time, the city also
represents a promise: a vision of freedom, creativity,
opportunity and prosperity [2]. More than half of
the global population is now urban and projections
estimate that this percentage will even grow towards
70 % around 2050 [3]. In this context, the concept
of the ‘smart city’ represents technology and innovation-driven
visions and solutions. The challenge is
to redefine the smart city as an environment of innovation,
empowerment and participation of citizens,
businesses and other stakeholders in shaping their
future. The challenge is on change and transformation
towards a smarter city which is more participative,
inclusive and empowering, instead of imagining
an ideal future vision.
Many European cities are currently developing strategies
towards becoming ‘smarter cities’ and are
gaining lessons for transformation. Such strategies
are based on an assessment of the future needs of
cities and innovative uses of ICTs embodied in the
broadband Internet and Internet-based applications
now and foreseen for the future. These strategies
are also based on a new understanding of innovation,
grounded in the concept of open innovation ecosystems,
global innovation chains, and on citizens’
empowerment for shaping innovation and urban
development: these strategies include the development
of new types of innovation in urban areas. These
new ways of innovation are characterised, firstly, by
a high level of citizen involvement in co-creating
services in all sectors of the economy and society
through the use of the Internet and Internet-based
technologies; secondly, through the emergence of
new forms of collaboration among local governments,
research institutes, universities, citizens and businesses
(e.g. public–private–people partnerships).
Such strategies and the resulting urban ‘innovation
ecosystems’ are becoming increasingly relevant given
the urgent need to tackle growing social, economic
and societal issues that cities are currently facing
in a context of economic woes while simultaneously
many improvement opportunities are offered to cities
by new technologies and approaches to innovation.
This contribution is based on outcomes of the FIRE-
BALL (Future Internet Research and Experimentation
By Adopting Living Labs) project, a Coordination
Action within the European Commission’s seventh
framework programme for ICT, which ran 2010–
12 [4]. The aim of this project was to bring together
communities and stakeholders who are active in
three areas, namely: research and experimentation
on the Future Internet (FIRE); open and user-driven
innovation in Living Labs; and urban development for
smarter cities. The goal was to develop a common
vision on how the different methodologies and concepts
in these areas can be aligned for cities as playgrounds
of open and user-driven innovation related
to the Future Internet.
Cities and urban areas of today are complex ecosystems,
where ensuring sustainable development and
quality of life is an important concern. In such urban
environments, people, businesses and public authorities
experience specific needs and demands regarding
domains such as healthcare, media, energy and
the environment, safety, and public services. These
domains are increasingly enabled and facilitated by
Internet-based applications, content management
platforms and broadband infrastructures. Therefore,
cities and urban environments are facing challenges
to maintain and upgrade the required infrastructures
and establish efficient, effective, open and participative
innovation processes to jointly create the
innovative applications and services that meet the
demands of their citizens. In this context, cities and
urban areas represent a critical mass when it comes
to shaping the demand for advanced Internet-based
services and experimentation in large-scale open and
user-driven innovation environments.