Sebastian Marx is the Head of the Gothenburg European Office in Brussels, which represents the City of Gothenburg towards the European Institutions and acts as a platform for the academic and business community of Gothenburg in Brussels.
Last December 1st, Gothenburg hosted the event ‘Smart Urban Mobility – Cities of the Future’, which was organized by the Sustainable Urban Mobility Action Cluster. The meeting invited all comitted partners of the EIP-SCC, particularly partners from Scandinavian and Baltic States, to discuss how to take forward key cluster initiatives on Smart electro-mobility and Integrated Infrastructures.
The event “Smart Urban Mobility – Cities for the Future” took place in Gothenburg. Why did the Commission organise the event in Gothenburg? Should Gothenburg serve as a model of inspiration for other cities in Europe?
Gothenburg is a committed member of the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities (SCC EIP), which is a great initiative that really shows the important role cities have in promoting innovative solutions. Gothenburg is at the forefront when it comes to smart and sustainable urban mobility. We have today an innovative last-mile delivery service, fossil free waste collection, demonstration projects for autonomous cars and fully electrified and hybrid bus solutions and a congestion charging system just to mention a few. We work on sophisticated and innovative ITS solutions as well as promoting walking and cycling, so I do believe that it was natural for the Commission to chose Gothenburg as a venue for this meeting.
Which was the general profile of stakeholders interested in the event? Did it meet the expectations on attendance?
The meeting attracted mayors from 15 Scandinavian cities and communities as well as urban mobility experts from local administration and academia as well as industry and SMEs active in the field of mobility joined up for intense discussions on mobility solutions. From the feedback we received it was greatly appreciated and many participants asked for a follow up meeting next year.
Opportunities to “scale up” solutions where discussed during the event. Which were the outcomes of this discussion?
We discussed the need for an efficient market place for innovative ideas that contribute to smart, environmental friendly and efficient mobility solutions. The potential for “Smart City” solutions are enormous with an estimated global market value of €1.3 trillion in 2020. The EIP is seen as one arena where European industry, academia and cities can meet, discuss ideas, test solutions and jointly try to develop those innovations that can tap into the global smart cities market.
The replicability of projects was also highlighted as a goal. Is it possible for urban mobility initiatives to aim for replicable solutions, since funding, investments and infrastructures tend to differ between regions?
Of course there are important differences between cities across the EU but I believe the common challenges outweigh the differences. We see great potential to learn from each other and thereby avoid mistakes and take up successful solutions that have been tried and tested in other cities even if those solutions might have to be adapted to the varying local conditions. Let me give you one example: Gothenburg is now gathering experiences in the field of indoor bus stops and innovative services for our electric busses (ElectriCity). These can easily be replicated in other cities aiming to electrifying their bus fleet.
What are the main challenges within Urban Mobility towards the implementation of initiatives in Europe?
For a city to work effectively with innovation in Urban Mobility I would like to highlight 3 challenges:
1) Cooperation: The most successful innovative demonstration projects we have in Gothenburg are only possible because of our tradition of cooperation between city administration, industry and academia. Triple-helix and even quadruple helix principles are needed to drive our societies forward. This is also one of the reasons we very much welcome the European initiative of setting up a KIC on urban Mobility 2018 where Europe´s best universities come together with local actors and industry to foster innovation in the sector of Urban Mobility.
2) Access to finance: For cities to invest in new technologies and solutions and demonstrate their effectiveness is a great way to support business development in its area. However, we need to mitigate the risk we are taking with our tax payers’ money. Therefore, European, national, regional or private funding instruments are crucial for us to work with innovation. Funding from grants is the most efficient way to help cities trigger investments in innovation whereas loan guarantees or loans can be useful for larger infrastructure investments.
3) Public Procurement: It is crucial that not only the European directives regulating public procurement procedures are adapted to allow for technical and social innovation but that there is a level playing field in Europe when it comes to the national implementation of these European rules and regulations.