mySMARTLife

The mySMARTLife project aims to transform cities by developing an Urban Transformation Strategy that can meaningfully support in defining transition models to achieve a high level of excellence in the cities’ development process. The goal is to address the main challenges that hinder urban transition and to progress towards smart people and smart economy concepts. 

The mySMARTLife is a EU co-funded project.

To achieve this objective, the project leverages the Advanced Urban Planning approach, which involves the integration of planned city interventions based on:

• A rigorous impact assessment to evaluate the potential effects of the planned interventions on the environment, social equity, and economic development;
• An active involvement of citizens in the decision-making process to ensure the complete collecting and considering of all the needs and preferences of the community;
• A structured business approach that considers the economic framework for all kinds of companies, with the aim of creating a sustainable and prosperous business ecosystem within the city.

The project takes action in three lighthouse cities that comply with the Covenant of Mayors initiative through ambitious SEAPs and deploys large-scale interventions, collects data for analysis and KPIs, evaluates the associated impacts and disseminates the results. Follower cities are going to closely collaborate with the lighthouses in the definition and deployment of the interventions, analyze their specific challenges, and extract knowledge, best practices, and lessons learned for future replication. The project aims to align with the objectives of the Covenant of Mayors initiative and contribute to energy and climate mitigation plans.

How did the project act on the three lighthouse cities?

NANTES, FRANCE

MySMARTLife implemented 47 different actions in the “Ile de Nantes”, a strategic district of the French city which sees a growing population and increasing quality of life. The area is divided into three different zones of action:

• Zone 1, New Buinlings area: buildings are constructed with a carbon-neutral concept, renewable energy, smart energy systems, innovative boilers, smart power management and rental services.
• Zone 2, Retrofitting area: the focus is put on retrofitting, including a multi-owner residential building and energy retrofitting in individual houses, with smart technology and innovative financing.
• Zone 3, District-city level: the actions focus on mobility and infrastructure, including e-buses, charging stations, district heating and a new Urban Data Platform. In addition, citizen solar projects and building retrofitting through web-based platforms are facilitated.

HAMBURG, GERMANY

The project aims to improve the local quality of life, citizen involvement and infrastructures in Hamburg's largest district, Bergedorf, by implementing 59 actions in three intervention zones:

• Zone 1: focusing on the new construction area "Schleusengraben", the actions leverage energy-efficient housing, low-energy district heating, and smart lighting for bicycles.
• Zone 2: in "Bergedorf-Süd", mySMARTLife proposes Smart Heating Islands based on renewable energy and a lamppost initiative to replace street lamps in a retrofitting area.
• Zone 3: Borough of Bergedorf is the setting of renewable energy-powered mobility interventions, including electric buses, e-cars, e-bikes, charging stations, and car-sharing e-community.

HELSINKI, FINLAND

In Helsinki, the project focuses on Vanhankaupunginlahti, Finland's showcase of smart energy systems. The project aims to promote decentralized production and renewable energy, with 47 actions across four zones:

• Zone 1, "Merihaka & Vilhonvuori" retrofitting area: implementing large-scale residential retrofitting actions with smart heat-demand response measuring, leveraging an IoT-enabled urban platform, thermal imaging and heating&cooling optimization.
• Zone 2, “Kalasatama” construction area: constructing a high-performance residential area with smart home solutions, smart meters, renewable energy integration, and waste heat utilization.
• Zone 3, Viikki environment house: optimizing the use of renewable energy sources in a high-performance office building, through better control and power management.
• Zone 4, old town bay area: covering the district and the whole urban area, the implemented actions are aimed at mobility.