For the second time, the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (BMI) is awarding funding for the digitalisation of municipalities as part of the “Smart Cities Model Projects” programme.
Under this year’s motto “Common good and network city/city network”, the funded projects are intended to show how the qualities of the European city can be transferred to the age of digitalisation.
Among the 32 recently announced winners are the two municipalities of Hagenow (Ludwigslust-Parchim) and Kirchheim b. München, which were supported by aconium GmbH in the extensive application process. They can now look forward to federal funding of over three million euros.
A total of 86 cities, districts and municipalities as well as inter-municipal cooperations from all over Germany applied for the BMI’s call for proposals. Twenty cities and 12 inter-municipal cooperations and districts have now been selected as “Smart Cities Model Projects”. These 32 projects will receive financial support to develop or implement strategic and sustainable digitalisation measures for cities and regions. As part of the recently adopted economic stimulus package, the programme has been increased to a total of 820 million euros.
The municipality of Kirchheim b. München in Bavaria and the town of Hagenow in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania were successful with their funding applications this year and were selected as “Smart Cities Model Projects” by the jury – consisting of representatives from science, politics and municipal umbrella organisations.
aconium GmbH’s regional office for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania supported the town of Hagenow in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district in developing a strategy and identifying specific measures for the municipality’s digitalisation. In addition, aconium GmbH employees assisted the town with the application for the funding programme.
“With the support of aconium GmbH, we have succeeded in creating a good foundation that will allow us to focus on implementing the digitalisation of the city,” says Mayor Thomas Möller, summing up the strategy process for his city. The “Hagenow Digital Agenda” formed a cornerstone for the municipality’s designation as a model region. The planned Hagenow app, a central measure of the agenda, is intended to provide various citizen-centric services and offer opportunities for participation.
The aconium regional office for Bavaria assisted the municipality of Kirchheim b. München with the application process and strategy development. A total of 20 projects are to be implemented here – the centerpiece is a 3D simulation of Kirchheim. The main aim is to gain a better understanding of the municipality and to solve problems of all kinds quickly and efficiently. The focus is also on major projects, such as the 2024 State Garden Show, which will significantly change existing structures in the municipality. Kirchheim wants to optimise the upcoming processes with smart city solutions and also use them to develop a scalable smart public data approach.
Among other things, Kirchheim wants to measure its traffic flows and create green waves. Radar sensors, cameras, drones and the collection of cell phone data will be used to determine which means of transport are on the move and when. The idea is to automatically transfer this data to Kirchheim’s “digital twin” and use artificial intelligence to draw conclusions to improve traffic flow management.
Citizens and interested groups are actively involved in the research processes using a citizen science approach. Supplementary formats such as open workshops are also offered. In addition to publications, interested parties are offered digital and analog, interactive information and learning opportunities in the Citizen Center.