Morgenstadt Global Smart Cities Initiative: Global approach - local solutions

As of: September 2021

Smart and sustainable urban development is one of the main solutions for climate change adaptation and the efficient use of resources. However, the sectoral approaches to sustainable urban development have resulted in very different assessments of investment priorities and local needs. The Initiative uses the “City Lab” methodology to develop integrated strategies and roadmaps for sustainable urban development in the selected pilot cities. Based on an analysis of local development demands, replicable, viable solutions and strategies are generated and implemented. Local partners are supported by the exchange of knowledge in the international innovation network “Morgenstadt: City Insights”and sustainably strengthened through targeted capacity building in the Indian, Mexican and Peruvian pilot cities.

State of implementation/results

The official kick-off event of the project took place on November 18, 2019 in Barcelona with representatives from the three pilot cities Saltillo (Mexico), Piura (Peru) and Kochi (India).
Project activities have started in all three pilot cities. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the planned on-site assessments in Saltillo (Mexico) and Piura (Peru) as well as the stakeholder workshops were postponed and are conducted virtually.
In Saltillo (Mexico), the results of the City Lab contribute to the Municipal Climate Action Plan (PACMUN). The digital on-site assessment concluded in February 2021 with two virtual sessions. Project findings were presented to the academic public of Saltillo in a webinar organized by local partner IMPLAN. A participatory workshop with all relevant local stakeholders served to present the results of the sector analysis and a vision for Saltillo. Furthermore, concrete project ideas for climate mitigation and adaptation actions were discussed with the participants.
In Piura (Peru), several interviews with local stakeholders are part of the digital on-site assessment. The aim is to complement and analyze the main aspects of the city to start designing the project ideas that will be part of the roadmap. Furthermore, a study on urban gardening during the times of the Covid-19 pandemic is conducted as a joint initiative from the partners UDEP and FHG.
In Kochi (India), a stakeholder workshop was held in January 2020 to present the findings from a two weeks on-site assessment as well as co-create project ideas. These ideas are included within the roadmap of the city profile. The city profile of Kochi (India) was completed in December 2020 and was presented to the City administration in April 2021. The executive summary of the Kochi city profile is available at mgi-iki.com/…
In order to support expertise buliding in the partner cities, a public MGI webinar series started in January 2021. The topics focused on the needs of the cities and were linked to climate change mitigation and adaptation. The webinar served to discuss topics such as “linking COVID-19 Response to Climate Action” and “Smart City Policies” with representatives of the partner cities and interested actors from the Morgenstadt network.-- An interactive working session on COVID-19 impacts and challenges on urban development was organized by the MGI team on July 30, 2020. Participants of the three City Lab teams joined this activity, the discussion was summarised in a result paper (mgi-iki.com/…).
Project partners from the three City Labs participate in the Regular Morgenstadt Network meetings and events, enabling the exchange not only between the three pilot cities, but also with other members of the Network. The project was presented in November 2020, followed by a session for Network members to present the current states of the three city labs and the next steps.

Project data

Country:

India, Mexico, Peru

Implementing organisation:

Universität Stuttgart - Deutschland

Political partner(s):

City of Saltillo - Mexico
Expert Network, ESD
Government of Kerala, Local Self Government (DC) Department - India
Ministry of Environment (MINAM) - Peru
Senate of the Republic of the United Mexican States, Climate Change Comission

Implementing partner(s):

Cochin Smart Missions Ltd. (CSML)
Frankfurt School of Finance & Management gGmbH
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
Instituto Municipal de Planeación Saltillo (IMPLAN)
Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM)
National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA)
Regional Governments of Piura - Peru
University of Piura (UDEP)

BMU grant:

3.616.460,95 €

Duration:

12/2018 till 12/2022

Website(s):

mgi-iki.com/en/