11 real-life smart-city projects in Belgium

The “Smart Cities in Belgium” study by the Smart City Institute of Liege University reviews eleven smart-city projects, including the Fix My Street application, which is part of the smartcity.brussels strategy, with the purpose of drawing general conclusions from real-life cases.

Smart cities are burgeoning all over our planet, with a view to meeting the challenges of an urbanising world. Overall, these smart-city projects are consistent with six dimensions identified in 2007 by Professor Rudolf Giffinger of the Vienna University of Technology: smart living, smart economy, smart people, smart governance, smart mobility and smart environment.

These six dimensions of the smart city have been used as a base by the “Smart Cities in Belgium: A Qualitative Analysis of 11 Projects” published by the Smart City Institute of Liege University. The purpose of this study is threefold: “to draw the first scientific conclusions concerning the similarities and differences between these projects”, “to issue recommendations” and “to facilitate the development of new projects”.

In its overall recommendations, the study emphasises the need to “create a smart-region dynamic [...] in order to achieve sufficient critical mass and, among others, to make economies of scale when implementing projects.” This vision is one of the cornerstones of the smartcity.brussels strategy, which is illustrated in this portal and sponsored in particular by the Brussels Regional Informatics Centre, which initiated this dynamic in the Brussels Region. Its White Paper, published in 2014, supports this approach, which is based on synergies between public players in various areas of competence and at various levels of authority.

The Fix My Street application, which in 2015 earned an  Agoria Smart City Award, is a good instance of a large-scale approach, as it is being implemented by the 19 Brussels municipalities as well as a number of regional players. Concerning Fix My Street, the Smart City Institute notes that it is one of the few initiatives to have achieved a regional scope. It also shows that the application, intended to report defective streets and street equipment, gives citizens the status of experts concerning their city: “[they] contribute their expertise as users [...] Their involvement is crucial, as they contribute their experience in the field to the application.”

The Smart City Institute was created by Liege University and is based on an innovative partnership with the same university’s Management School, several private companies and the City of Liege. Its purpose is to foster research, training, innovation and entrepreneurship in the area of smart cities.