Technology-based services as enablers in city development. Presentation at Yimbycon 19 Aug 2017

1. Making the city smarter
Technology-based services as enablers in
city development
Kaisa Hernberg 19 August 2017

2. Who’s talking?
Kaisa Hernberg
• Angel investor, board
professional
• Development Director, Climate
Leadership Council
• Green politician
– Member, Helsinki city
council & urban
environment board
– Chairperson, party council
Follow on Twitter: @kaisamirjam

3. Growing cities face serious
problems
Pollution
Traffic
congestion
Waste
Social
segregation
…but cities are not always able to
solve these problems alone

4. Traditional take on the city
City owns
and
operates
Procurement
Outsourcing
Privatisation

5. New paradigm: city as platform
Open city infrastructure: roads,
parks, utilities, public transport,
public data etc.
New services, events,
facilities created by
citizens, startups,
communities

6. Case Vancouver
Tech
companies
can test and
demonstrate
their
technology on
municipal
infrastructure
and assets
City acts as
company’s
first non-
paying
customer
Helps
companies
test their
technology in
the real world
City benefits:
better
services,
more jobs,
better
economy

7. Sharing
economy Startups
Everything as a
service
Urban
activism
Plenty of buzzwords
…but there is a lot of substance behind the buzz!
Citizen
involvement

8. Principles
Cities'
strength is in
maintaining
& developing
core services
City does not
need to be
the be-all
and end-all
of
development
Citizens are
interested
and keen on
participating
and
developing,
when given
the chance
Innovative
companies
and citizen
groups have
the agility
that cities
lack

9. City resources
Supplementary /
complementary
innovations
Profit!
🚌🚑
🚉🏛 💡
&👧
()*

10. Case: Mobility
Increasing
car traffic
• is a problem
for growing
cities
Public
transport
• can do only
so much
People
need
solutions
• that are as
flexible as
owning a car
without
necessity of
owning a car
Growing
number of
services
• Car sharing
• Route
planning
• Lower-cost
taxi services
• Mobility as a
service
platforms

11. Case: Heating
Heating
• is #1 source
of CO2
emissions in
Northern
cities
Coal
• is mostly
used for
combined
heat and
power
production
(CHP)
Public
utilities
• can do only
so much
Solutions
emerging
• Distributed
renewable
production
• Increased
energy
efficiency
• Decreased
peak
demand

12. How to make it work
Openness to
ideas from
outside
Unnecessary
restrictions
removed
Commitment
to
collaboration
Understanding
of core assets
and services
Clear
principles &
process