Digital City

People get more connected and technology becomes part of our daily life. Between 2014 and 2015 there was a 27% growth of internet traffic in Amsterdam. Eleven out of fifteen Trans-Atlantic data cables are connected with or go through Amsterdam and the AMS-IX is the second largest internet exchange point in the world. In 2016 Amsterdam was ranked second in the European Digital City Index. Do you work on a smarter city? Share your technologies here!

Manon den Dunnen, Strategisch specialist digitaal , posted

DIY Lab @ IoT-SensemakersAMS

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Every first Wednesday of the month we have an infomal gathering at OBA to learn, experiment and build IoT by ourselves (helping eachother). We also collaborate in projects, this evening we will kickoff our participation in Astroplant.io (https://www.sensemakersams.org/astro-plant/)

Manon den Dunnen's picture Event on Sep 4th
Anonymous posted

Hoe kan Noord-Holland het beste met data omgaan?

De provincie Noord-Holland en andere provincies experimenteren volop met de inzet van data, algoritmen en nieuwe technologie. Hoe worden burgers en maatschappelijke organisaties erbij betrokken? Daarover gaat dit onderzoek van het Rathenau Instituut:

#DigitalCity
Sam Smits, Trainee 5G , posted

KPN 5G Consumer Challenge

Will you join us in the 5G Challenge?

The future mobile 5G network is more than a faster version of the usual 3G and 4G wireless technologies. In addition to improved bandwidth, 5G has a lower latency (the delay in communication between devices), better security options and more powerful antenna concepts and a much higher capacity. Where 4G connected for people, 5G will connect society.

Will you join us in the challenge?
You are a start-up with the skills to connect society. We - the Johan Cruijff Arena, City of Amsterdam, Capgemini/Sogeti and KPN - challenge you to design and pitch a compelling service/application for consumers using 5G capabilities.

For more information and to sign up for the challange visit:
https://www.eventbrite.nl/e/tickets-kpn-5g-consumer-challenge-66995747083

Sam Smits's picture #DigitalCity
Keijen van Eijk, Project Manager , posted

EMPOWER2.0

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The project aims to demonstrate and accelerate the empowerment of citizens to become active energy citizens - and to create local energy communities via existing civil society structures - through development of new solutions (e.g. organisational) and adoption of new, emerging and existing solutions for energy ownership.

Keijen van Eijk's picture #Energy
Frans-Anton Vermast, Strategy Advisor & International Smart City Ambassador at Amsterdam Smart City, posted

The disinformation age: a revolution in propaganda

“More information was supposed to mean a more informed debate, but we seem less capable of deliberation than ever.”

The negative side of the (via the internet) connected society. When you think a bit further about the possibilities that smart city concepts offer, you should not leave this aspect unmentioned. But where do we start amd where does it end ……

Frans-Anton Vermast's picture #DigitalCity
Frans-Anton Vermast, Strategy Advisor & International Smart City Ambassador at Amsterdam Smart City, posted

SMART-CITY: Defined by insiders.

A Smart-City can be defined as the achievement of maximum quality of life with a minimum use of resources, with the help of the intelligent networking of digital technologies. It is possible to make a city more attractive, more environment-friendly and less wasteful of energy or water, facing several challenges at the same time: social, methodological, technical, organizational and conceptual.
Even if this contemporary utopia for our future cities sounds good, it can be useful to bring in mind that Smart-City and democracy were not primarily related. We are collectively running, worldwide, into this model of living but who asked for it? Mainly IT companies whom business models are based on data exploitation, and governments that sighted a good opportunity to bring private investments in public facilities.
When Artificial Intelligence continues to inspire a lot of innovation debates, we already know that an intelligent decision-making algorithm based on data analysis, would probably not make the same choices than humans, influenced be sensitiveness and natural moral law. What we are living actually is an unprecedented opportunity to up-grade the global efficiency of our urban areas, and implicating all stakeholders in its achievement is the crucial condition to avoid a disastrous bouncing effect against technology in a few decades.

Frans-Anton Vermast's picture #DigitalCity
Ben Snaith, Researcher , posted

Smart cities are decades away: but open cities are within reach

At the ODI we are working on a project on Open Cities. We have just published a blog about why thinking about open cities, rather than smart cities, can lead to a better future. Interest to see what you all think.

Ben Snaith's picture #DigitalCity
Gertjan de Vries, Partner at Learn Adapt Build, posted

WANTED: Launching customer for AI audio analysis project with Google, ML6 and SensorTeam

Google, ML6 and SensorTeam are joining forces and are looking for your help

We have started a proof of concept to recognize sound by expanding our cutting edge wireless sensor-technology with AI based audio analysis models from ML6.

SensorTeam’s IoT SoundSensor™ is an extremely accurate and cheap sound sensor which is solar powered, LoRaWAN compliant and LTE-M ready. This plug-and-play outdoor sensor runs autonomously anywhere in the world.

Sound recognition from regular ambient noise can be interesting for many reasons:

- Smart maintenance and Industry application
- Social noise disturbances from festivals, events or terrasses
- Public safety: gunshots, explosives, angry crowds
- Noise impact of airplanes, trains or highways
- Indoor noise solutions (office, security)
- Your idea here ;)

Interested in our technology or a mutually beneficial collaboration with Google/ML6 and SensorTeam? Do you have a relevant use case for our technology? Please contact us by sending an email to info@sensorteam.io.

Gertjan de Vries's picture #DigitalCity
Frans-Anton Vermast, Strategy Advisor & International Smart City Ambassador at Amsterdam Smart City, posted
Anna Docter, Online Communications Advisor at Amsterdam Economic Board, posted

Mobility X Blockchain: Blockchain meetup #3

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What new blockchain solutions are pionereed within the mobility field, and how can we help each other? After a successful series of blockchain meetups, we are continuing our event series with meetup #3 on blockchain solutions for mobility.

Anna Docter's picture Event on Jul 9th
Cathelijne Reutelingsperger, Projectmedewerker , posted

De stad van de toekomst

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Slimme digitale technologieën regelen steeds meer in Amsterdam en veel andere steden. Denk maar aan het regelen van het verkeer, cameratoezicht voor veiligheid en sensoren die van alles meten en waarnemen. De stad weet steeds meer van haar inwoners en gebruikers. Dat is handig, want daarmee kan de stad van alles beter regelen. Maar het zorgt ook voor vragen en soms zorgen. Hoe zit het met privacy? Wie weet er eigenlijk iets van jou? Stuurt iemand jou ongemerkt en kun je nog wel gaan waar je wilt?

Amsterdammers en professionals gaan met elkaar in debat om hun slimme stad (Smart City) van de toekomst te bespreken.

Event on Jul 5th
Do Sch, Master of all trades. , posted

Tada! The municipality of Haarlemmermeer endorses the manifesto

“We can equip traffic lights with heat sensors, so they only turn green when someone is actually waiting at the light. Who could object to that? But people balk at the idea of collecting data in the public space. That’s why the government needs to clarify what we want to achieve, and share knowledge with each other. Being open and showing the advantages is how you convince people to get on board. The more visible those benefits are to the end user, the more fun it gets.”

Do Sch's picture #DigitalCity
harry Stork, Community Manager at City of Amsterdam, posted

The Big AI and Data Science Graduation Fair

In January 2019 the City of Amsterdam joined forces with 22 AI and Data Science students to work together on improving the livability of our city. These students, coming from the University of Amsterdam, the University of Utrecht and the University of Delft, are doing their master thesis researches at the municipality.

They are working on projects related to reducing poverty and discrimination, battling housing fraud and parking problems, making our city cleaner, decreasing costs and optimizing administrative processes for all citizens.
After months of research, they are now on the final stretch!

Before they submit their theses at the end of June, we would first like to celebrate this moment with a thesis fair at Datalab on the 27th of June.
During this event, the students will present their findings and share their insights with the people of Amsterdam. In a poster session setup, everyone would be able to explore the different projects, enjoy short demonstrations and learn all there is to know about their favorite topics.
You are warmly welcomed to ask them difficult questions, share your improvement ideas or simply get inspired by their work.
But most of all - this would be the moment to show them our support and celebrate their achievements together.

Event on Jun 27th
Amsterdam Smart City, Connector of opportunities at Amsterdam Smart City, posted

Smart City Challenge for Girls

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50 Amsterdamse meisjes van verschillende basisscholen (groep 7/8) doen mee aan de Smart City Challenge for Girls.In 5 teams gaan zij in 1 dag een actueel Smart City-vraagstuk oplossen voor hun eigen stad. De meisjes leren over nieuwe technologische ontwikkelingen, die ze kunnen gebruiken bij het oplossen van de vraag die Amsterdam Smart City aan hen voorlegt.

Tijdens de Smart City Challenge leren de meisjes op een leuke, interessante en creatieve manier om hun directe leefomgeving zo Smart en innovatief mogelijk te maken. De teams van meisjes worden hierbij begeleid door vrouwelijke studenten van bèta/technische studies en medewerkers van VHTO. Adviseurs van Eurofiber geven technische adviezen. Meer informatie over de Smart City Challenges for Girls op www.smartcitygirls.nl.

Ouders, leerkrachten en andere belangstellenden zijn welkom vanaf 15:00 uur om de innovatieve technologische oplossingen te horen die de meisjes gaan pitchen voor een deskundige jury o.l.v. Paul Naastepad, managing director van Eurofiber Nederland.

Het evenement is besloten. Wil je deelnemen? Laat het ons weten via nancy@amsterdamsmartcity.com, dan kijken we naar de mogelijkheden.

Amsterdam Smart City's picture Event on Jun 21st
Amsterdam Smart City, Connector of opportunities at Amsterdam Smart City, posted

Recap of the event ‘Data dilemma’s #2 Sensing the city’

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On the 6th of June, some people of the Amsterdam Smart City community came together in Datalab to discuss dilemma’s around sensing the city. What are issues around this theme? Who should do this? How can we involve citizens? What are the learnings up until now?

Leonie van den Beuken opens the afternoon and states that we should not only keep talking and keep figuring and losing time. Because time is what we don’t have. If you're aiming for a better world, you have to act now. ‘So today’, she says, ‘we have people who are acting upon our dilemma’s. And if we are truly able and willing to learn from each other, we can accelerate.’

Judith Veenkamp – Waag
Judith from Waag kicks off by telling about the Smart Citizens Lab. A research lab with a leading role for citizens and aims to facilitate them in measuring their own living environment, so called ‘public research’. Within the Smart Citizens Lab Waag developed a framework for citizen sensing: how to enable citizens in doing their own measurements. Not only are they in charge of sensing strategy for the sensors that will be deployed in the city, the data collected will also be analysed and interpreted together with citizens. Collecting the data together with citizens and other stakeholders, like municipalities, helps to create a shared reality.

For their project Hollandse Luchten, an air quality sensor was developed in their lab. The basic version measures Particular Matter (PM), temperature, humidity and air pressure. The extended version also measures NO2 and O3. They will deploy 200 sensors in 3 pilot communities; IJmond region, Zaanstad en Buiksloterham. The sensor is a modular system and citizens assemble the sensor themselves. The aim goes beyond just measuring, it is to have societal impact by increasing awareness. It is not an alternative for professional measurements but they can enrich the official air quality measurements and empower citizens.

A nice example of how tech can help build a sustainable city. Technology as a mean. Not just talking about it but also making and experimenting.

Ron van der Lans – City of Amsterdam about Air View
The City of Amsterdam recently announced that for the coming year, Google will measure air quality in the city. Ron van der Lans tells us more about this: ‘Air View is mobile measuring of air quality with Google Street View cars. The goal is to have a detailed year overview of air quality in various parts of Amsterdam. We will get insights in the flow of the air quality per street in Amsterdam. In the end it will be open data, but not during the process.’

Ron also takes us through the process of this project, in which the University of Utrecht is also participating, and shows what it went through before actually implementing. Different questions pop up from the audience. Some more practical; if it is only 1 point in time on every location, does it add value? There are already different measurement systems in place in Amsterdam: GGD , RIVM. What does this add?

Ron explains that it measures on street level, which is new. It will also measure more and it will contribute to create a global view. This also triggers more principled questions: if these are open data, how will it affect the housing market? Why does Google want to do this? Is this not a responsibility of the government? What aspects of political decision making were considered? What can and what will we do with the results?

Tom van Arman – CITIXL
Tom van Arman from CITIXL has an inspiring and triggering talk. Tom starts with warning us how data can affect us with some alerting examples. The large scale data collection in 1934 for the greater benefit of all but later misused by the Nazi regime. He also mentions the Chinese Social Credit Card Score; a system that is meant to rate each citizen’s trustworthiness. And last he shows us Quayside Toronto. A wonderful new future city, built by Google.

Will this really make our lives better or is it just for commercial benefits? How do we bridge the gap between policies and the public? How can we design tests with the public to create a shared reality and common understanding?

He ends with showing us his camera experiment of last year during WeMakeThe.City. The experiment featured a marked area telling you the area would recognize your face. All basis questions came up and this was a good discussion starter. This year CITIXL will start measuring all sorts of things on the Marineterrein; how many sunbathers, how many swimmers, a drowning alert, etc. Again a lot of ethical questions will be raised and dealt with. But if we can ‘t measure it, how can we improve it?

Roel van de Loo - SPPS
Roel has a lot of experience in measuring in the city, e.g. with eNoses in the Port of Amsterdam and starts with warning us that he will make us depressed: ‘Technology is not perfect and limited. Technology is still complicated for non-experts. Cheap sensors can be useful but they do not always tell the truth. They face difficulties for example with calibration and interferences. So be careful: it is not easy to measure. You have to know what a sensor does and what it does not.’

Roel shares some crucial lessons learned:
• Cooperation between governments, companies, foundations and citizens is essential but not easy.
• Make a detailed agreement. Once you share data between government and company, what is going to happen?
• Create a library and share learnings
Roel tells us there is a fundamental distrust of (government) calculations. Citizens only want to know what is wrong and they do not want to pay for it. Starting is easy but ending is hard.

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After the presentations, an interesting discussion started. Some people feel comfortable Google will measure air quality: it’s already happening, so what is the fuzz about now? Others say: Air quality is a fundamental task of the government, so the measurement is the responsibility of the government. If the government starts measuring less because of the collaboration with businesses, will it minimize the measurement capacity? When a business has a different agenda, we have lost measurement capacity.

Leonie asks: What would be ok for you to be measured? Also here different opinions. Collecting data is necessary to make informed decisions and to take emotions out of the discussion. But teach people on how to do that. These data can bring us a lot of positive uses. But how do we use it for good? It’s a fine line between surveillance and service.

Someone else states that data collection is enforced and it takes away freedom of autonomous decision making. Again enough data dilemma’s to discuss. In the audience, Paul Manwaring closes stating we are all part of the city – we have to explore data opportunities, while respecting each other’s rights and be transparent, we’ve got to try!

Amsterdam Smart City's picture #DigitalCity
Gijs Boerwinkel, Head of communications at Waag, posted

Cities for Digital Rights

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Het internet is onmisbaar geworden in ons dagelijks leven. Het is waar we elkaar ontmoeten, leren en winkelen. Het is ook een essentieel hulpmiddel voor het realiseren van (kansen)gelijkheid, rechtvaardigheid en billijkheid. Maar wie zit er achter de knoppen? Waar staan de digitale rechten onder druk en hoe houden we de burgerrechten geborgd?

Sprekers o.a.:
- Touria Meliani (wethouder Digitale Stad Gemeente Amsterdam)
- Bianca Wylie (digitale burgerrechtenactivist bij Digital Rights Now)
- Marleen Stikker (mede-oprichter en directeur Waag)
- Ger Baron (Chief Technology Officer gemeente Amsterdam)
- Mikko Rusama (Chief Digital Officer Helsinki)
- Theo Blackwell (Chief Digital Officer London)

Meer informatie over het programma vind je hier: https://wemakethe.city/production/cities-for-digital-rights

Gijs Boerwinkel's picture Event on Jun 19th
Herman van den Bosch, Curator at Amsterdam Smart City; professor in management education , posted

The Defeat of two progressive Spanish mayors

In its May 25th edition, the Dutch newspaper 'De Volkskrant' covered the changes that two progressive mayors have induced: In Barcelona, Ada Colou and in Madrid Manuela Carmena. The elections, yesterday June 2nd, have ended their mandates. Although their successors have a radical left background too, their support in both city's councils is minimal. Here and in the national parliament, the socialist party and the center-right parties are the overall winners. Particularly the future of the recently renewed 'smart city-policy' in Barcelona, where Ada Colou and Francesca Bria are 'sisters in arms' is uncertain.
For more detailed information, I enclosed El Pais' English version from today: By the way: the smiling trio are representatives of the right wing Popular Party, not from the socialists as the titel might suggest.

Herman van den Bosch's picture #DigitalCity
Amsterdam Smart City, Connector of opportunities at Amsterdam Smart City, posted

Pitch your sensing initiative in Datalab this Thursday!

In the last couple of years, there were plenty of inspiring local initiatives measuring and sensing issues, such as air quality, water quality and amounts of people. What were the results of these experiments and projects?

On the 6th of June, Amsterdam Smart City hosts 'Data Dilemma's: Sensing the City' in Datalab. Several bottom-up initiatives will present themselves, share the data they collected and tell you about the challenges they encountered. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/smart-data-smart-city-data-dilemmas-2-sensing-the-city-tickets-61992657708

And you can be part of the program!

Do you have an initiative that can measure air quality, water quality, smell or something else? Let us know and you might get this last-minute chance to pitch on stage!

Drop a line below or send an e-mail to Nancy, via nancy@amsterdamsmartcity.com.

Amsterdam Smart City's picture #DigitalCity
Wendolijn Beukers, Project manager , posted

Wanted: pitches of smart city solutions for digital twins

Do you have a smart city solution for digital twins? Pitch your product or service on 5 September 2019 in Antwerp (Belgium)!

On 5 September 2019 Economic Board Utrecht (EBU) and Future City Foundation organise the Networking excursion Digital Twin to Antwerp (Belgium) for administrators with delegation leader Klaas Verschuure (alderman for the Municipality of Utrecht). We want to learn about the possibilities of a digital twin for municipalities and provinces.

To bring supply and demand together and share knowledge, we offer tech companies and data experts the opportunity to pitch their smart city solution for an audience of 40 administrators and the top of municipalities and provinces from the Netherlands. Interested parties can register their pitch until 10 July 2019.

What kind of pitches are we looking for?
- Smart city solutions for that municipalities or provinces face (physical, social and economic)
- Successful smart city projects or experiences from local governments which are interesting for other municipalities or provinces.
- Innovative smart city business ideas from smart entrepreneurs, app builders or other techs.

There is room for 15 pitches, participation is without charge and possible until 10 July 2019. Pitches can be given in Dutch or English.

Interested? Check our website for more information and to register: https://future-city.nl/pitches-antwerp-eng/

Wendolijn Beukers's picture #DigitalCity
Wendolijn Beukers, Project manager , posted

Pitch carrousel Digital Twin

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Wanted: pitches of smart city solutions for digital twins

On 5 September 2019 Economic Board Utrecht (EBU) and Future City Foundation organise the Networking excursion Digital Twin to Antwerp (Belgium) for administrators with delegation leader Klaas Verschuure (alderman for the Municipality of Utrecht). We want to learn about the possibilities of a digital twin for municipalities and provinces.

To bring supply and demand together and share knowledge, we offer tech companies and data experts the opportunity to pitch their smart city solution for an audience of 40 administrators and the top of municipalities and provinces from the Netherlands. Interested parties can register their pitch until 10 July 2019.

When & where
Thursday 5 September 2019
In Antwerp (Belgium), exact location t.b.a.
12.00 – 17.30 hr (lunch and drinks included), pitches 14.00 – 15.30 hr

What kind of pitches are we looking for?
- Smart city solutions for that municipalities or provinces face (physical, social and economic)
- Successful smart city projects or experiences from local governments which are interesting for other municipalities or provinces.
- Innovative smart city business ideas from smart entrepreneurs, app builders or other techs.

What we offer
- 4 minutes in the spotlight
- Meet & Greet: before and after the pitch, pitchers get their own stand in the reception area (where the lunch and drink takes places)
- A direct reach of 40 administrators and senior civil servants of municipalities and provinces from the Netherlands and Flander, who are interested in digital twins.
- Participation in the pitches is without charge
- Travel and accommodation costs are for your own account. Lunch and drinks during the program are included.

Check for more information our website: https://future-city.nl/pitches-antwerp-eng/
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Op 5 september organiseren Economic Board Utrecht (EBU) en Future City Foundation de Netwerkexcursie Digital Twin naar Antwerpen voor bestuurders, met delegatieleider Klaas Verschuure (wethouder Gemeente Utrecht). We willen daar leren over de mogelijkheden van een digital twin voor gemeentes en provincies.

Om vraag en aanbod bij elkaar te brengen en kennis te delen, bieden we techbedrijven en datadeskundigen de kans om tijdens de Netwerkexcursie Digital Twin op 5 september in Antwerpen hun smart city oplossing te pitchen voor een publiek van 40 bestuurders en de ambtelijke top van gemeenten en provincies uit Nederland. Zo komen we samen verder. Geïnteresseerden kun tot 10 juli 2019 hun pitch aanmelden.

Waar & wanneer
Donderdag 5 september 2019
In Antwerpen, exacte locatie volgt
12.00 – 17.30 uur (inclusief lunch en borrel), pitch carrousel 14.00 – 15.30 uur

Wat voor pitches zoeken we?
- Concrete smart city oplossingen voor de uitdagingen waar gemeenten of provincies tegenaan lopen (fysiek, sociaal en economisch)
- Succesvolle smart city projecten of ervaringen van lokale overheden die ook interessant zijn voor andere gemeenten of provincies.
- Innovatieve smart city businessideeën van slimme ondernemers, appbouwers of andere technerds.

Wat bieden we?
- 4 minuten in de spotlight
- Meet&Greet: voor en na de pitch krijgen pitchers hun eigen stand in de ontvangstzaal (waar de lunch en borrel is)
- Livestream via ons Youtube-kanaal (en die laten we gewoon staan)
- Een direct bereik van 40 bestuurders en de ambtelijke top van gemeenten en provincies uit Nederland die interesse hebben in digital twins.
- Deelname aan de pitchcarrousel is gratis.
- Reis- en eventuele verblijfskosten zijn voor eigen rekening.

Kijk voor alle informatie en aanmelden op: https://future-city.nl/pitches-antwerpen/

Wendolijn Beukers's picture Event on Sep 5th