Smart City Academy

18.30 – 20.00

LIVE/HYBRID

With Tech Table – Women in Tech on September 8, 2022, we aim to involve you in an inspiring session about Empowerment Leadership by sharing the stories of great leaders within our network. Leadership is about empowering others and creating a lasting legacy. We welcome all members, women, and men to join us to learn how to become an empowering leader at any stage of your career!

 
The Swedish Chamber of Commerce in partnership with TK Tech,  The Swedish Embassy in the Netherlands, and the Dutch Innovation House in Sweden are very pleased to invite you to our Tech Table Women in Tech – Empowerment Leadership on September 8, 2022. At this Tech Table – Women in Tech, we are very proud to present eminent speakers from both Sweden and the Netherlands sharing their inspiring stories. Leadership is about empowering others and creating a lasting legacy. We welcome all members, women, and men to join us in this hybrid event to learn how to become an empowering leader at any stage of your career!  

SPEAKERS LIST:

The Ambassador of Sweden H.E. Mr. Johannes Oljelund – Introductory remarks
Dr. Cara Antoine, Managing Director at IG&H.
Tuva Palm, Digitalization Expert, Utopia Music AG
Dick Bisschop, Managing Director at Anticimex Nederland
Lotta Gunnarsson, Director Software Development at Booking.com
<strong>Moderator:</strong> Johan F. Langelaar, Advocaat, Senior International Council at TeekensKarstens advocaten notarissen
 
With the Swedish Chambers Tech Table’s we aim to build on our tech network community and therefore encourage all participants to meet up live to take part in the interactive Q&A session and to share ideas and experiences. However, for those unable to join our live session a link will be provided to the hybrid version.  

Sign up today!

Het GO!-NH Scale traject is gericht op Scale-ups en MKB-bedrijven die goed ontwikkeld zijn in hun huidige markt en klaar zijn om hun innovatie op te schalen naar nieuwe markten of gebieden. In dit traject verkennen bedrijven op welke nieuwe markten ze gaan focussen en wat daarbij komt kijken. GO!-NH Scale bereidt de organisatie voor op flinke groei sprongen door het uitwerken van een goede ‘go-to-market’ strategie en individuele begeleiding door experts. Dit traject duurt 6 maanden en bevat individuele coaching en 10 workshopdagen. GO!-NH Scale start in september 2022. Inschrijven voor 12 september!

Wat levert het op?

• Je bent in staat om met een herhaalbaar en schaalbaar businessmodel te werken; 
• Je hebt een duidelijke strategie ontwikkeld om een nieuwe markt of nieuw gebied aan te boren met jouw innovatie; 
• De interne processen binnen jouw organisatie zijn strategisch ingericht en klaar voor het opschalen van de organisatie; 
• Toegang tot een netwerk van aansprekende bedrijven en experts op het gebied van duurzame innovaties en groeiversnelling; 
• Exclusieve mogelijkheden om deel te nemen aan toonaangevende conferenties, evenementen en industrie bijeenkomsten;
• De provincie Noord-Holland en vele andere (semi)overheden, corporate en industrie partners zijn nauw betrokken bij dit versnellingsprogramma waardoor samenwerkingen sneller en beter tot stand kunnen komen;
• Inzicht in benodigde investering bij schalen en mogelijkheid om aan te sluiten op verdere financiering binnen de innovatie-instrumenten van de provincie Noord-Holland;
• Mogelijkheid om aan te sluiten op verdere financiering binnen de innovatie-instrumenten van de provincie Noord-Holland.
• Alle deelnemende startups en innovatieteams komen na het traject in het GO!-NH Alumni-programma. Op regelmatige basis worden meet-ups en events georganiseerd.

Wat wij bieden

• Een traject dat start in het najaar met een workshopprogramma (circa 8 dagen), hier wordt concreet gewerkt aan strategieën op het gebied van schalen. 
• Een leadcoach die jou 6 maanden lang begeleidt en ondersteunt tijdens het traject. 
• Mocht je eerder willen starten dan houden we in aanloop naar het traject een aantal masterclasses waar je je vrij op kunt intekenen.

We would like to welcome you during our Circular ecosystem day where we connect and strengthen relationships between impact entrepreneurs, investors, consumers, corporates, government, and other organisations. Our Circular Ecosystem Day will take place on Wednesday 21 September, and in this edition we will have a special focus on the fashion and textile industry.

PROGRAM 
 
12:00 – 14:30 CIRCO Community event  | Invite only 
This afternoon will be dedicated to inspiration, networking and knowledge sharing around the topic of  circular entrepreneurship. Read more here. 
 
13:00 – 15:00 Impact Nation| Invite only
Impact Nation organizes an interactive session with Impact Hub’s circular fashion expert Maartje Janse. Under their guidance, we dive deeper into the sustainability challenges in the fashion and textile industry. Read more here. 
 
14:30 – 18:00 Open Program 
The afternoon program will start with a keynote by Marcel den Hollander, followed by the launch of our Circular Textile program in Amsterdam and Fashion Fail Forward.

• 15:00 Circular Textiles in Amsterdam
  This 2-year program funded by the Municipality of Amsterdam, Stichting DOEN Foundation, and the Goldschmeding Foundation, in which 3 partners (Metabolic, Impact Hub Amsterdam and Bankers without Boundaries) investigate how  through a systematic approach a cohort of innovative companies can be found, scaled up and financed to stimulate the transition to a circular textile value chain.
• 15:15 Keynote speaker: Marcel den Hollander works as an independent researcher and industrial design consultant to industry in circular product design and business models for the circular economy. As one of the first he studied industrial design at the TU Delft followed by a Ph.D in circular product design and with over 20 years of experience in commercial industrial design for renowned design studios, designing consumer goods from (food)packaging to office furniture, we are proud to have him at the Ecosystem day.
• 16:00 Fail Forward: As part of our Circular Textile Program we are organising a Fail Forward Fashion edition, in which the founders of circular fashion companies Loop.a Life and Makers Unite & United Repair Center talk about how they failed with a positive outcome. By making ‘learning by doing’ a shared good, we all help each other one step further in the transition to a circular fashion and textile industry.
• 16:40 – 18:00 Drinks with Impact Hub’s circularity network

Sign up for free by 15 September. Read more about our ecosystem.

Learn the basics of the Aquaponics farming method.

The workshop takes through our 85 sq m greenhouse that hosts various methods of growing with Aquaponics (Deep Water Culture, Media Bed, NFT, Dutch Buckets, Towers, and a Wicking bed - all part of the same system).

Of course, we will not forget the fish and we will take you through our basic aquaculture setup - 2 round fish tanks of 1000 L, each equipped with 750 L mechanical filters and the sump which also acts as a filter.
The course gives you a good start on the journey into aquaponics.

More info here -> https://deceuvel.nl/en/event/in-depth-aquaponics-workshop-metabolic/

Tackle all things impact finance from subsidies to investment. Whether you are an employee, consultant or founder, these sessions will provide you with a clear overview and understanding of all that is out there relating to finance for business with a focus on impact.

Time: 15:30 – 17:00 
Partner: Marije Schasfoort & Mirjam Niessen from Stichting DOEN 
For who: Expand members (included) | Non-members and Explore members pay €25 per ticket

Sign Up here: eventbrite.co.uk/e/313256718277
Read more here: amsterdam.impacthub.net/event/money-talks-27-10

Deze zomervakantie, op woensdag 17 en 24 augustus, geeft Wail Kherrazi (14) de workshop Bouw en programmeer een Corona 1,5 meter afstand-melder

Het idee voor de corona 1,5 meter afstand-melder ontstond toen twee jaar geleden de 1,5 meter regel werd afgekondigd. Wail ondervond dat veel mensen moeite hadden om op een respectvolle manier 1,5 meter afstand te houden. “Het klinkt zo onaardig om steeds te roepen ‘afstand houden’; daar wilde ik iets aan doen,” vertelt Wail. “Ik vond programmeren altijd al leuk en toen ik nieuwe programmeermaterialen van mijn vader kreeg, ben ik een prototype voor een corona 1,5 meter afstand-melder gaan bouwen.”

Afstand houden
Wail trok al snel de aandacht met zijn uitvinding. Hij werd geïnterviewd door het Jeugdjournaal, kwam met verschillende mensen in contact die hem hielpen een bedrijf op te zetten en werd zelfs genomineerd voor de Nationale Kinderprijs en de CSU Innovatie Award! Met zijn bedrijf, WailSalutem, wil Wail bewerkstelligen dat mensen gezond blijven, goed voor zichzelf zorgen, lief zijn voor elkaar en respectvol met elkaar omgaan. Wail: “Mijn apparaat maakt het gemakkelijker om afstand te houden. Je hoeft niet meer steeds te zeggen dat je graag afstand houdt. Dat doet het apparaat met zijn piepgeluid. En dat is fijn voor mensen die nu en in de toekomst graag afstand willen blijven houden.”

Programmeren met een Arduino
Wail wil kinderen en jongeren graag inspireren. Daarom heeft hij ook WailSalutem Foundation op gericht. Hiermee wil hij kinderen vaardigheden leren op het gebied van internet, technologie, robotica en programmeren.

Wil jij leren programmeren met een Arduino? Wil jij een afstand-melder maken, onder leiding van Wail? Grijp dan je kans en kom naar zijn gast-workshop Bouw en programmeer een corona 1,5 meter afstand-melder, op 17 of 24 augustus!
https://www.debibliotheekamstelland.nl/actueel/nieuws/Wailmaakplaats.html

https://youtu.be/RwND3hVBNkQ

Pioneers struggling with uncertainty & controversy when working on sustainability transitions: you are not alone. Whether you’re facilitating transition experiments around nature based solutions, setting up an innovative project for citizen participation in energy or just eager to learn about reflexive monitoring, our Reflexive Monitoring course will provide you with valuable new approaches and insights.

In this 3-day course, dr. PJ Beers (DRIFT) and dr. Barbara van Mierlo (WUR) will guide you through the ins and outs of reflexive monitoring.

Op 6 juli organiseert PRICE haar eerste boekenclub, op het Floriade terrein!
In deze eerste editie van de PRICE boekenclub bespreken we het boek Happy 2050 Scenario met auteur Babette Porcelijn en Verborgen Impact Ambassadeur én docent Duurzaamheid bij Hogeschool Aeres Kitty van Zijtveld.

Wat kunnen we uit dit boek leren en toepassen in onze eigen wereld en denkbeelden? Hoe kan jij bijdragen aan een happy 2050? Met deze vragen gaan we aan de slag op het Co2 negatieve en circulaire Growing Pavilion op het Floriade terrein. Aansluitend is er de mogelijkheid om The Exploded View te bezoeken, een huis van biobased & circulaire materialen.

Heb je het boek niet helemaal tot op de letter kunnen lezen? Geen probleem! We nemen je graag mee in het gedachtegoed van Babette Porcelijn. Voor €10,- kun je er bij zijn, dit is inclusief toegang tot het Floriade terrein! Heb je al toegang tot het terrein? Dan is een kaartje slechts €5,-. Koop hier een kaartje.

Programma
15:00 – 15:15    Opening
15:15 – 15:45    In gesprek over het Happy 2050 scenario met Babette Porcelijn -  auteur
15:45 – 16:15    Aan de slag met jouw Verborgen Impact met Kitty van Zijteveld
16:15 – 16:45    Toepassing in de praktijk: Ingrid Zeegers
16:45 – 17:00    Afronding en vragen
17:00                 Optioneel: storytelling & rondleiding bij bio-based paviljoen the Exploded View

Moet je het boek gelezen hebben?
Voel je vooral welkom om deel te nemen aan onze boekenclub. Het is niet nodig om het boek volledig gelezen te hebben, maar het is wel fijn. Heb je het boek nog niet in huis? Bestel deze dan via: https://thinkbigactnow.org/nl/. Ook hebben we op locatie een gelimiteerd aantal beschikbaar die je direct kunt laten signeren!
Bij het reserveren van je boekenclubticket krijg je automatisch een toegangsbewijs voor de Floriade Expo (t.w.v. 35 euro). Deze is de gehele dag geldig. Heb je al een seizoenskaart? Dan krijg je toegang tot de boekenclub tegen een gereduceerd tarief.

Wat is PRICE?
Praktijk- & Innovatiecentrum Circulaire Economie, zeg maar PRICE. Wij zijn hét circulaire actielab voor Flevolandse doeners. Ondernemers, studenten, docenten, bewoners en overheid – al deze mensen brengen we samen om de nieuwe economie werkelijkheid te maken. Nieuwe economie? Ja, een economie waarin we verder kijken dan geld verdienen.

A Lab is een gemeenschap van 300 creatieven, technologen en sociale ondernemers aan het IJ. Voor en met hen organiseren wij evenementen, verhuren ruimte en brengen we partners uit cultuur, wetenschap, overheid en maatschappij samen.

Wij zijn een Broedplaats zonder winstoogmerk en zoeken een gepassioneerde en ervaren community collega die ons team van vier komt versterken.

Zin in? Klik dan op de link hieronder.

Als je werkt aan transitie-vraagstukken rondom mobiliteit, energie of circulaire economie, dan kom je veel onzekerheid en controverse tegen. Zie jij ook de noodzaak voor lerend werken? En loop je er ook tegenaan dat jouw organisatie maar beperkte invloed heeft om oplossingen te realiseren?

De methode 'Reflexief Monitoren' helpt hierbij. Omdat je in transitie-opgaven altijd te maken hebt met onverwachte obstakels en kansen, wordt vaak pas tijdens het proces duidelijk wat écht belangrijk is. Dat maakt het lastig om op voorhand te bepalen wat en hoe je moet doen en monitoren. Reflexieve monitoring helpt je het accent van je transitiewerk te verleggen naar leren en bijsturen, gericht op structurele verandering

Op 23 juni 2022 van 09:30-10:30 bieden we je in dit gratis proefcollege de gelegenheid om een indruk te krijgen van de methode ‘Reflexive Monitoring in Action’ en kennis te maken met je potentiële medecursisten, onder leiding van kerndocent en transitie-expert PJBeers (DRIFT & HAS).

Nederland staat voor enorme opgaven. Opgaven die niet alleen maar op te lossen zijn op traditionele manieren. Die vragen om nieuwe manieren van werken met digitalisering en de inzet van data. Maar hoe pak je dat aan? Hoe werkt dat in de praktijk? Hoe pas je nieuwe technologie toe in het ontwikkelen van steden en dorpen?

Om die vraag te beantwoorden organiseren Kennislab voor Urbanisme en de Future City Foundation in opdracht van de gemeente ‘s-Hertogenbosch en de provincie Noord-Brabant in het kader van de Data Week NL een Summerschool ‘Maak je eigen slimme stad’ in samenwerking met de City Deal ‘Een slimme stad, zo doe je dat‘ en de City Deal ‘Slim Maatwerk’.

Meld je nu aan en bedenk samen met 24 andere jongprofessionals hoe je data en digitalisering inzet om de problemen van vandaag op te lossen voor de wereld van morgen.

Ben je zelf geen jongprofessional meer, maar ken je iemand in je netwerk? Stuur deze Summerschool dan aan hem/haar door. 

Waar gaat het over?

Nederland staat voor grote uitdagingen. De klimaatverandering, de woningnood, en een krappe arbeidsmarkt. Voor steeds meer Nederlanders is het niet vanzelfsprekend om op een gezonde manier in de gewenste thuisomgeving te wonen. Omdat ze te maken hebben met een kluwen van sociale problemen, gezondheidsproblemen of kansenongelijkheid. Dat leidt tot een groeiende kloof in de samenleving.

Dit zijn grote opgaven die uiteindelijk moeten worden opgelost door provincies als Noord-Brabant en gemeenten als ’s-Hertogenbosch. Data, digitalisering en technologisering bieden mogelijke oplossingen, maar hoe benut je deze kansen op de goede manier? En hoe zorg je ervoor dat het niet blijft bij een idee, maar dat concrete oplossingen daadwerkelijk iets gaan veranderen in een wijk of stadsdeel?

Tijdens deze summerschool dagen we jou uit om hierover na te denken. Je gaat 3 dagen lang in multidisciplinaire teams aan de slag met de vraag: Hoe kunnen data, technologisering en digitalisering bijdragen aan een sterke economie, leefbaarheid en gelijke kansen voor iedereen in de Provincie Noord-Brabant? En hoe pak je dat concreet aan in de Omgeving Station Oost in ‘s-Hertogenbosch?

Met wie

Het Kennislab voor Urbanisme en de Future City Foundation organiseren deze summerschool in opdracht van de Provincie Noord-Brabant en de gemeente ’s-Hertogenbosch in het kader van de Dataweek NL en in samenwerking met de City Deal ‘Een slimme stad, zo doe je dat’ en de City Deal ‘Slim Maatwerk’.

Premium Partners van de Future City Foundation zijn: gemeente Amersfoort, Civity, DHM Infra, ELBA\REC, Kennedy Van der Laan, gemeente Sittard-Geleen, Waterschap Vallei en Veluwe, VodafoneZiggo, We City en gemeente Zwolle.

Founding partners van de Data Week NL zijn: gemeente ‘s-Hertogenbosch, JADS, provincie Noord-Brabant, Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties.

Waarom meedoen

• Je leert over digitalisering en technologisering en hoe je dat kunt toepassen in de stad van de toekomst. Je leert het direct uit de praktijk en van de mensen die er dagelijks meer werken. Kennis die je in je opleiding niet krijgt;
• Je ontwikkelt je professionele en persoonlijke skills;
• Je maakt kennis met de Provincie en gemeente als organisatie en ontmoet een heel interessant netwerk van bedrijven en stakeholders. Als je een interessante baan of stage zoekt is dit een heel interessant netwerk
• Maak kennis met de 75 verschillende partners van de betrokken City Deals
• Je bent graag met inhoudelijke en vernieuwende onderwerpen;
• Je vind het fijn om nieuwe interessante mensen te leren kennen;
• En drie dagen plezier met hen te hebben.

MELD JE NU AAN

Meer weten?

Klik hier voor meer informatie over het programma en de deelname.

De komende jaren pakt Europa haar rol op het gebied van digitalisering en technologisering. Er komen maar liefst 19 Europese wetten aan die stuk voor stuk net zo ingrijpend zijn als de AVG. Tijdens een webinar op 2 juni van 16.00 - 1700.00 uur leert u van Jonas Onland (VNG) wat dat voor uw organisatie betekent.

De Europese wetten hebben veel impact op de macht van de techbedrijven. Maar ook op de manier waarop de slimme stad wordt ontwikkeld. Maar zijn we wel goed voorbereid op de komst van die nieuwe wetten? En wat houden ze precies in? Wat zijn de gevolgen van die wetten voor de ontwikkeling van smart cities? Zijn bedrijven en gemeenten voorbereid?

Daarover geeft Jonas Onland (Programma leider Digital Transformation & Europe VNG) op 2 juni 2022 een presentatie én gaat met u in gesprek.

Datum: 2 juni van 16.00 – 17.00 uur

Locatie: Online (u ontvangt een dag van tevoren de link)

Deelname gratis

MELD JE NU AAN

Heeft u vragen voor Jonas Onland? Stel ze dan alvast via het aanmeldformulier.

For 23 weeks I have published weekly episodes of the series Better Cities. The role of digital technology on this site. I have edited and compiled these episodes in an e-book (88 pages). You can download this for free via the link below. The book has 17 chapters that are grouped into six parts:
1. Hardcore: Technology-centered approaches
2. Towards a humancentric approach
3. Misunderstanding the use of data
4. Ethical considerations
5. Embedding digitization in urban policy
6. Applications (government, mobility, energy and healthcare)
7. Wrapping up: Better cities and technology

Learn from a diverse group of academics and professionals who are mavericks in their field. They bring their real world insights and expertise into the room providing access to the most up to date impact strategies and systemic change. Established founders and innovative business owners of top agencies, companies and startups will guide you.

In this session, DRIFT will share the process to stimulate transformative innovation. In this interactive masterclass, you will not only learn from theory, but also experience the method yourself and contribute. After this workshop you will understand how societal systems change work, and how you can stimulate transformative innovation.

• Time: 13:00 – 17:00
• Expert: Igno Notermans from DRIFT
• For who: Expand members (included) | Non-members and Explore members pay €299,95 per ticket

Become an Expand Member to join all our community events and sign up here.

500+ cycling infrastructure documents from all over the world, and growing. Cycling infrastructure design manuals, strategy guides and more all curated in one easy-to-use database.

Over Space & Matter
Space&Matter is een Amsterdams ontwerpbureau voor ruimtelijk en strategisch ontwerp in de gebouwde omgeving. Met een integrale benadering werken wij aan complexe opgaven van gebouw tot gebiedsontwikkeling. Duurzaamheid en maatschappelijke impact staan hierbij altijd centraal. Je kent ons misschien van circulaire broedplaats De Ceuvel, Het Sweets Hotel (in de Amsterdamse brugwachtershuisjes) en de drijvende wijk Schoonschip.

Naast deze Amsterdamse projecten, die over de hele wereld bekendheid hebben verworven, werken wij internationaal aan projecten die een steentje bijdragen aan een circulaire maatschappij en een inclusieve leefomgeving.

Met onze projecten, concepten en initiatieven willen wij echt game-changing zijn en bijdragen aan een duurzame toekomst. Wij werken daarom graag voor maatschappelijk betrokken opdrachtgevers maar initiëren ook onze eigen projecten en ‘ventures’ waarbij wij samenwerkingen aangaan met gelijkgestemde partners.

Naast Space&Matter bevat ons ecosysteem: Common City Development, BoomBuilds, CrowdBuilding and Sumowala.

Samen hebben we de missie om voor 2030 één miljoen vierkante meter “binnen de Donut” te krijgen en nogmaals één miljoen vierkante meter nieuwe natuur te ontwikkelen.

Ben jij er klaar voor om als Researcher van Space&Matter aan onze missie bij te dragen?

R&D bij Space&Matter
Matter is de R&D tak van Space&Matter. Hier analyseren we het systeem achter de gebouwde omgeving en ontwikkelen we tools en methoden die mensen, organisaties en ideeën bij elkaar brengen om de leefbaarheid van steden te verbeteren, nu en in de toekomst. We richten ons op de commons, coöperatieve modellen, community land trust, circulariteit, tools voor digitale governance, sociale en ecologische meetinstrumenten en de donuteconomie in de gebouwde omgeving.

Ons onderzoek sluit vaak aan bij subsidieprogramma's waarmee we onze inspanningen kunnen financieren en bovendien verwachten we dat met de verschuiving naar circulaire en sociaal inclusieve benaderingen in de gebiedsontwikkeling we een toename zullen zien van de vraag naar onze kennis en tools.

We hebben momenteel een klein, toegewijd team en we zijn klaar om onze impact te vergroten.

Over de rol
Als onderzoeker breng je structuur aan in de maatschappelijke uitdagingen in de gebouwde omgeving en gebruik je wetenschap, logica en praktijkervaring om deze te ontleden in praktische, schaalbare oplossingen. Het is jouw taak om kennis te vergaren over eigendomsmodellen en bestuursprocessen en deze te vertalen naar heldere tools en instrumenten voor projectontwikkelaars, architecten, gemeenten en burgers.

Jouw verantwoordelijkheden omvatten:

• Schrijven en aanvragen van subsidies (in NL en EU)
• Ontwikkelen van “thought leadership” over onze meest relevante thema's (Coöperatief model, Community land Trust-model, bestuursmodellen, circulariteit in de gebouwde omgeving)
• Onze kennis over de commons implementeren in nieuwe concepten voor gebouwen en gebieden
• Presentaties geven voor verschillende doelgroepen
• Artikelen schrijven en publiceren over het onderzoeksdomein
• Opbouwen van een sterk netwerk met de academische wereld en kennisinstituten

Over jou

• Je bent nieuwsgierig en wilt de systemen achter de bouwomgeving begrijpen
• Je stelt mensen centraal en kunt goed in teamverband werken
• Je hebt misschien een achtergrond in sociale geografie, economie
• Je houdt van leren. Je begrijpt de waarde van experimenteren en je bent niet bang om fouten te maken. Je bent je bewust van wat je niet weet.
• Je bent proactief en betrouwbaar. Je neemt verantwoordelijkheid voor wat je begint.
• Je maakt graag plezier!

Wat we echt willen zien

• Kennis over onze meest relevante thema's (samenwerkingsmodel, Community land Trust-model, bestuursmodellen, circulariteit in de gebouwde omgeving)
• Vloeiend Nederlands en gevorderd niveau Engels in woord en geschrift
• Ervaring als onderzoeker
• Ervaring met het schrijven en succesvol aanvragen van subsidies (in NL en EU)
• Ervaring met het geven van presentaties voor verschillende doelgroepen

Waar we extra blij van worden

• Relevante ervaring met betrekking tot stedelijke ontwikkeling en circulariteit
• Ervaring met het ontwikkelen van methoden, processen en tools

Wat we bieden

• Een gedreven team van internationaal en multidisciplinaire team;
• Een informele, ongedwongen maar energieke werksfeer;
• Veel verantwoordelijkheid en de vrijheid om je eigen ideeën te ontwikkelen;
• Een fijne werkplek in Amsterdam Noord met uitzicht op Schoonschip;
• Dagelijks een gezonde lunch & regelmatige team borrels/uitjes;
• Marktconform salaris, 25 vakantiedagen + 5 flexdagen
• 32 uur/week of fulltime contract
• Bij voorkeur vanaf juni 2022

Solliciteer
Wil je als Onderzoeker ons team komen versterken ? Dan komen we graag met je in contact! Solliciteer via deze link.

In the last episode of the Better cities: The contribution of digital technology-series, I will answer the question that is implied in the title of the series, namely how do we ensure that technology contributes to socially and environmentally sustainable cities. But first a quick update.

Smart city, what was it like again?

In 2009, IMB launched a global marketing campaign around the previously little-known concept of 'smart city' with the aim of making city governments receptive to ICT applications in the public sector. The initial emphasis was on process control (see episode 3). Especially emerging countries were interested. Many made plans to build smart cities 'from scratch', also meant to attract foreign investors. The Korean city of Songdo, developed by Cisco and Gale International, is a well-known example. The construction of smart cities has also started in Africa, such as Eko-Atlantic City (Nigeria), Konzo Technology City and Appolonia City (Ghana). So far, these cities have not been a great success.

The emphasis soon shifted from process control to using data from the residents themselves. Google wanted to supplement its already rich collection of data with data that city dwellers provided with their mobile phones to create a range of new commercial applications. Its sister company Sidewalk Labs, which was set up for that purpose, started developing a pilot project in Toronto. That failed, partly due to the growing resistance to the violation of privacy. This opposition has had global repercussions and led in many countries to legislation to better protect privacy. China and cities in Southeast Asia - where Singapore is leading the way - ignored this criticism.

The rapid development of digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence, gave further impetus to discussion about the ethical implications of technology (episodes 9-13). Especially in the US, applications in facial recognition and predictive police were heavily criticized (episode 16). Artificial intelligence had meanwhile become widespread, for example to automate decision-making (think of the infamous Dutch allowance affair) or to simulate urban processes with, for example, digital twins (episode 5).

This current situation - particularly in the Netherlands - can be characterized on the one hand by the development of regulations to safeguard ethical principles (episode 14) and on the other by the search for responsible applications of digital technology (episode 15). The use of the term 'smart city' seems to be subject to some erosion. Here we are picking up the thread.

Human-centric?

The dozens of descriptions of the term 'smart city' not only vary widely but they also evoke conflicting feelings. Some see (digital) technology as an effective means of urban growth; others see it as a threat. The question is therefore how useful the term 'smart city' is still. Touria Meliani, alderman of Amsterdam, prefers to speak of 'wise city' than of 'smart city' to emphasize that she is serious about putting people first. According to her, the term 'smart city' mainly emphasizes the technical approach to things. She is not the first. Previously, Daniel Latorre, place making specialist in New York and Francesco Schianchi, professor of urban design in Milan also argued for replacing 'smart' with 'wise'. Both use this term to express that urban policy should be based profoundly on the wishes and needs of citizens.

Whatever term you use, it is primarily about answering the question of how you ensure that people - residents and other stakeholders of a city - are put in the center. You can think of three criteria here:

1. An eye for the impact on the poorest part of the population
There is a striking shift in the literature on smart cities. Until recently, most articles focused on the significance of 'urban tech' for mobility, reduction of energy use and public safety. In a short time, much more attention has been paid to subjects such as the accessibility of the Internet, the (digital) accessibility of urban services and health care, energy and transport poverty and the consequences of gentrification. In other words, a shift took place from efficiency to equality and from physical interventions to social change. The reason is that many measures that are intended to improve the living environment led to an increase in the (rental) price and thus reduce the availability of homes.

2. Substantial share of co-creation
Boyd Cohen distinguishes three types of smart city projects. The first type (smart city 1.0) is technology- or corporate-driven. In this case, companies deliver instruments or software 'off the shelf'. For example, the provision of a residential area with adaptive street lighting. The second type (smart city 2.0) is technology enabled, also known as government-driven. In this case, a municipality develops a plan and then issues a tender. For example, connecting and programming traffic light installations, so that emergency services and public transport always receive the green light. The third type (smart city 3.0) is community-driven and based on citizen co-creation, for example an energy cooperative. In the latter case, there is the greatest chance that the wishes of the citizens concerned will come first.

A good example of co-creation between different stakeholders is the development of the Brain port Smart District in Helmond, a mixed neighborhood where living, working, generating energy, producing food, and regulating a circular neighborhood will go hand in hand. The future residents and entrepreneurs, together with experts, are investigating which state-of-the-art technology can help them with this.

3. Diversity
Bias among developers plays a major role in the use of artificial intelligence. The best way to combat bias (and for a variety of other reasons, too) is to use diversity as a criterion when building development teams. But also (ethical) committees that monitor the responsible purchasing and use of (digital) technologies are better equipped for their task the more diverse they are.

Respecting urban complexity

In his essay The porous city, Gavin Starks describes how smart cities, with their technical utopianism and marketing jargon, ignore the plurality of the drivers of human behavior and instead see people primarily as homo economicus, driven by material gain and self-interest.

The best example is Singapore – the number 1 on the Smart City list, where techno-utopianism reigns supreme. This one-party state provides prosperity, convenience, and luxury using the most diverse digital aids to everyone who exhibits desirable behavior. There is little room for a differing opinion. A rapidly growing number of CCTV cameras – soon to be 200,000 – ensures that everyone literally stays within the lines. If not, the culprit can be quickly located with automatic facial recognition and crowd analytics.

Anyone who wants to understand human life in the city and does not want to start from simplistic assumptions such as homo economicus must respect the complexity of the city, try to understand it, and know that careless intervention might have huge unintended consequences.

The complexity of the city is the main argument against the use of reductionist adjectives such as 'smart', but also 'sharing', circular, climate-neutral', ‘resilient' and more. In addition, the term smart refers to a means that is rarely seen as an aim as such. If an adjective were desirable, I prefer the term 'humane city'.

But whatever you name a city, it is necessary to emphasize that it is a complex organism with many facets, the coherence of which must be well understood by all stakeholders for the city to prosper and its inhabitants to be happy.

Digitization. Two tracks

City authorities that are aware of the complexity of their city can best approach digitization along two tracks. The first aims to translate the city's problems and ambitions into policy and consider digital instruments a part of the whole array of other instruments. The second track is the application of ethical principles in the search for and development of digital tools. Both tracks influence each other.

Track 1: The contribution of digital technology
Digital technology is no more or less than one of the instruments with which a city works towards an ecologically and socially sustainable future. To articulate what such a future is meaning, I introduced Kate Raworth's ideas about the donut economy (episode 9). Designing a vision for the future must be a broadly supported democratic process. In this process, citizens also check the solution of their own problems against the prosperity of future generations and of people elsewhere in the world. Furthermore, policy makers must seamlessly integrate digital and other policy instruments, such as legislation, funding, and information provision (episode 8).

The most important question when it comes to (digital) technology is therefore which (digital) technological tools contribute to the realization of a socially and ecologically sustainable city.

Track 2: The ethical use of technology
In the world in which we realize the sustainable city of the future, digital technology is developing rapidly. Cities are confronted with these technologies through powerful smart city technology marketing. The most important question that cities should ask themselves in this regard is How do we evaluate the technology offered and that we want to develop from an ethical perspective. The first to be confronted with this question—besides hopefully the industry itself—is the department of the Chief Information or Technology officer. He or she naturally participates in the first track-process and can advise policymakers at an early stage. I previously inventoried (ethical) criteria that play a role in the assessment of technological instrument.

In the management of cities, both tracks come together, resulting in one central question: Which (digital) technologies are eligible to support us towards a sustainable future in a responsible way. This series has not provided a ready-made answer; this depends on the policy content and context. However, the successive editions of this series will have provided necessary constituents of the answer.

In my e-book Cities of the Future. Always humane, smart if helpful, I have carried out the policy process as described above, based on current knowledge about urban policy and urban developments. This has led to the identification of 13 themes and 75 actions, with references to potentially useful technology. You can download the e-book here:

I updated and put together 75 posts and articles about the energy transition in a new e-book (in Dutch) 'Kennisdossier Zonne-energie' (120 pages). If you interested, download it for free with the link below.

The 22nd and penultimate episode in the *Better cities: The contribution of digital technology-*series will discuss two ambitious ‘smart city’plans of two governments and the associated risks.

Recently, the European Commission launched a 100-city plan, the EU Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities. One hundred European cities that aspire to be climate neutral by 2030 (you read that correctly) can register and count on supplemental funding. I immediately thought of another 100-city plan, India's Smart City Mission. In 2015, Prime Minister Modi announced that in six years 100 Indian cities would become 'smart'. The official term of the project has now ended, and I will examine below whether this goal has been achieved, I discuss the two plans and then explain why I call both of them a leap forward. At the end I will make a few suggestions for how the European mission can still learn from the Indian one.

India's Smart City Mission

The problem
In India, 377 million people live in cities. In 15 years, 200 million will have been added. Already, traffic in Indian cities has come to a complete standstill, each year more than 600,000 people die from air pollution, half of the urban areas have no drinking water connection, waste collection is poor and only 3% of sewage is treated. The rest is discharged into surface water, which is also the main source of drinking water.

The mission
The Smart City Mission was intended to implement substantial improvements on all these problems in 100 cities, which together comprise 30% of the population. In the improvements digital technology had to play an important role.
The 100 cities were selected because of favorable prospects and the quality of the plans, which usually consisted of a long series of projects.

Governance
The regular city governing bodies were deemed incompetent to lead the projects. That is why management boards (‘special purpose vehicles’) have been appointed, operating under company law and led by a CEO, supported by international consultancy firms. All rights and duties of the City Council regarding the execution of the mission were delegated to the appointed boards, including the power to collect taxes! Not surprisingly, this decision has been challenged in many places. Several cities have withdrawn from 'the mission' for this reason.

Financing
To implement their projects, each city would receive $150 million over five consecutive years. This money should be seen as seed capital to be supplemented from additional sources such as public-private partnerships, commercial bank lending, external financing, loans, and foreign investment.

Area-oriented and pan-urban approach
The plans contain two components: an area-oriented and a pan-urban approach. The first aims at adapting, retrofitting or new construction and should relate to a wide range of 'smart services'. For example high-speed internet, waste facilities, parking facilities, energy-efficient buildings, but also replacement of slums by high-rise buildings. The slick 'architectural impressions' that circulated at the beginning of the planning period (see above) mainly concern the area-oriented approach.
The pan-urban approach includes at least one 'smart' facility for a larger part of the city. The choice is often made to improve the transport infrastructure, for example the construction of new roads and highways and the purchase of electric buses. No fewer than 70 cities have built a 'smart' control center based on the example of Rio de Janeiro, which I believe was rather premature.

Progress
Now that the official term of 'the mission' has ended, a first inventory can be made, although observers complain about a lack of transparency about the results. About half of all the 5000 projects that have been started have not (yet) been completed and a significant part of the government funds have not yet been disbursed. This could still happen in the coming years. This is also because attracting external resources has lagged behind expectations. These funds came mainly from governments, and large technology companies. This has had an impact on the implementation of the plans.
The slow progress of most projects is partly because most of the population was barely aware of the mission and that city councils were not always cooperative either.

Impact
It was foreseen that half of the available resources would go to area-oriented projects; this eventually became 75-80%. As a result, on average only 4% of the inhabitants of the cities involved have benefited from 'the mission' and even then it is not clear what the benefits exactly entail. The city of New Delhi covers an area of almost 1500 km2, while the area concerned is only 2.2 km2: So you're not even going to have 100 smart cities. You're going to have 100 smart enclaves within cities around the country, said Shivani Chaudhry, director of the Housing and Land Rights Network.
It soon became clear that the mission would be no more than a drop in the ocean. Instead of $150 million, it would take $10 billion per city, $1000 billion in total, to address all ambitions, according to an official calculation.  Deloitte was a little more modest, calculating the need for $150 billion in public money and $120 billion from private sources.

Type of projects
The many topics eligible for funding have resulted in a wide variety of projects. Only one city has put the quality of the environment first. Most cities have initiated projects in the areas of clean energy, improving electricity supply, reducing air pollution, construction of new roads, purchasing electric buses, waste disposal and sanitation. What is also lacking, is a focus on human rights, gender, and the interests of the poorest population groups.
In some places, it has been decided to clear slums and relocate residents to high-rise buildings on the outskirts of the city. Indian master architect Doshi warns that the urban vision behind the smart city plans will destroy the informality and diversity that is the cornerstone of the country's rural and urban society. He challenges planners to shift the emphasis to rural areas and to create sufficient choices and opportunities there.

The European Mission on Climate-neutral and Smart Cities

The problem
Cities produce more than 70% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions and use more than 65% of total energy. In addition, cities in Europe only cover 4% of the total surface area and accommodate 75% of the population. The ecological footprint of the urban population is more than twice what it is entitled to, assuming a proportional distribution of the earth's resources.

The mission
On November 25, 2021, the European Commission called on European cities to express their interest in a new European mission on Climate-neutral and smart cities. The mission aims to have 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030, which will act as a model for all other European cities.
The sectors involved in this transformation process are the built environment, energy production and distribution, transport, waste management, industrial processes and product use, agriculture, forestry, and other land uses and large-scale deployment of digital technology. That is why the European Commission talks of a green and digital twin, or a simultaneous green and digital transformation.

Governance
Reaching the stated goal requires a new way of working and the participation of the urban population, hence the motto 100 climate neutral cities by 2030 - by and for the citizens.
According to the plan's authors, the main obstacle to climate transition is not a lack of climate-friendly and smart technology, but the inability to implement it. The current fragmented form of governance cannot bring about an ambitious climate transition. Crucial to the success of the mission is the involvement of citizens in their various roles as political actors, users, producers, consumers, or owners of buildings and means of transport.

Funding
The additional investment to achieve the mission is estimated at €96 billion for 100 European cities by 2030, with a net positive economic benefit to society of €25 billion that will increase further in the period thereafter. The European Commission will provide €360 million in seed funding.
The overwhelming amount of funding will have to come from banks, private equity, institutional investors, and from the public sector at the local, regional and national level.

What went wrong with the Indian Mission and its follow-up

The gap between ambitions and reality
Almost all comments on 'the mission' emphasize that three necessary conditions were not met from the start, namely a widely accepted governance model, adequate funding, and involvement of the population and local government. There was an unbridgeable gap between ambitions and available resources, with the contribution of external capital being grossly overestimated.
The biggest problem, however, is the gap between the mission's ambitions and the nature of the problems that India it faces: Cities are bursting at the seams because of the millions of poor people who flock to cities every year in search of work and a place to live that find them only in the growing slums. The priorities for which the country must find a solution are therefore: improving life in rural areas, improving housing in the cities, ensuring safe drinking water, waste disposal, sanitation, and purification of wastewater, good (bus) transport and less polluting car traffic. Urgently needed is a sustainable development model that addresses ecological problems, makes urbanization manageable, controls pollution and will use resources efficiently.

Leap forward
The 'Mission' is a leap forward, which does not tackle these problems at the root, but instead seeks a solution in 'smartification'. Policymakers were captivated by the promises made by IBM and other technology companies that ICT is the basis for solving most urban problems. A view that I objected in the third episode of this series. IC solutions have been concentrated in enclaves where businesses and prosperous citizens are welcomed. The Government of India Special Rapporteur on Housing therefore notes that the proposals submitted had a predominant focus on technology rather than prioritizing affordable housing and doubts the correctness of this choice.
Instead of emphasizing the role of digital technology, the focus should have been on equitable, inclusive, and sustainable living areas for all. Not the area-oriented but the pan-urban approach should have prevailed.

Follow-up
Several authors suggest future actions consistent with the above comments:
• Setting a longer time horizon, which is much more in line with the problems as they are felt locally.
• Decentralization, coupled with strengthening local government in combination with citizen participation.
• A more limited number of large-scale pan-urban projects. These projects should have an immediate impact on all 4000 Indian cities and the surrounding countryside.
• More attention for nature and the environment instead of cutting down trees to widen motorways.
• Training programs in the field of urbanization, partly to align urban development with Indian culture.

The European mission revisited

Leap forward
Europe and India are incomparable in many ways, but I do see similarities between the two missions.
With the proclamation of the 'mission', the Indian government wanted to show the ultimate – perhaps desperate – act of determination to confront the country's overwhelming problems. I therefore called this mission a flight forward in which the image of the 'smart city' was used as a catalyst. However, the country’s problems are out of proportion to this, and the other means employed.
It is plausible that the European Union Commission also wanted to take an ultimate act. After the publication of the ambitious European Green Deal, each national governments seems to be drawing its own plan. The ‘100 cities mission’ is perhaps intended as a 'booster', but here too the feasibility of this strategy is doubtful.

Smart and green
The European Union cherishes the image of a 'green and digital twin', a simultaneous green and digital transformation. Both the Government of India and the European Commission consider digital technology an integral part of developing climate neutral cities. I hope to have made it clear in the previous 21 episodes of this series that digital technology will certainly contribute. However, the reduction of greenhouse gases and digitization should not be seen as an extension of each other. Making a city climate neutral requires way more than (digital) technology. Moreover, suitable technology is still partly under development. It is often forgotten that technology is one of the causes of global warming. Using the image of green and smart twins will fuel the tension between the two, just like it happened in India. In that case, it remains to be seen where the priority will lie. In India it was 'smart'.

Funding
Funding of the Indian mission fell short; much is still unclear about funding of the European mission. It is highly questionable whether European states, already faced with strong opposition to the costs of 'climate', will be willing to channel extra resources to cities.

Governance
The European mission wants to be by and for the citizens. But the goal has already been established, namely becoming climate neutral by 2030. A new 'bottom-up' governmental approach would have been to investigate whether there are cities where a sufficiently large part of the population agrees with becoming climate neutral earlier than in 2050 and how much sooner that could be and next, leave it to these cities themselves to figure-out how to do this.

Can Europe still prevent its mission from failing like India's? I propose to look for in the same direction as India seems to be doing now:
•      Opt for one unambiguous goal: Reducing greenhouse gases significantly earlier than 2050.
•      Challenge a limited number of cities each to form a broad coalition of local stakeholders that share this ambition.
•      Make extra resources available, but also ask the cities themselves to make part of the necessary investments.
•      Stimulate universities and industry to provide a European response to Big Tech and to make connections with the 'European Green Deal'.

My e-book Smart City Tales contains several descriptions of intended and alleged smart cities, including the much-discussed Saudi Arabian Neom. The Dutch version is here.

The 21st episode of the Better cities – the contribution of digital technology-series is about priorities for digital healthcare, often referred to as eHealth.

The subject is broader than what will be discussed here. I won't talk about the degree of automation in surgery, the impressive equipment available to doctors, ranging from the high-tech chair at the dentist to the MRI scanner in hospitals, nor about researching microbes in air, water and sewerage that has exploded due to the covid pandemic. Even the relationship with the urban environment remains somewhat in the background. This simply does not play a prominent role when it comes to digitization in healthcare. The subject, on the other hand, lends itself well to illustrate ethical and social problems associated with digitization. As well as the solutions available in the meantime.

The challenge: saving costs and improving the quality of care

The Netherlands can be fortunate to be one of the countries with the best care in the world. However, there are still plenty of challenges, such as a greater focus on health instead of on disease, placing more responsibility for their own health on citizens, increasing the resilience of hospitals, paying attention to health for the poorer part of the population, whose number of healthy life years is significantly lower and, above all, limiting the increase of cost. Over the past 20 years, healthcare in the Netherlands has become 150% more expensive, not counting the costs of the pandemic. Annual healthcare costs now amount to € 100 billion, about 10% of GDP. Without intervention, this will rise to approximately €170 billion in 2040, mainly due to an aging population. In the meantime, healthcare costs are very unevenly distributed: 80% of healthcare costs go to 10% of the population.

The most important task facing the Netherlands and other rich countries is to use digitization primarily to reduce healthcare costs, while not forgetting the other challenges mentioned. This concerns a series of - often small - forms of digital care. According to McKinsey, savings of €18 billion by 2030 are within reach, if only with forms of digitization with proven effect. Most gains can be made by reducing the administrative burden and shifting costs to less specialized centers, to home treatment and to prevention.

Information provision

There are more than 300,000 health sites and apps on the Internet, which provide comprehensive information about diseases, options for diagnosis and self-treatment. More and more medical data can also be viewed online. Often the information on apps is incomplete resulting in misdiagnosis. Doctors in the Netherlands especially recommend the website Thuisarts.nl, which they developed themselves.

Many apps use gamification, such as exercises to improve memory. A good example of digital social innovation is Mirrorable, a program to treat children with motor disorders because of brain injury. This program also enables contact between parents whose inputs continuously help to improve exercises.

Process automation

Process automation in healthcare resembles in many respects automation elsewhere, such as personnel, logistics and financial management. More specific is the integrated electronic patient file. The Framework Act on Electronic Data Exchange in Healthcare, adopted in 2021, obliges healthcare providers to exchange data electronically and prescribes standards. However, data exchange will be minimal and will only take place at a decentralized level to address privacy concerns. The complexity of the organization of health care and the constant discussions about the content of such a system were also immense obstacles. That's a pity because a central system lowers costs and increases quality. Meanwhile, new technological developments guarantee privacy with great certainty. For example, the use of federated (decentralized) forms of data storage combined with blockchain. TNO conducts groundbreaking research in this area. The institution applies the principles of federated learning along with the application of multi-party computation technology. These innovative technologies enable learning from sensitive data from multiple sources without sharing this data.

Video calling

The recent eHealth monitor of the RIVM shows that by 2021 almost half of all doctors and nurses had had contact with patients with video calling, while this hardly happened in 2019. Incidentally, this concerns a relatively small group of patients. In the US there was an even larger increase, which has now been converted into a sharp decline. It seems that in the US primary health care is reinventing itself. Walgreens, the largest US drugstore chain, will begin offering primary care in 1000 of its stores. Apparently, in many cases, physical contact with a doctor is irreplaceable, even if (or perhaps because) the doctor is relatively anonymous.

Video calling is not only important for care provider, but also for informal caregivers, family and friends and help to combat loneliness. Virtual reality (metaverse!) will further expand the possibilities for this. TNO is also active here: The TNO media lab is developing a scalable communication platform in which the person involved (patient or client), using only an upright iPad, has the impression that the doctor, district nurse or visitor is sitting at the table or on the couch right in front.

Self-diagnosis

The effectiveness of a remote consultation is of course served if the patient has already made a few observations him- or herself. 8% of patients with chronic conditions already do this. There is a growing range of self-tests available for, for example, fertility, urinary tract infections, kidney disorders and of course Covid-19. There are also home devices such as smart thermometers, mats that detect diabetic foot complications, and blood pressure meters; basically, everything that doctors often routinely do during a visit. The GGD AppStore provides an overview of relevant and reliable apps in the field of health.

Wearables, for example built into an i-watch, can collect part of the desired data, store it for a longer period and, if necessary, exchange it with the care provider.

More advanced are the mobile diagnosis boxes for emergency care by nurses on location, such as ambulances. With a fast Internet connection (5G), specialist care providers can watch if necessary.

A small but growing group of patients, doctors, and researchers with substantial financial support from Egon Musk sees the future mainly in chip implants. This would allow not only more complete diagnoses to be made, but also treatments to be carried out. Neuralink has developed a brain implant that improves communication with speech and hearing-impaired people. The Synchron brain implant helps people with brain disorders perform simple movements. For the time being, the resistance to brain implants is high.

Remote monitoring

Meanwhile, all these low-threshold amenities can lead us to become fixated on disease rather than on health. But what if we never had to worry about our health again? Instead, the local health center watches over our health thanks to wearables: Our data is continuously monitored and analyzed using artificial intelligence. They are compared with millions of diagnostic data from other patients. By comparing patterns, diseases can be predicted in good time, followed by automated suggestions for self-treatment or advice to consult a doctor. Until then, we have probably experienced nothing but vague complaints ourselves. Wouldn't that be an attractive prospect?

Helsinki is experimenting with a Health Benefit Analysis tool that anonymously examines patients' medical records to evaluate the care they have received so far. The central question here is can the municipality proactively approach people based on the health risk that has come to light because of this type of analysis?

Medics participating in a large-scale study by the University of Chicago and the company Verify were amazed at the accuracy with which algorithms were able to diagnose patients and predict diseases ranging from cardiovascular disease to cancer. In a recent article, oncologist Samuel Volchenboom described that it is painful to note that the calculations came from Verify, a subsidiary of Alphabet, which not only used medical data (with patients’ consent), but also all other data that sister company Google already had stored about them. He adds that it is unacceptable that owning and using such valuable data becomes the province of only a few companies.

Perhaps even more problematic is that these predictions are based in part on patterns in the data that the researchers can't fully explain. It is therefore argued that the use of these types of algorithms should be banned. But how would a patient feel if such an algorithmic recommendation is the last straw? It is better to invest in more transparent artificial intelligence.

Implementing digital technology

Both many patients and healthcare professionals still have doubts about the added value of digital technology. The media reports new cases of data breaches and theft every day. Most people are not very confident that blockchain technology, among other things, can prevent this. Most medical specialists doubt whether ICT will reduce their workload. It is often thought of as some additional thing. Numerous small-scale pilot projects are taking place, which consume a lot of energy, but which are rarely scaled up. The supply of digital healthcare technologies exceeds their use.

Digital medicine will have to connect more than at present with the needs of health professionals and patients. In addition to concerns about privacy, the latter are especially afraid of further reductions in personal attention. The idea of a care robot is terrifying them. As should be the case with all forms of digitization, there is a need for a broadly supported vision and setting priorities based on that.

Against this background, a plea for even more medical technology in our part of the world, including e-health, is somewhat embarrassing. Growth in healthy years due to investment in health care in developing countries will far exceed the impact of the same investment in wealthy countries.

Nevertheless, it is desirable to continue deliberately on the chosen path, whereby expensive experiments for the benefit of a small group of patients have less priority in my opinion than investments in a healthy lifestyle, prevention, and self-reliance. Healthcare cannot and should not be taken over by robots; digitization and automation are mainly there to support and improve the work of the care provider and make it more satisficing and efficient.

One of the chapters in my e-book Future cities, always humane, smart if helpful, also deals with health care and offers examples of digital tools. In addition, it pays much more contextual information about the global health situation, particularly in cities. You can download by following the link below. The Dutch edition is here.