Amsterdam Smart City

In Today’s Changemakers, we talk with pioneers in our network who are all, in their own way, shaping the city and region of the future. Our second guest on this series is Marieke van Doorninck, director of Kennisland and activist for a just and sustainable world.

Her commitment to societal issues began early in her career when she contributed to shaping prostitution policies aimed at lifting the brothel ban. During this process, she noticed that there was too little consultation with sex workers themselves, and realized that inclusion is essential for social change. With these ideas she started her political career with GroenLinks. During that time, she also worked for an NGO dedicated to fighting human trafficking and exploitation. It was in this role that she came to recognize the inherently exploitative nature of the system we live in. Occupations, where human exploitation is common, happen to be the very ones sustaining our comfortable lifestyles, which involves the mass production of cheap food and supplies. The urge to create a just and sustainable world, motivated her to work fiercely for system change. As Amsterdam's Deputy Mayor Spatial Planning and Sustainability she was committed, among other things, to introducing the Doughnut Economy principles, and since the beginning of 2023, Marieke has been working as director at Kennisland, one of Amsterdam Smart City’s societal partners.

System Change in Politics

Marieke became involved in politics as an activist, however, decision making in politics didn't always happen as quickly or dramatically as she would have preferred. “What I found challenging when working for the Municipality of Amsterdam was that, despite my belief that the proposals we had were beneficial for the people, it was very difficult to discuss them with the residents of Amsterdam. This highlights the significance of the gap between the “system” world and the “real” world. People are preoccupied with other things or might even have better ideas themselves, because they are more directly in touch with the issue. We underutilize the energy and strength that exists there and therefore we still tend to make too many plans for the people and not enough plans with the people”.

“We should focus more on co-creation than mere participation. I believe there's a misconception that not involving people saves time, I think we are coming to realize that not involving people actually leads to a significant loss of time. Therefore, my guiding principle is to provide direction and space, to clearly state what you believe in but don't prescribe exactly how it should happen, and invite everyone to join in and have a say."

Inclusivity and Kennisland

Marieke saw how the system world of the government does not always align with the real world in the daily life of residents, which creates resistance to much-needed change. “... that is why Kennisland became a very interesting place to work for me, because Kennisland's fundamental approach is to always work with the people it concerns. This ensures that their ideas become part of the solutions and their dilemmas are recognized as important problems. That's something I'm passionate about”.

“How can we take steps towards a new living environment? How can we challenge the existing power structures? How can we question established interests? But more importantly, how can we support the plans and ideas from people who are already demonstrating that a different world is possible? This is something Kennisland is good at, engaging in conversations using various methods that demonstrate how everyone can be heard, how inclusivity can be achieved, and how solutions can be created together”.

Marieke then mentions two projects at Kennisland: the Smartphone-Free School and the ‘Buurtgenoten’ game. "The implementation of the Smartphone-Free School originated from a request of the principal who had decided to make his school smartphone-free, but wanted to develop the policy around it with all stakeholders. We then started a conversation with the school, talking to the parents, the students and the teachers about what a smartphone-free school should look like according to them. What are their concerns and how can those concerns be addressed? By involving the school we co-created towards a Smartphone-Free School. As another example, we developed the 'Buurtgenoten' game, which helps identify what a neighborhood needs by initiating conversations about what the community can and cannot do on its own. When you ask something of the neighborhood, you shouldn't just inquire, 'Will you do this?' You should also ask, 'What do you need to fulfill that role?”.

Amsterdam Smart City: Addressing more societal issues and a service-oriented role.

Throughout her career, Marieke has gained valuable insights on bringing about change, which she is willing to share with Amsterdam Smart City: "What Amsterdam Smart City could certainly do well is examine what is happening in society and how you can be supportive or service-oriented in response. How can all the knowledge, expertise, and intellectual power within the Amsterdam Smart City network be utilized for the benefit of those trying to make a difference in their own living environment? I believe that Amsterdam Smart City has everything it takes to fulfill and assume that role. The emphasis could move slightly away from the partner's point of view and towards the larger interests of society. Because, if you truly want to make a difference for the city, there are things that must be done entirely based on the importance of the problem you are seeking to address. For example, I work for Kennisland not necessarily because it serves my own interests but because I believe it is for a good cause, and I have something valuable to contribute".

Dream Scenario for the Amsterdam Region: Solidarity

Due to Marieke's involvement within the city of Amsterdam, it's especially valuable to know what her dream scenario would be for the Amsterdam Region. According to her, the region should “... learn to collaborate through cooperation instead of competition. Work in solidarity with each other, both within the region and globally. It would be wonderful to adopt a sort of international solidarity position, meaning that we, as a region, take care of ourselves in a way that also benefits the rest of the world. I believe that such a region forms an ecosystem in itself, creating short chains and focusing on how cities can mutually strengthen each other. One city may have something that can be shared with another city, encouraging an ongoing exploration of how cities might reinforce each other, the natural environment and the ecological systems. Consequently, financial gains should become less of an individual concern, as we strive for a healthier and improved region that, in turn, contributes positively to the global community or, at the very least, causes no damage. Then we would have already achieved a great deal."

Marieke's advice for our readers: Personal Activism.

When you're in conversation with Marieke, it inspires you to take on a more activistic position in both your personal and work life. So to round off this interview we asked her about some advice for our readers and their personal activism ambitions: "First of all, join activist groups, find out what is happening in your neighborhood or field of interest and see how you can contribute. But also, even in more conventional surroundings, it's about finally saying the things that you feel need to be addressed but never felt comfortable to actually say, out loud. Dare to ask questions and see if there are people who share similar thoughts. This way, it won't be as intimidating to ask such questions. I believe that people's willingness to cause discomfort is becoming increasingly crucial. Without discomfort, nothing will change”.

“Moreover, I also believe it's crucial not to underestimate that if you have a good idea, you can simply start working on it without having it completely figured out. At a certain point, you must also dare to say, ‘I believe we should head in this direction, even though I am not exactly sure how we'll get there’. In the end, activism is about fighting for systemic change. So, I think activism, in all its forms, means making sure the world knows that so many of us think we should move in a different direction".

In 2024, we continue our collaboration with Marieke’s Kennisland as one of Amsterdam’s Smart City’s ‘Societal partners’. Kennisland representatives are part of our so called ‘Wicked Problems Team’ and they help our network strengthen its societal impact. Marieke is also part of a new Post-Growth initiative, initiated by Amsterdam Economic Board, Kennisland and other Marineterrein partners.

This series started off in 2023 with a conversation with Romy Dekker, Senior Researcher at Rathenau Instituut. Read about her story and the use of Digital Technologies in The Energy Transition here.

Image by: Kennisland

The Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC) is one of the European Commission’s largest city support initiatives supporting European cities in their green and digital transitions. ICC delivers knowledge and support services to cities and their local economies to address two major challenges: making the transition to a net-zero economic model, while enabling social inclusion and sustainable development for every EU citizen.

Cities learn how to address these challenges through Local Green Deals: integrated, multi-disciplinary action plans to lead the green and digital transition across sectors from the built environment, urban mobility and renewable energy systems to tourism or small retailers. Cities become members of a vibrant network, gain access to advisory services, innovation and sustainability management techniques, cutting-edge technology and training and get inspiration and advice from peers and mentor cities.

Building on the success of the previous edition of the ICC programme (2020-22) and Digital Cities Challenge (2017-19), the ICC will now enter Phase 2!

Amsterdam as a Mentor City

Like previous years, Amsterdam has been selected to join the support programme as a mentor city. The city will play a leading support role by guiding the 64 core cities as they embark on their two year journey to create impactful strategies and develop innovative solutions that will place the cities at the forefront of the green and digital twin transition through Local Green Deals. A nice compliment, allowing the Amsterdam Region to share their experiences and learnings from setting up Local Green Deal initiatives over the past years.

The Intelligent Cities Challenge Strategy City Lab: Accelerating the Twin Transition (November 2023)

On 23 and 24 November 2023, over 200 people - a mix of Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC) core and mentor cities, political leaders and representatives from European institutions gathered for the first time in-person to discuss the status quo of Twin Transition. Through examples and best practices, attendees had the honour to hear from over 30 speakers as they shared insights into collaboration methods, Local Green Deals, climate ambitions, digital transitions and more across the course of 20 sessions.

Amsterdam Smart CIty's Leonie van den Beuken travelled to this gathering in Brussels as one of the representatives of the Amsterdam Region. She summarized her trip as follows:

This EU program helps cities from north to south, east and west to connect, share and learn. A much needed interaction, as we all try to improve the quality of life of our citizens. We all struggle with the ever rising cost of living. And we all want to get our cities to become more sustainable.

None of this comes easy, but we all know that local collaboration plays a key role. Building local coalitions between government, businesses and citizens is one thing, but how do we make sure these so called coalitions of the willing actually become coalitions of the doing?

Some of the learnings we shared from the Amsterdam Region are; the need for political support and the importance of trust and respect.

• Local political leadership will inspire and guide society and entrepreneurs to invest and contribute. However, make sure pilotical support doesn’t evolve into political ownership. When that happens, societal parties and businesses tend to step out the coalition.

• Take the importance of trust and respect seriously. You need to show long term commitment, take time to create understanding between parties. Take competition between participating SME’s serious and define together how to handle this together. Create a workflow in which smaller parties are allowed to participate less intense but sill feel incorporated.

We'll keep you up to date on our participation in future gatherings and results from ICC Phase 2. Want to know more? Check https://www.intelligentcitieschallenge.eu/

Op donderdag 14 december sluiten we het jaar feestelijk af op de laatste Demodag van 2023! We zijn dit keer te gast bij The Garage van Deloitte. Dit iconische gebouw, voormalig Citroën garage naast het Olympisch Stadion, is omgebouwd tot de plek waar Deloitte nu in co-creatie aan de (digitale) toekomst van haar klanten werkt.

De Amsterdam Smart City Demodagen zijn regelmatig terugkerende middagen bedoeld om de voortgang van de verschillende innovatieprojecten aan elkaar te presenteren, hulpvragen op tafel te leggen, dilemma’s te delen en meer partners te betrekken bij een project en deze vraagstukken verder te brengen.

Deze eindejaar editie van de demodag staat in het thema van wat we allemaal bereikt hebben met het netwerk. Daarom hebben we in plaats van de inspirerende pitches die we gebruikelijk doen, korte updates en succesverhalen van challenges en vraagstukken die we op vorige demodagen hebben behandeld.

Verder hebben we weer onze gebruikelijke werksessies waarin we een aantal vragen met een kleine groep wat grondiger behandelen. De Demodag wordt voorafgegaan door een Kennissessie over veranderen in het Hier en Nu met Theorie U, waarvoor deelname optioneel is. We sluiten af met een hapje en drankje. De middagen kenmerken zich door een zeer open en vrolijke sfeer.

Kennissessie

Voorafgaand aan de Demodag, organiseren we een kennissessie over een transitie-overstijgend onderwerp. Dit keer vertellen Dorien Schneiders en Maartje Krijnen van Hieroo meer over Veranderen in het Hier en Nu met Theorie U.

We leven in een tijd die wordt gekenmerkt door grote uitdagingen. We zien een wereld om ons heen waar een klimaatcrisis plaatsvindt met mondiale problemen als de opwarming van de aarde en het verlies aan biodiversiteit. Een wereld die wordt gekenmerkt door sociale ongelijkheid en toenemende individualisering. Verandering is hoognodig, maar ontstaat niet vanzelf. Hoe kunnen we met een holistische blik de wereld om ons heen veranderen?

De jonge consultants van Hieroo vertellen je alles over de verandermethode waarmee zij aan sociale innovatie in de stad werken: Theorie U. Theorie U is een model voor fundamentele verandering en wordt gebruikt om complexe vraagstukken om te buigen naar wezenlijke veranderingen. Deze verandermethode is gebaseerd op bewustzijn en actie om systemen te veranderen. In het U-proces ben je bewust van jezelf, de betrokkenen en alle aspecten die met een vraag samenhangen. In deze kennissessie maak je kennis met de theoretische principes van Theorie U, en gaan we praktisch aan de slag met begeleidt schrijven (een typische Theorie U werkvorm).

Werksessies

Mobiliteit | Besluiten aan de hand van Brede Welvaart – Yurhan Kwee (Gemeente Amsterdam)
In heel Nederland gaat het over de term brede welvaart. De Gemeente Amsterdam verkent wat deze term kan betekenen voor de stad en de Amsterdammers. Een belangrijk deel van het werken aan brede welvaart is het nemen van goede besluiten door bestuurders en raadsleden, met de adviezen van ambtenaren en de professionals die werken aan de stad.
Met het Stedelijke Innovatieteam van de Gemeente Amsterdam kunt u in deze werksessie samen oefenen bij het maken van besluiten aan de hand van brede welvaart. We gaan aan de slag met relevante mobiliteit casuïstiek en zullen deze vanuit verschillende perspectieven behandelen om tot een weloverwogen besluit te komen. Bijvoorbeeld; een brug over het IJ, is dit een goede investering voor de stad?

Digitaal | Data Commons Collective: Data als reddingsboei voor de leefbare metropool – Lia Hsu (Amsterdam Economic Board) en Simone van der Burg (Waag)
In het door big tech gedomineerde tijdperk is data zo lang commercieel geëxploiteerd dat er inmiddels nog weinig voorstellingsvermogen is bij het idee dat data delen de publieke zaak misschien ook wel zou kunnen dienen. Toch is dat wat een collectief van bedrijven, overheden, maatschappelijke instellingen en inwoners in de metropool Amsterdam gaat doen met het Data Commons Collective. Méér data delen om beter voor de metropool te zorgen. Amsterdam Economic Board vraagt het netwerk van Amsterdam Smart City om mee te denken met het Data Commons Collective aan de hand van het data commons framework. We verdiepen ons in een vraagstuk en verkennen de volgende stappen om een data common op te zetten en wat daarvoor nodig is.

Energie | Hoe kunnen we de huiseigenaar blijven(d) faciliteren in het aanjagen van de energie transitie? – Wouter van Rooijen (Alliander)
Netcongestie begint een steeds nijpender probleem te worden en begint zelfs de beperkende factor op de energie transitie te worden. Als netbeheerder begrijpt en ziet Alliander dat de eindconsument op dit moment aan zet is en al actief verduurzaamd. Alliander wil deze huiseigenaren blijven(d) faciliteren in het aanjagen van de energie transitie. Het afgelopen jaar hebben ze daarom een innovatief traject opgezet onder de naam ‘Co-creatie Lokale Energie Oplossingen (CLEO)’, waar drie concepten uitgekomen zijn die hier een collectieve oplossing voor zouden kunnen zijn. In deze werksessie zoomen we in op het ‘Wijsheid van de Wijk’ concept, welke ingaat op het informeren van huiseigenaren op individueel en op wijkniveau over wat zij (samen) kunnen doen om vooruit te bewegen in de energietransitie zonder daarmee het net te gaan overbelasten. We gaan in deze werksessie aan de slag met hoe we dit concept tot uitvoering kunnen brengen, wie daarvoor nodig zijn, welke uitdagingen er zijn en wie er mee wilt doen!

Circulair | Wat doet werken aan circulariteit met je mentale gesteldheid – Marian Zandbergen (Hogeschool van Amsterdam)
Wat doet werken aan circulariteit met je mentale gesteldheid? Hoe houd je in tijden van krapte op de arbeidsmarkt jonge, bevlogen mensen in je organisatie en mentaal gezond? En wat hebben eco-emoties te maken met het moeizame proces om van praten naar actie over te gaan in samenwerkingen rond circulariteit? Deze en andere vragen gaven aanleiding voor een werksessie van CIRCOLLAB op december demodag van Amsterdam Smart City, over de stimulerende en beperkende rol van eco-emoties bij professionals in het samenwerken aan circulaire transitie. Met als titel ‘De tragedie van het fixen’ wordt verkend hoe professionals omgaan met de urgentie van de opgave van de circulaire transitie: wat dit betekent in ons dagelijks leven en in ons werk als actor in deze transitie. En welke tools er nodig zijn om hier in samenwerking en binnen organisaties mee om te gaan.

Pitches

Local Energy Systems: Where we started, what we have achieved, and what are the next steps – Omar Shafqat (Hogeschool van Amsterdam)
The last year we’ve worked hard on finding a way to share learnings on local energy systems and we’ve made significant steps towards achieving this. In this pitch, Omar will tell you all about why this challenge was started, what we have achieved and what the next steps will be.

Het verbinden van de grondstoffen- en energietransitie – Edwin Oskam (MRA)
Op de Transitiedag in juni hebben we het uitgebreid gehad over het verbinden van de energietransitie en de grondstoffentransitie. Het traject van dit vraagstuk is inmiddels weer een stuk verder. In deze pitch verteld Edwin daarom hoe dit vraagstuk van start is gegaan, wat ze tot nu toe bereikt hebben, en wat de volgende stappen zijn.

ChatGPT en de overheid: Mogelijkheden en impact op ons werk – Jeroen Silvis (Provincie Noord-Holland)
De techniek van ChatGPT zorgt voor een revolutie in de manier waarop we werken en samenleven. Hoe zouden overheden, zoals de provincie Noord-Holland, hiermee om moeten gaan? Op Demodag #20 zijn we dieper ingegaan op de mogelijkheden en potentiële impact van ChatGPT op het werk van overheden. Jeroen geeft een update over de richtlijnen die mede door input van het netwerk zijn opgesteld, en het samenwerkingstraject met de Hogeschool van Amsterdam.

Drijvende stadswijken: Toekomstbestendig wonen in de Metropoolregio – Joke Dufourmont (AMS Institute)
De Amsterdamse metropool heeft te maken met ruimtegebrek, een acuut woningtekort en een stijgende zeespiegel als gevolg van klimaatverandering. AMS Institute en gemeente Amsterdam onderzoeken daarom de mogelijkheden voor nieuwe toekomstbestendige Amsterdamse stadswijken die kunnen meebewegen met het water. Tijdens de Smart City Expo in Barcelona hebben we twee sessies georganiseerd over dit thema. Joke vertelt je meer over de uitkomsten en de volgende stappen voor dit vraagstuk.

Mobiliteit: Wordt later bekendgemaakt!

Klinkt het programma interessant? Je bent welkom om aan te sluiten. Laat het ons weten en stuur een korte motivatie naar sophie@amsterdamsmartcity.com. De Kennis- en Demodag is van 12:45-16:30 met een borrel na afloop.

On Tuesday October 10th, Amsterdam Smart City partners gathered for an afternoon full of inspiration, exchange and connection with each other at our 21st Demoday! This time, we were invited by our partner Alliander to their brand-new circular office in Amsterdam Westpoort. In this article, we give you a quick overview of the Knowledge Session, pitches and work sessions. Interesting in learning more? Read the full reports by our Programme Managers Noor, Pelle and Sophie (linked below).

About our Demodays

The Demodays are one of the tools we use to stimulate innovation and encourage connection between our partners and community. The purpose of the Demodays is to present the progress of various innovation projects, ask for help, share dilemmas and involve more partners to take these projects to the next level. More information about the Demodays can be found here.

Knowledge Session: Systems Thinking for Beginners

We started the Demoday with a workshop Systems Thinking for Beginners, led by Nico Schouten from Metabolic. In this workshop, he explained why it is important to take a holistic approach to sustainability challenges. If we don’t see “solutions” in the context of the whole system it might have bad unintended consequences. Curious to learn more about Systems Thinking and how you can map a system for sustainability and societal challenges? Read the full report here.

Pitches

After the Knowledge Session, we continued with four inspiring pitches. Titus Venverloo (AMS Institute) told us all about the Senseable Amsterdam Lab (SAL), a new research collaboration between AMS Institute and MIT that introduces novel data and science-based methods to help the City of Amsterdam transition to a carbon-neutral city. Beth Massa (Ozarka) is on a mission to replace single-use and on-the-go food packaging with reusable alternatives. She explained how she uses empathy in her journey to get her partners to become more circular. Gilles Hommen (ZEnMO Simulations) presented the HOLON Tool, designed to help shape the energy system of the future. And last but not least, Christine Groothuis (municipality of Haarlemmermeer) and Jadine van Ooijen (Digital Society School) gave an update on their finalised human-centric design project, which once started as an Amsterdam Smart City challenge. Check out the aftermovie of the final showcase from the Digital Society School for the final results!

Work sessions

Circular | Bringing Circularity to Small and Medium-Sized Business by Mariska Joustra (municipality of Amsterdam) and Gabrielle Werkhoven (Versnellingshuis)
Amsterdam is striving to make a substantial reduction in resource usage by 2030 and transition to a fully circular economy by 2050. Engaging Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) in this transition is essential, but managing this is difficult. Key insights from the city's circular ambitions and strategies, along with challenges faced by SMBs and potential solutions, were discussed in this work session and are highlighted in this report.

Energy | How to share learnings of local energy systems and form a coalition | Omar Shafqat (HvA)
When thinking about the decarbonization of cities, Local Energy Systems (LES) are often mentioned as one of the key enablers in the future. While there is agreement that LES have a role to play in the energy system of the future, what exactly this role is and how to scale up and implement this solution remains unclear. In this work session, Omar Shafqat (HvA) presented a framework for sharing the learnings of LES and we discussed how we can further develop this framework and how to form a coalition between different parties that work on LES. You can read the full report here.

Digital | Digital Identity & Awareness
When using digital government services, we often leave more data behind than is actually necessary. The municipality of Amsterdam recently completed a pilot with Yivi (formerly IRMA), a safer and more reliable way of logging in that doesn't request or store unnecessary information. During the Transition Day in June, we identified that a lack of awareness and knowledge about digital identity and privacy risks is one of the main barriers for implementing new electronic identification methods. In this follow-up session, we continued with the theme of awareness and asked the Amsterdam Smart City network to come up with a change story and (start of) a campaign about digital identity. Read the full report here.

General | Value Mapping practice with CIRCOLLAB
CIRCOLLAB, a network in the Metropolitan Region of Amsterdam aimed at accelerating the circular transition, is developing a method to apply systems thinking and eco-centric approaches in organisations. While developing the right workshop methods, they are hosting meet-ups to discover what it takes for organisations to look beyond their organisational boundaries and feel part of the larger system. In this worksession, our Demoday participants were invited to apply value chain- and systems thinking within a Almere Pampus case, and articulate their feedback on the workshop methods. You can read the full report here.

We started the Demoday with a workshop Systems Thinking for Beginners, led by Nico Schouten from Metabolic. In this workshop, he explained why it is important to take a holistic approach to sustainability challenges. If we don’t see “solutions” in the context of the whole system, it might have bad unintended consequences. Airconditioning, for example, leads to a more comfortable temperature inside, but because of the high energy consumption, it also contributes to global warming.

What is a system?

To properly think in systems, you first need a clear definition of what a system is: A system is a collection of components that work together as a whole to achieve a common goal. For something to be a system it needs to have the following four attributes:

1. A system needs to have a goal.
2. All components of the system are functional.
3. The order in which the components of the system are ordered matters.
4. A system tries to stabilize via a feedback mechanism.

Using this definition you can conclude that a football team would be a system since it has the goal of winning, all players are functional, if you switch up the players it would matter for the effectiveness of the team, and as long as none of the players (components) fail they will continue to try to reach their goal of winning. On the other hand, a kitchen is not a system, since it has no goal (without a person in it), and the order of the components in a kitchen doesn’t matter that much.

How to map a system?

To map a system, we use four elements:

• Nodes (O): These are the components of your system.

• Polarity elements (+/-): These are arrows between the nodes that show how they influence each other. The positive polarity element shows that if one node increases, the other also increases, and if it decreases, the other also decreases. The negative polarity element shows that if one node increases, the other one decreases, and vice versa.
  For example, the nodes birth rate and population size have a positive polarity between them, because if the birth rate increases, the population size also increases. For the mortality rate node and population size node, you would use a negative polarity element, because population size decreases if the mortality rate increases.

• Delay elements ( || ): These elements can be added to the arrow with the polarity if the effect is delayed. For instance, the node ‘number of fertilized eggs’ has a positive polarity with ‘birth rate’, but it has a delayed effect (of about 9 months) and therefore we add the delay element to the arrow.

• Loops (R/B): If you map out your system completely you will find that there are probably one or multiple loops in your system. These loops can either be reinforcing (R) or Balancing (B).

  • An example of a Reinforcing (R) loop is how a disease spreads: More sick people, lead to more people being infected, leading to more people being infected, leading to more people being sick, etc. You have the nodes “people being sick” and “people being infected” which both have a positive polarity with each other. This leads to exponential growth if no interventions are made. Of course, the system is more complicated than that in real life.
  • An example of a Balancing (B) loop is how populations stay the same size: The larger the population, the higher the mortality rate (positive polarity). But the higher the mortality rate, the smaller the population (negative polarity). These positive and negative polarities keep each other in balance.

To fully understand how to map a system we looked at an example of a neighbourhood in Rotterdam. In this neighbourhood, a lot of maintenance was suddenly needed for public space. They are working on maintaining the neighbourhood, but problems keep propping up. Therefore, they mapped out the problem of this neighbourhood to get a better understanding of how to find a structural solution.

To properly make a system map, you need to look at three things:

1. Context of the system: What are the social, economic and cultural components?
2. Time: The time and duration of components need to be taken into account.
3. Location: Where does this system take place?

After drawing out all the nodes of the system and connecting how they influence each other, you get a map (see attachment 1). Two feedback-reinforcing feedback loops can be discovered in this map (see attachment 2).

By unveiling these feedback loops it becomes easier to find the components for which an intervention would be most effective.

In the last 10 minutes of this workshop, we worked on making a system map ourselves by looking at the problem of airconditioners in warm places. Defining all the relevant nodes, and connecting them properly proved quite challenging, but also very enlightening.

Would you like to read more about Metabolic's approach, or work with them on driving systemic change? Visit their website via: https://www.metabolic.nl/about/our-approach/

It’s almost that time of the year again. From 7 till 9 November, The Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) will take place in Barcelona. SCEWC is an important meeting place for smart city experts from all around the world. By promoting urban innovation and facilitating collaboration opportunities, the event is dedicated to creating a better future for cities and their citizens. The Amsterdam Smart City team will again be joining the Dutch delegation to SCEWC, where together with our partners we will host several keynotes, workshops and visits to other pavilions.

In collaboration with partners from the Amsterdam Smart City network, including Amsterdam Trade & Innovate (municipality of Amsterdam), the Green Innovation Hub (municipality of Almere), AMS Institute, the province of North-Holland, BTG, and the Amsterdam Economic Board, we are organizing various activities on and around the expo. Find an overview of the programme below and keep an eye on this post for further updates leading up to the event.

Sunday - 5 November

Welcome drinks (17:00 – 18:30) (invite only) with the Green Innovation Hub, Amsterdam Trade & Innovate and Amsterdam Smart City.

Official kick-off reception (from 18:30) by RVO for all Dutch participants in Barcelona.

Monday - 6 November

Innovation bike tour (10:00 – 14:30) (invite only) organised by Amsterdam Smart City and Green Innovation Hub. introducing Barcelona’s key approaches to urban planning. Followed by a tour of Tech Barcelona Hub and lunch.

Tuesday - 7 November

Official start of SCEWC and Tomorrow.Mobility.

Panel discussion ‘All Aboard! The Future of Transport of Public’ (10:30 – 12:00). Our colleague Chris de Veer is part of this panel at Tomorrow.Mobility and will be speaking about the Amsterdam Smart City “Emission-free Travel to Events” Mobility Challenge.

Outgoing delegation to Microsoft Pavilion (11:00 – 12:30) led by Cornelia Dinca, International Liaison for Amsterdam Smart City.

Keynote ‘Open Innovation for Liveable Cities: The Case of Amsterdam Smart City’ (13:00 – 13:15) by Leonie van den Beuken in the Green Room (Congress area).

Outgoing delegation to EIT Urban Mobility (13:30 – 14:30) led by Cornelia Dinca, International Liaison for Amsterdam Smart City.

Opening drinks at the Dutch Pavilion (17:00).

Wednesday - 8 November

Visit SCEWC

Outgoing delegation to European Commission Pavilion (timing TBA) led by Cornelia Dinca, International Liaison for Amsterdam Smart City.

Keynote by Danny Frietman, Green Innovation Hub, at the Microsoft Agora (17:00 – 17:20) about the Minecraft Challenge for Pampus District in Almere.

Network session for floating urban development (12:30-14:00) organised by AMS Institute, municipality of Amsterdam and Amsterdam Smart City (location: Microsoft Pavillion)
In this session, we are looking to connect with representatives from delta and waterfront cities that are looking at the water surface for new developments, as no city can or should be solving these challenges by themselves. As a networking event, we are looking to connect with cities that are interested in partnering up with Amsterdam for a floating future. Do you want to join this session? Contact Sophie via sophie@amsterdamsmartcity.com!

Market consultation mobility for floating urban development (14:00-15:30) organised by AMS Institute, municipality of Amsterdam and Amsterdam Smart City (location: Microsoft Pavillion)
Large scale, high density floating districts are a relatively new phenomenon in (Dutch) urban developments. As a new phenomenon, experience on mobility, accessibility and logistics for such developments is scarce. The session aims to map which solutions exist, who are their providers, what are their challenges and opportunities, and what interesting combinations of solution(provider)s can be made. It serves to collect insights on the (technological) developments and innovations for mobility solutions for floating urban developments. Do you want to join this session? Contact Sophie via sophie@amsterdamsmartcity.com!

Thursday - 9 November

Visit SCEWC

Keynote by Boen Groothoff, municipality of Amsterdam, at the Microsoft Agora (12:00 – 12:20) about the Modal Shift Monitor and AI for mobility in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Smart City x SPIE roundtable session (invite only) about energy networks, technological market solutions and cooperation with society.

Are you also in Barcelona and do you want to join us for any of the above activities? Please contact Sophie at sophie@amsterdamsmartcity.com. Additional information about programming of Dutch partners can be found here. We’re looking forward to meet you there!