Updates
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This session is the first in a series of Smart City Dilemmas and podcasts. This time the topic is Energy Citizens.

The transition to a climate-neutral society and the energy transition requires the involvement of all relevant stakeholders: policymakers, energy suppliers, network operators, but also residents. In addition to being energy consumers, residents are increasingly becoming energy traders and even energy producers. We wonder what this means; and what dilemmas arise that we as the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences want to work with?

This first session is mainly intended for teachers, researchers and others who want to gain more knowledge about the transition to a climate-neutral society. In a small setting we will look at various approaches to Energy Citizenship, such as peer-to-peer platforms, behavior, justice, cooperation & conflict, skills and technical. Together with Beatriz Pineda Revilla, Reint-Jan Renes, Fieke van Leest and Mark van Wees among others, we will look at dilemmas in various projects and learn from it. Which dilemmas pop up?

Online Program

15.00-15.15 Introduction

15.15-15.30 Pitches

15.30-16.15 Interactive sessions

16.15-16.30 Wrap up

We hope to see you on Thursday January 7!

This is an online event. Information on how to join will follow after registration.

HvA doet praktijkgericht onderzoek naar duurzame alternatieven voor de servicelogistiek

Van de bestelbus naar de elektrisch aangedreven bakfiets: steeds meer servicemonteurs zetten hun geliefde wagen aan de kant voor het duurzame alternatief. En dat is nodig, in 2025 moet de stadslogistiek namelijk volledig emissievrij zijn. Maar die overstap gaat niet altijd zonder slag of stoot. De monteur en z’n busje, die zijn vaak onafscheidelijk. De Hogeschool van Amsterdam (HvA) zoekt binnen lectoraat Citylogistiek naar passende duurzame oplossingen voor de servicelogistiek.

Foto: Urban Arrow

De elektrisch aangedreven bakfiets, ook wel e-cargo bike, als duurzaam alternatief is fijn voor stadsinwoners, die ervaren zo minder hinder als vervuiling, verkeersdrukte en geluidsoverlast. Maar ook voor de servicemonteurs zelf. Omdat het verkeer vaak vaststaat in de stad, komt de e-cargo bike goed van pas. Zo hoeven ze niet meer gefrustreerd rondjes te rijden voor een parkeerplek in de buurt of torenhoge parkeerkosten te betalen. Het bespaart tijd en geld en bevordert productiviteit en plezier.

‘Allerlei bedrijven zijn ermee bezig’, vertelt Walther Ploos van Amstel, lector Citylogistiek bij de Hogeschool van Amsterdam (HvA), aan Het Parool . ‘In Utrecht laat Coca-Cola bijvoorbeeld monteurs die de leidingen onderhouden al per bakfiets komen.’

OVERSTAPPEN OP E-CARGO BIKE BIJ ‘HUB’

Vooralsnog is een kwart van alle bestelauto’s in de stad een servicebusje. Daar komt bovenop dat de mensen die in de stad moeten zijn, 90 procent van buiten komt, vertelt Ploos van Amstel. ‘Mensen die je hard nodig hebt: liftmonteurs, cv-installateurs, klussers. Specialisten die bovendien een groot geografisch gebied bereizen.’ In plaats van dat zij in die grote getale met hun busje de stad in rijden, kunnen ze bij een ‘hub’ overstappen op de e-cargo bike. De hubs bevinden zich vaak net buiten de ring van de stad. ‘Zo’n overstappunt is een geweldige connectie’, aldus Ploos van Amstel.

CULTUUR- EN GEDRAGSVERANDERING

Maar wíllen de monteurs wel op een bakfiets? ‘Een bus of auto is een soort statussymbool voor een monteur’, vertelt Remco van den Beld, ketenmanager bij servicebedrijf Feenstra, aan Amsterdam Economic Board  (AEB). Dat vraagt dus om cultuur- en gedragsverandering en flexibiliteit. Iets waar Susanne Balm (HvA) onderzoek naar doet in project Gas op Elektrisch.

‘In dat project koppelen we servicebedrijven aan aanbieders van zero-emissie-oplossingen’, vertelt Balm aan AEB. ‘We bekijken hoe ze hun logistiek het best kunnen organiseren, we evalueren het gedrag en de houding van medewerkers en we denken na over nieuwe businessmodellen hieromheen, en hoe we die succesvol kunnen opschalen.’

PILOT MET E-CARGO BIKES

Om gedragsverandering te bewerkstelligen, worden servicemonteurs nauw betrokken bij het project. Zo konden monteurs de e-cargo bike van mobiliteitsbedrijf DOCKR  alvast testen in het drukke Amsterdam. En in april vulden verschillende servicebedrijven een vragenlijst in, waarmee ideeën voor pilots werden opgehaald. Daaruit kwamen vijf interessante mogelijke oplossingen, waarvan er een werd doorontwikkeld tot pilot: installatiebedrijf Feenstra  doet nu een proef met de e-cargo bikes van DOCKR vanaf de hub van zero-emissie verhuisbedrijf Deudekom  in Duivendrecht.

Foto: DOCKR - E-cargo bike

UITDAGINGEN

Er zijn natuurlijk ook uitdagingen. Zo kwam er uit de vragenlijst onder andere naar voren dat een koffiemomentje bij de hub belangrijk is voor de servicemonteurs. En wat te doen in de winter en als het regent? Goede regenkleding is nodig en een vast bedrag om ergens binnen te lunchen moet geregeld worden. Dat werd normaliter in de bus gedaan. Daarnaast heb je bij de ene serviceklus meer of groter materiaal nodig dan bij de ander. Dat past niet altijd in een bakfiets. En er moet voldoende parkeerplekken zijn voor de busjes om over te stappen bij een hub.

HVA-STUDENTEN HELPEN MEE

Al met al vraagt de overstap om een andere manier van organiseren. Momenteel zijn vijf HvA-studenten bij het Gas op Elektrisch betrokken, om te kijken hoe het toekomstige vervoer beter georganiseerd kan worden. Samen met de onderzoekers achterhalen zij wat werkt en wat niet werkt en onder welke voorwaarden het voor de medewerkers plezierig werken blijft. Balm aan AEB: ‘Het mooie is dat alle deelnemers bereid zijn om hun ervaringen te delen: aanbieders van oplossingen, maar ook de servicebedrijven zelf. Iedereen heeft een klein stukje van de puzzel in handen. Door al die puzzelstukjes bij elkaar te brengen kunnen we erachter komen wat het beste werkt.’

Lectoraat Citylogistiek

Binnen het lectoraat Citylogistiek van Centre of Expertise Urban Technology wordt onderzocht hoe binnensteden en woonwijken op het groeiende vrachtverkeer moeten inspelen; welke kansen zijn er voor slimme en schone stadslogistiek? Onderzoeksthema’s zijn onder meer de inzet van zero-emissievoertuigen (ook licht elektrisch), horecabevoorrading, afval, bouwlogistiek, servicelogistiek en publieke inkoop. Het praktijkonderzoek kijkt daarbij naar nieuwe verdienmodellen, slimme logistieke concepten, innovatieve technologie, stadshubs en overheidsbeleid.

OpenADR enables Flexible Energy solutions for a more stable grid. It started in 2002 in California, and is already more than 10 years available now.

OpenADR is implemented in various European projects. To share knowlegde about these, OpenADR hosts 2 webinars focussing on Europe. The first will be December 15th. We will have speakers from Stromnetz Hamburg, ChargePoint, U.K. Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, CERTH & Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, and of course OpenADR

15 December 2020 - 15.00 CET.
Register here, and check program (free event):
https://bit.ly/openADR_EUROPE

Demodays are part of our innovation process and intended to boost the progress of the various innovation projects, put requests for help on the table, share dilemmas and involve others in your projects or challenges. Invitations are sent, but you can join!

The Amsterdam Smart City team hosts demodays every 8-10 weeks. Our partners put out concrete questions about projects they are currently working on. We set up pitches and organize workshops with them and other partners to get them to get a step further in their processes.

This time on the agenda:
- How can we apply the energy of regenerative braking in neighbourhood Hubs?
- Curtailment of wind turbines and solar panels
- CleanMobileEnergy project
- Wijkie & Earn-E

Time: 14.00 - 16.30h

This event is in Dutch and invitation only, however we are happy to be joined by others!

Do you feel like you should be there? Do you have knowledge or a network that could be useful for the session? Or do you want to learn more about one of the topics discussed? Please send an e-mail to menouschka@amsterdamsmartcity.com and we might save you a seat!

With the growing availability of data and technology, digital versions of objects or systems are getting more interesting. Pairing the virtual and physical world, it is possible to continue critical physical processes while digitally experimenting and looking for improvements. The ‘digital twin’ therefore is an interesting feature, also in urban development.

Governments are exploring what a digital twin can mean for them or have already taken the first steps. Some with a clear output or use case in mind, some to experiment and build upon for the future. Setting up a digital twin of a city or region is complex and could therefore become costly. A digital twin may even grow into a
system where no one is able to comprehend how an implication has come about anymore.

In a discussion with a number of digital twin projects, we will address opportunities and barriers. Are current projects more than 3D models? What are the key enablers and challenges in starting digital twins for urban applications? Which steps are the
most difficult to implement? Do we fully trust on the system and will reality be handled by a computer? How are decisions for further development made?

Join us for these and of course the questions from the audience during this session of Data Dilemmas on the 17th of December!

Program:
Online event
Date: 17th of December 2020
Language: English

15.50: Digital walk-in
16.00 – 16.05: Introduction by Amsterdam Smart City & Datalab
16.05 – 16.45: Presentations + Q&A
Speakers will be confirmed soon!
16.45 – 17.15: Plenary discussion and wrap-up

Sign up: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/data-dilemmas-digital-twins-hype-or-necessity-tickets-131311784081

About the Data Dilemmas series
Digital Twins show us that possibilities of using data and new technologies to address urban challenges are endless. We use data to make cities safer, cleaner and, for example, more accessible. But do we really need the data in all cases? What happens to all the data that is collected? Which choices did people make and why? Which dilemmas can be encountered? These questions are important for everyone; for governments, knowledge institutions, residents and companies. Amsterdam Smart City likes to explore with you which decisions are needed for responsible use of data.
Data Dilemmas is a collaboration between Amsterdam Smart City and the City of Amsterdam’s Datalab.

Every two weeks the City of Amsterdam publishes a monitor on urban measures to deal with COVID-19. Different issues are discussed, depending on the questions we receive from within the municipal organisation. It is aimed at giving a general overview of urban measures worldwide and of other information relevant for cities. It also has an overview of EU measures and of different relevant sources. Please find the newest version of the monitor attached.

Maandag 7 december 2020 | 15.30 – 17.00 uur

“Wat betekent het als een wijk
Energie Positief wil worden? Welke zaken komen daar bij kijken? Dat wordt
op dit moment in Buiksloterham onderzocht in het Europese project
ATELIER. Denk mee, laat je inspireren en informeren in deze gratis
Innovatie Atelier webinar!”

De Gemeente Amsterdam wil samen met
lokale partners laten zien dat een (deel van de) wijk Buiksloterham
Energie Positief kan worden, oftewel meer energie levert dan gebruikt. In
het Europese project ATELIER wordt in twee Europese steden (Amsterdam en
Bilbao) een Positief Energie District gerealiseerd. In het project werken
30 organisaties samen aan het realiseren van deze doelstelling in de
periode van november 2019 tot december 2024.

Om een wijk  energie te laten leveren, zijn veel vernieuwingen en
innovaties nodig. In het Innovatie Atelier Buiksloterham wordt door de
gemeente, bedrijven, kennisinstellingen en bewoners samengewerkt om deze
vernieuwingen in de praktijk te realiseren. Denk aan duurzame energie
opwek, opslag en uitwisseling. Dit brengt niet alleen technische
uitdagingen met zich mee, maar ook uitdagingen rond financiering en
betaalbaarheid, wetgeving en juridische kaders, en sociale innovatie. De
burger heeft bij het realiseren van een energie-positieve wijk een
belangrijke rol.

In deze webinar wordt de officiële aftrap gegeven van het Innovatie
Atelier Buiksloterham. Dit is de gelegenheid om u te informeren over de
ambities en de werkwijze om een energie-positieve wijk te realiseren in
Buiksloterham!

Voor meer informatie: https://smartcity-atelier.eu/

Sprekers
- Wethouder van Doorninck over het belang van dergelijke projecten in de duurzaamheidsambities in Amsterdam.
- Vertegenwoordigers van Gemeente Amsterdam, Schoonschip, TNO, Spectral, Waag
- Moderator: Waldemar Torenstra

The EIT-KIC project CityFlows aims to improve the liveability of crowded pedestrian spaces through the use of Crowd Monitoring Decision Support Systems (CM-DSS) to manage pedestrian flows. To facilitate knowledge exchange between project partners and stakeholders, the CityFlows project is hosting a webinar series in four parts.

Please note! This webinar was previously scheduled for December 1 and has been postponed to December 15.

Agenda:
• 14:55 – 15:00 Zoom meeting room open
• 15:00 – 15:05 Welcome & introductions
• 15:05 – 15:20 Crowd management innovations at Milan Central Station by Giuseppe Gammariello & Giovanni Criscuolo
• 15:20 – 15:35 Crowd management innovations at Johan Cruijff Arena by Willem Hegen
• 15:35 – 15:40 Reflection from Barcelona partners
• 15:40 – 16:00 Q&A with the audience
• 16:00 Program end

Crowd-management researchers and practitioners are encouraged to join this interactive webinar and to share their best practices and lessons learned.

For more information about the CityFlows project please visit: https://cityflows-project.eu

De provincie Noord-Holland is twee jaar geleden in samenwerking met het RIVM, de Waag Society, Tata Steel en lokale overheden het project Hollandse Luchten gestart om de luchtkwaliteit op zwaarder belaste locaties rondom het Noordzeekanaalgebied fijnmazig in kaart te brengen. Hierbij worden inwoners begeleid en opgeleid om de sensoren in elkaar te zetten en de uitkomsten van de metingen te begrijpen. Vervolgens kan er een discussie worden gehouden over het gezamenlijk ontstane beeld van de omgevingskwaliteit.

De Volkskrant schreef een artikel over hoe het meten van de omgevingskwaliteit door inwoners met de jaren is ontwikkeld en wat voor een invloed dit heeft op de discussie rondom leefbaarheid van gebieden.

Wil je eindelijk tot actie komen, de community van de Amsterdam Donut Coalitie leren kennen, verbindingen leggen, je eigen projecten delen of bij een bestaand donut economie project aansluiten? Schrijf je dan gratis in voor ons community event: donderdag 10 december vanaf 16.00 - 17.30 uur. Meld je aan via dit formulier. Een week van tevoren ontvang je een bevestiging met de link naar het online evenement. Samen naar een regio Amsterdam die iedereen een eerlijke sociale basis biedt, binnen veilige ecologische grenzen!

Een artikelenreeks over de positie van bodem en ondergrond in ruimtelijke ontwikkeling door Rooilijn, online open-access tijdschrift voor wetenschap en beleid in de Ruimtelijke ordening. Met artikelen van onder andere Geert Roovers, Maarten Hogeweij, Melika Levelt, Astrid Druijff, Marco Scheffers, Joeri Naus en Erwin Biersteker

De ondergrond levert een essentiële bijdrage aan alles wat boven de grond wordt gepland en gebouwd. Naast grondstoffen om te bouwen gebruiken we de ondergrondse lagen ook om gebouwen te funderen, rioleringen en leidingen aan te leggen, ons van energie en drinkwater te voorzien en om water te bergen. Gek dus eigenlijk dat de ondergrond lang weinig aandacht heeft gehad in de ruimtelijke planning. Daarom nu extra aandacht voor bodem en ondergrond in Rooilijn.

A two day conference on open source hardware for air quality measurement across borders.

This is an online event. Information on how to join the meetup will follow after registration.

register

//

In many corners of the world, people choose to measure local air quality out of concern for their neighbourhood, their health, the climate or agriculture. These citizens collect data with the help of affordable and accessible sensor technology and sometimes come together to be part of a citizen sensing network - think of the global networks of open source hardware such as GOSH and Hackteria. And then there are international sensor communities, such as global platform Sensor.Community, Public Lab and Smart Citizen kit, and Dutch initiatives, such as Snuffelfiets, Meet je stad and Hollandse Luchten. These citizen sensing initiatives now have a wealth of knowledge and experience in making open source sensors. They form sensing communities that collaborate successfully on a local level. This often takes root in top-down measurement programmes aimed at a specific group in a specific location. But air quality knows no borders — it is an urgent matter across the globe. It’s about time we share knowledge, learn from each other, and make sensor technology accessible to a broad and international group with a common environmental concern.

On Wednesday December 9th and Thursday December 10th Waag and SODAQ will organise the Transforming citizen sensing conference. During this two-day conference, a wide variety of citizens, environmental activists, makers, ecologist, technical experts and researchers will come together to discuss their concerns and needs around air quality measurement. Global sensing initiatives are invited to share their knowledge. The goal is to identify the requirements a sensor should meet in order to address the common issue and to discover the limits of what is technically possible.

Involve the user in the design process
The production process of (sensor) technology is often inaccessible to the consumer, who has little or no say in the subject of the product. During this conference, the communities that use sensor technology will be involved in the first phase of the design process. This open production process is also referred to as open source hardware (OSH). Open source hardware is not only about transparent, accessible and reproducible hardware, but is mainly aimed at a participatory and community-driven design process. The experiences of communities form the basis of the design and the entire process (from design to prototype to product) is transparent for users.

What concerns are most pressing globally? What design challenges do these concerns present to sensor making? And what can we learn from experienced open source hardware initiatives around the world? Join us to find out.

Your input will be considered during the development of Sodaq and Waag’s open source prototype.

Day 1 | sensor making: from use case to design challenge
On day one we will start with presentations by sensing initiatives. What prompted them to start the initiative, what lessons have they learned, what was the biggest design challenge and how do they involve the community? After this there will be a joint discussion about the bottlenecks in measuring air quality and we will go deeper into why and what air quality sensors can help for. We will end this day with a clear overview of the needs of the participants and the related design challenges. In addition, we will let you know what role participants have in the further development of the sensor.

When: Wednesday December 9
Time: 7:00 pm - 9:15 pm

Programme
19:00 hrs - Introduction programme
19:05 hrs - Presentation use cases*:
-  Lukas Mocek, Sensor.Community
19:40 hrs - Q&A
19:50 hrs - Break
20:00 hrs - Sharing concerns and identify needs
20:30 hrs - Formulate design challenges
21:15 hrs - End

Day 2 | from design challenge to first sensor concepts
On day two, sensor makers will share their knowledge on: electricity, internet connection, sensor technology, modularity, software, data quality and data visualisation. In groups, researchers, data specialists and citizen initiatives will work on the design challenges of day one. Your input and knowledge will therefore have a direct impact on the sensor that will be developed in 2021. At the end of the day, you will know the latest developments in (air quality) sensors, you will have gotten to know other makers, you will have made an active contribution to the design of a new air quality sensor and you will be part of a worldwide network of sensor makers.

When: Thursday December 10
Time: 7:00 pm - 9:15 pm

Programme
19:00 hrs - Introduction programme
19:05 hrs - Presentation use cases*
19:40 hrs - Q&A
19:50 hrs - Break
20:00 hrs - Design challenge
20:35 hrs - Presents results
21:15 hrs - End

\ Speakers will be announced on this page shortly.*

Do you have experience in making sensors and would you like to share your knowledge with others in the field? And do you want to be part of a worldwide, open source hardware community?

join us online on december 9 & 10

Open Next
The Transforming citizen sensing conference is part of the European Open Next project. This open source project links to the maker movement. This movement reduces the distinction between professional makers and amateurs. Open source hardware (OSH) is an important part that contributes to this. It makes knowledge sharing available in an accessible way, so that innovation and the do-it-yourself culture is reflected in the home and at work.

This means that products or services are no longer designed to be patented, expensive or closed, but rather accessible and transparent. A well-known platform for OSH is Wikifactory. Here everyone can share his or her idea, but also improve and recreate ideas or products from other people. For proprietary rights, you can choose from several tested and established certificates such as, FOSS (based on OSH), Creative Commons(which is linked to different creative products) or CERN, which focuses on specific OSH and offers a choice of both commercial and non- commercial goals. For example, a non-commercial certificate no longer protects a complete product, but can be opened up under a number of conditions. Consider releasing construction drawings of an air quality sensor so that they can be downloaded from anywhere in the world. In this way you give people at home or at work the opportunity to build something themselves with which to measure their air quality and you increase the range and reliability of the measurements. This way of working has an impact on the traditional business model and deserves a redefinition in today's society. The certificates mentioned make it possible to enter into an inclusive collaboration during the design and development phase and can be extended to the development of new versions. Citizens and communities can then be involved based on their needs and/or skills.

Waag en Sodaq
Waag previously developed the HoLu sensor with participants from the local measurement communities of Hollandse Luchten. They deal with air pollution on a daily basis and are concerned about their health, environment and climate. By formulating the design questions together with them, we ensure that the technology serves what the citizen scientists need. Waag and Sodaq are working together and are investigating how the HoLu sensor kit can be further developed into a sustainable sensor based on open source hardware. Sodaq is specialised in developing sensor technology with an interest in open-source hardware developments. Together we work towards the goal of developing an air quality sensor based on input from a wide audience, so that we can make sensor technology accessible at a global level and thus connect with other communities where the theme of air pollution is urgent. The results of the conference and the design drawings will be shared here at a later stage. In January we organise a series of design prints that you can be part of.

Hello guys, I am seriously needing help in framing a topic for myself. I am currently a MSc Risk student at Durham University. I have always been interested in smart cities and urban analytics in relation to flooding. I will also like to expand on my selected topic for my PhD. Thanks in anticipation for your help.

What if autonomous boats could relieve Amsterdam's city center of heavy traffic over its vulnerable quays and bridges while making the canals a testbed for innovation?

Roboat – a research project by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS Institute) – will provide self-driving solutions on water for different use cases. After successfully implementing full autonomy on the 1:4 and 1:2 scale boats, Roboat now introduces the first full-scale prototype – ready to start piloting real-life use cases.

Can't wait to see what the full-scale design looks like? Check out the video here.

The new 1:1 scale model
Roboat has a unique modular design. The vessel consists of a hull, that forms the technical basis of the boat, designed with different top-decks that can be applied for multiple use cases: transportation of people and garbage collection, as well as stages and bridges when latched together. The full-scale boat measures 2 by 4 meters. “These relatively small dimensions make the boat well suited for the urban environment,” says Carlo Ratti, Director of MIT Senseable City Lab and Principal Investigator in the project.

With four thrusters, the boat can move in all directions, making it agile and responsive to other traffic on the water, but also facilitating precise maneuvering for docking and latching.

“When individual Roboat units are latched, different combinations of floating platforms can be created. In their new configuration they form floating pixels and respond as new autonomous organisms” - Carlo Ratti | Professor at MIT Senseable City Lab & AMS PI

The full-scale Roboat is equipped with an improved perception sensor kit that combines LIDAR (Laser Image Detection and Ranging), GPS, DVL (Doppler Velocity Log) and camera-based object detection which enables the vessel to observe and scan the canals for path-finding and obstacle avoidance. When Roboat encounters an object in the water, the boat determines whether it is stationary or moving and measures the proximity and directionality of the object. The vessel then calculates the best maneuver to avoid the obstacle. After passing the obstacle, Roboat resumes its optimal route.

Pilots and experiments to develop use cases
In the coming months, the full-scale boat will be tested in the waters of Marineterrein Amsterdam Living Lab – a testbed for innovations and AMS Institute’s home base... Continue the full article here >>

The City of Amsterdam has many smart technologies in place: from smart devices that measure things (i.e. sensors) to smart devices that steer processes in the city (i.e. actuators) such as traffic lights, charging stations, adaptable street lights, barriers that go up and down, and adaptive digital signs.

To illustrate, throughout the city there are over 200 cameras, about 230 air quality sensors and almost 500 beacons in place. The latter being devices in physical spaces that emit a signal that can be picked up by mobile devices with a specific app.

Smart technologies like these help the municipality to efficiently measure, analyse and steer processes in the urban area. For example to optimize mobility flows in urban environments, to better use available capacity of energy infrastructures, to conduct condition management on the city’s assets, rationalise garbage removal and much more.

Responsible Urban Digitization
On the one hand, innovations like these can help improve the quality of life in the city and enhance safety and efficiency, but also sustainability and livability. Simultaneously, such novel technologies can impact society quite broadly. They could have consequences for matters that citizens value greatly, such as autonomy, privacy, transparency, inclusiveness and empowerment.

“The City does not want its inhabitants negatively impacted by potential privacy infringements, sense of loss of control and understandability, or reactions such as self-censorship.” - Sigrid Winkel | Urban Innovation Officer | City of Amsterdam CTO

“Our recent research has pointed out that ‘official’ actors primarily see transparency as a mean to ensure adoption, while citizens see transparency as a starting point for voicing their concerns and influencing the purpose and use of smart technology. This leads us to conclude that we - as designers of these systems - need to aim to design these systems for engagement as well as pushback by society.” - Gerd Kortuem | Professor & AMS PI

Launching a Responsible Sensing Lab
With our Responsible Urban Digitization program, we research, develop and integrate smart technologies like the aforementioned to help solve urban challenges. At the same time, we explore how to embed society’s public and democratic values in the design of these innovations.

As part of this program, we are launching a Responsible Sensing Lab. In essence this is a testbed for conducting rigorous, transparent, and replicable research how our smart technologies placed in public space can be designed in a way that makes the digital city ‘responsible’.

(Re)designing, prototype testing and implementing responsible sensing systems
In the Responsible Sensing Lab academics are invited to connect and work with practitioners who are responsible for digital systems in the city to (re)design, prototype and test (more) responsible ways of sensing in public space for and with the City of Amsterdam.

Hence, the Lab is a place where teams of multi-disciplinary stakeholders – such as computer scientists, policy makers, psychologists, designers and hardware experts – can address existing hardware, software and other city sensing systems.

“Responsible Sensing Lab is a place where experimentation and technologies come together to (re)design these innovations solutions that make public spaces cleaner, smarter and easier – while at the same time guaranteeing our social values.” - Thijs Turèl | Program Manager Responsible Urban Digitization | AMS Institute

Three cases: Human Scan Car, Transparant Charging Station, Camera Shutter
There are already a few examples of projects that will be further explored in the Responsible Sensing Lab. Namely, the Human Scan Car, Transparent Charging Station and Camera Shutter projects.

Firstly, scan cars – vehicles that are equipped with sensors to collect data on the urban environment – are becoming increasingly popular to help the municipality to carry out tasks efficiently. For example with parking policy enforcement, waste registration and advertisement taxation. Apart from making the city more efficient and clean, with this project we question and explore what public and democratic values should be embedded in the implementation of these scan cars.

Together with UNSense, we invited representatives from the City of Amsterdam and Rotterdam, TADA, and researchers from TU Delft to join us for a 3-day sprint to design “the scan car of the future”, that also looks at the human and fair values of the advances in technology. Get a full impression of this design sprint here.

“Design should play a role in guiding the perceptions of, and interactions with, automated sensing systems in the city. Going through this process with AMS Institute's researchers and public servants, we’ll be able to bend the design towards a more consciously chosen, collectively desirable future.” - Tessa Steenkamp | Sensorial Experience Designer | UNSense

Secondly, the transparent charging station is a design project meant to explain smart charging algorithm decisions to users. In the near future, when electric cars become more prevelant, the electicity grid will no longer be able to charge all electric cars at the same time. Smart charging algorithms will help coordinate which car will get to charge at what time. But how do these algorithms decide? The transparent charging station project produces the first user interface informing people about smart charging decisions.

"The transparent charging station promises to improve the democratic oversight of algorithms in EV charging. By explaining charging algorithm inputs, procedures and outputs in a user interface, EV drivers should be able to determine the system's fairness and see who the responsible parties are". - Kars Alfrink | Doctoral Researcher | TU Delft

Thirdly, the Camera Shutter project originated based on the notion that people do not know if and when cameras in public space are recording or not*.* We wondered: would people like to live in a city where all city cameras clearly show or state when they’re not in use? What if, just like laptop shutters many people have placed over their webcam, this could be a way to make clear to citizens when a camera is not recording them?

For this third project, a timelapse camera at the office of AMS Institute was outfitted with a shutter. Subsequently, the effects of this small-scale pilot will be examined by interviewing staff and visitors.

Core values for responsible urban digitization
At the Responsible Sensing Lab, and for Responsible Urban Digitization program as a whole, we use the City’s values (TADA, Digital City Agenda) as our starting point. We will explore what these values mean when applied to actual digital software and hardware.

Also, we are inspired by the methodology of value sensitive design. This approach allows us to focus on design choices inherent in the type of sensing hardware, the distribution of intelligence between cloud and back-end, the physical design and placement of sensors in public space, and interaction possibilities for citizens.

Recently, a three year collaboration has been signed between the City of Amsterdam and AMS Institute. In this Lab, we’ll work closely with experts at TU Delft Industrial Design Faculty.

Demodays are part of our innovation process and intended to boost the progress of the various innovation projects, put requests for help on the table, share dilemmas and involve others in your projects or challenges. Invitations are sent, but you can join!

The Amsterdam Smart City team hosts demodays every 8-10 weeks. Our partners put out concrete questions about projects they are currently working on. We set up pitches and organize workshops with them and other partners to get them to get a step further in their processes.

This time on the agenda:
- Collaboration between startups and governments
- Mapping waste flows
- Responsible IT Lab
- AI to detect waste in cities

Time: 14.00 - 16.30h

This event is in Dutch and invitation only, however we are happy to be joined by others!

Do you feel like you should be there? Do you have knowledge or a network that could be useful for the session? Or do you want to learn more about one of the topics discussed? Please send an e-mail to info@amsterdamsmartcity.com and we might save you a seat!

We weten dat het klimaat aan het veranderen is en we weten dat het daarom warmer, natter én droger wordt. Maar we weten niet wanneer of waar het hoe warm wordt of hoeveel regen er op een specifieke dag gaat vallen. Toch kunnen we ondanks deze onzekerheid anticiperen op de meest voor de hand liggende scenario's. Kunnen we door meer ruimte voor de natuur de grootste klappen opvangen? Wat gaat dit betekenen voor de landbouw, voor de woningbouwopgave en de bereikbaarheid van ons land? Tijdens twee afleveringen van Ruimte! Ruimte! Ruimte! duiken we in de wereld van de omgevingsplanning en het anticiperen op klimaatverandering. Wat kunnen we verwachten van deze verandering en hoe ziet Nederland er straks uit? Volgende week kijken we naar de gevolgen voor onze directe leefomgeving en wat we nu al kunnen doen. Deze week beginnen we met het jaar 2120, hoe ziet Nederland er over honderd jaar uit?

Met de lancering van de Corona app is digitalisering van de publieke ruimte gesprek van de dag. Als stad en als regio staan we voor grote opgaven. De coronacrisis momenteel voorop, maar ook de energietransitie, de beweging naar een circulaire economie en naar schone mobiliteit zijn nog steeds zeer urgent.

Opgaven die stuk voor stuk samenkomen in de openbare ruimte. Hier leven, recreëren, werken, spelen en verplaatsen we onszelf. Maar zeker in de stad is die openbare ruimte schaars en voel je de krapte. Technologie kan helpen om slim om te gaan met de krapte en de kwaliteit van de openbare ruimte beter te maken, mits je het op de juiste manier inzet. Niemand wil immers in een Smart City wonen. Wel in een veilige, schone, inspirerende en gezellige stad.

Op uitnodiging van Philip Vincent Fokker schreef ik dit artikel voor magazine Stadswerk#9. Een special over Smart City. Lees waarom een breed palet aan waarden voorop stellen belangrijk is. En hoe je de kracht van de samenleving kunt gebruiken voor waardevolle innovatie.

Met mooie voorbeelden van onze partners. Nemo Catalyst voor de Digitale Perimeter. Een Smart Parking pilot door gemeente Haarlemmermeer en de Druktemeter op het Marineterrein.

Lees hier het hele artikel

Smart Mobility maatregelen kunnen bijdragen aan onze klimaatdoelen, bereikbare en duurzame steden, een bloeiende economie, een prettige en gezonde leefomgeving en een vitaal landelijk gebied.

Samen met TNO heeft de Provincie Noord-Holland de kansen en uitdagingen op een rijtje gezet. Zo kunnen slimme technieken zorgen voor een betere bereikbaarheid, het terugdringen van de CO2-uitstoot en de ruimte, die steeds schaarser wordt, efficiënter gebruiken.

De taskforce Communication Alliance for a Circular Region (CACR) wil de circulaire economie in de Metropoolregio Amsterdam versnellen met praktische verhalen voor en over ondernemers en bedrijven. We nodigen iedereen uit mee te doen met de discussie op amsterdamsmartcity.com. De CACR bestaat uit: Hogeschool van Amsterdam | Gemeente Amsterdam | Amsterdam Economic Board | Amsterdam Smart City | Metabolic en AMS Institute.

Artikelen 'Circulaire economie en data'

• Volop kansen in de nieuwe circulaire werkelijkheid: Data zijn de zuurstof van de circulaire economie: deel 1
• Slim datagebruik in de circulaire economie: de drie belangrijkste redenen (CACR): Data zijn de zuurstof van de circulaire economie: deel 2

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The taskforce Communication Alliance for a Circular Region (CACR) is working to accelerate the circular economy in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, sharing practical stories for and about entrepreneurs and businesses. The CACR is an initiative by Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences | City of Amsterdam | Amsterdam Economic Board | Amsterdam Smart City | Metabolic | AMS Institute.

Articles 'Circular economy and data'

• A wealth of opportunities in the new circular reality: Data is the oxygen that the circular economy thrives on: part 1
• Smart data usage in the circular economy: 3 key reasons: Data is the oxygen that the circular economy thrives on: part 2