The Smart City Lab Basel was opened by Executive Council President Elisabeth Ackermann, SBB CEO Andreas Meyer and President of the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Governments Benedikt Würth, the canton of Basel-Stadt reported in a press release. The facilities on the Wolf Areal cover an area of 160,000m2. Here, partners from industry, science and administration can develop innovative solutions that will benefit the city of tomorrow as well as improving quality of life and the competitiveness of the Switzerland as a whole.
The “Creators Box” was unveiled at the opening, as a place for “networking, developing, testing and experiencing pilot projects”. In terms of topics, the Smart City Lab Basel will initially focus on mobility and logistics. Project proposals can also be submitted via the Lab website. Suggestions are also most welcome for topics to be tackled in the future.
One of the main roles of the Smart City Lab Basel is networking. The collaboration between partners from industry, science, administration and the public will facilitate the creation of innovative concepts for the city of tomorrow. To this end, the Smart City Lab Basel also features coworking spaces.
The great significance of the “smart city” concept for the canton of Basel-Stadt is also reflected by the event Smart Suisse, which is taking place in Basel for the third time. The canton will showcase itself under the strategy “Smart City Basel 2018”. In the context of this strategy, Basel uses data and digital technologies to improve quality of life. “Quality of life is high in Basel”, said Ackermann in another press release. “To ensure this is maintained, a smart city such as Basel uses digital technologies and data in a targeted and responsible way. For all technology, we always put people and their needs at the heart of everything we do.”
