What digital innovation means for the future of cities goes beyond imagination. We have to keep our organizations, inhabitants and entrepreneurs connected to the dynamic and innovative projects that we work on with our Ruggedised team by making them clear and easy to understand for everyone. Especially now, as Rotterdam is preparing for municipal council elections held on March 21, 2018. We need to show our expertise to impress our new Executive Board and guarantee a future leadership position in progressive, sustainable projects.
André Houtepen, RUGGEDISED project manager, City of Rotterdam
PROJECT TIMING:
Month 16 / 60
BIGGEST SUCCESS TO DATE
The success and start of our pilot program on smart waste management
BIGGEST CHALLENGE
Keep on track of all partners in a rapidly changing city landscape
The initial plan in Heart of South was to create one smart grid between all new buildings in the project scope. Nevertheless, in-depth research showed us that our initial plan was not the most viable and successful option. The piping construction under the Zuiderparkweg, the road between conference centre Ahoy and the new-build swimming pool (just opened! January 22) turned out to be too expensive. Therefore we found an even better solution: we now aim to make two smart grids. One on the side of Ahoy and one on the side of the swimming pool. With our new insights we believe we can make this smart grid even better.
Rotterdam prepares for the future with a shift from fixed to dynamic waste collection schedules. In 2015, a pilot project in Rotterdam South started: ‘route optimization for emptying waste containers’. The team placed sensors in containers for paper. These sensors measure how full the containers are. On the basis of that information, it is examined when the container can best be emptied. The efficient route is automatically planned. The drivers get to see the route via a tablet. The results of the pilot program were really positive. Therefore Rotterdam decided to implement sensors in all 6,500 containers in Rotterdam. They started the implementation of sensors in November 2017. The implementation takes place in phases. They expect to start with the route for textiles first quarter 2018.
Rotterdam and London agreed on having an active involvement in the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities (EIP-SCC) in the ‘Humble Lamppost’ project. There are around 60 million streetlights in Europe and most of them are not energy efficient. EIP’s ambition is to upgrade 10 million of these streetlights with low-energy LED bulbs and also provide (a selection) with smart characteristics like monitoring air quality or as a mean to improve security. At this stage, Ballast Nedam/Heijmans, a partner in Ruggedised, and the City of Rotterdam are studying in what ways smart lighting can be developed in the Heart of South district. Actual implementation is scheduled for 2019.
On November 27, Minister Kajsa Ollongren of the Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations visited the project Heart of South. Main reason is the scheduled revision of the Environment and Planning Act, expected to enter into force in 2021. She visited Heart of South to see an example of a project where the new Environment and Planning Act is already taken into account. Her attention was particularly focused on the ambitious social and sustainable goals and the cooperation between partners and the immediate environment.
Taking innovations forward, making breakthroughs happen to help tackle social challenges In the Netherlands and globally. This is the Dutch government’s ambition with the Innovation Expo 2018. The business community, knowledge institutes, social organisations and governmentals meet up on 4 October 2018 in the RDM Onderzeebootloods (former submarine construction hall) in Rotterdam. A day in which all participants from the Netherlands and abroad are jointly dedicated to accelerating innovations. A great opportunity for Ruggedised to take the stage and inspire all visitors with our latest developments.