On Monday evening, the Brussels city council unanimously gave the green light to the smart city strategy. The aim of this strategy is to make services more efficient with the help of new technologies, but also to improve the quality of life for Brussels residents and Brussels companies and to reduce the environmental impact. Opposition party N-VA abstained from the vote.
The ambitious plan includes 48 projects in seven policy areas. The projects are diverse. For example, the city wants to develop a cartographic tool that should make Brussels a “city at 10 minutes”, with all basic facilities within a maximum of ten minutes on foot or by bicycle.
There is also a mobility project that should improve the supply of parking and delivery places by collecting data via sensors and scan cars, and there is money for the transformation of the Noordwijk into an “energy-positive district”. This is a neighborhood where more energy is generated than consumed, including through large-scale renovation, the installation of renewable energy and technological energy management systems.
In the context of the digital school project, all pupils from the 4th to the 6th year of secondary education must receive a laptop and coding training. For the parents there is a training around Smart school.
Companies Also Involved
Not only the municipal services are involved in the plans, but also companies, research institutes and civil society. They were able to receive a subsidy of up to 30,000 euros via a call for projects.
This article is originally published on bruzz.be
