SIMmobil

About the city. Vienna’s Smarter Together Urban Living Lab is conceptualized as a local communication and participation centre for the activities and implementation of Smarter Together projects designed to serve local socio-spatial and socio-economic conditions and the needs of local citizens.

Goal

The aim of the project is to promote Vienna’s concept of participatory Smart City through the introduction of a platform for project identification, on-site surveys, facilitating workshops for children and gamification.

Implementation period. In 2016, the Urban Living Lab for Smarter Together was implemented, which operated from fall 2016 to 2018 with nearly 3,000 visitors on approximately 90 opening days, offering a wide-ranging program.

Fact

Since 2016, Vienna has been working with its partner cities Munich and Lyon on the “Smarter Together” beacon project, in which more than 30 project partners are piloting technical and social innovations in established urban areas. Local residents in the Simmering district of Vienna participate in approximately 40 individual projects within the project area.

Solutions

The implementation process included:

1. Identify key institutional partner and formal cooperation agreement (at the stage of project preparation)
2. In deep socio-economic analysis of the area and the project area (during project preparation)
3. Feasibility study, design and branding (SIMmobile = Simmering, Mobil)of mobile Urban Living Lab (early phase of the project)
4. Market research about what kind of mobile to purchase
5. Identification of an end-of-lifetime trailer to be purchased and purchase
6. Redesign of the trailer
7. The development of the implementation plan (early phase of the project)
8. Implementation of the ULL (project implementation phase September 2016-winter 2018).

SIMmobile was used to obtain information, survey in place, the focus of the negotiations, activation through gamification, participate in activities for different target groups and joint creative work, for example, students of the refurbishment schools, as their contribution was included in the highly technical and demanding planning process. For example, also during the mobility event around SIMmobile, e-bikes were tested on-site, and the results determined the choice of e-bikes.

Challenges

Events in 2016 and 2017 showed that most people visiting SIMmobil are bystanders and random passers, and only very few people visit SIMmobil intentionally on one day due to a special program. Different formats and methods are needed to reach different target groups.

In 2018, the approach to the annual program has changed so that there has been a shift from offering multiple special events on individual days and having different thematic themes in each location to a program that is slightly more flexible and continuous.

Team

Idem, Urban Renewal Office, GB*ost, Mobility Agency of Vienna

Timeline

• Outreach to around 2.800 people (face to face talks).
• Venice already took over the concept and the spirit of the SIMmobile, and re-used an old bus from the public transport for informing citizens on local Smarter Together activities and involved them in the process.

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