Urenio Watch Watch: Intelligent / Smart Cities Strategies

Smart City Strategy: Intelligent Thessaloniki (Greece)

7a_ThessalonikiDistrictsThe strategy for ‘˜Intelligent Thessaloniki’ is a proposal for the development of ICTs and innovation in specific districts of the City of Thessaloniki, Greece. In this strategy, the areas of focus are the most important districts of innovation and entrepreneurship within Thessaloniki, namely: (1) the port area of Thessaloniki, (2) the Central Business District and commercial center of the city, (3) the campus of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, (4) the technology district of eastern Thessaloniki, and (5) the airport area. In each district a wide range of digital applications and e-services are proposed to improve innovation and entrepreneurship. These include the development of wired and wireless broadband networks and intelligent environments using sensors for real-time information processing and alerts, the development of e-services for the business community of each district and training services for the involvement of end-users, businesses, and organizations in e-content development and social media use. More specifically, in the Port Cluster smart environments were proposed to enhance its competitiveness in freight transactions and other port operations. In the CBD, smart environments are expected to facilitate accessibility and mobility, as well as better environmental practices. At the University Campus, smart environments were proposed to facilitate research and the dissemination of knowledge and to enforce the triple-helix model by encouraging collaboration with the private sector. Finally, in the Eastern technology district, smart environments were proposed for the marketing of the premises and to attract tenants, provide online technology services, and to support business incubation.

7b_ThessalonikiFigure: Three layers of intelligence for Thessaloniki’ s smart districts (source)

 

Suggested readings about Thessaloniki:

  1. Komninos, N., & Tsarchopoulos, P. (2013). Towards Intelligent Thessaloniki: from an agglomeration of apps to smart districts. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 4(2), 149-168. Available here.