Skip to main content

EU strategic implementation plan to invest in smart cities

The European Commission (EU) is expected to invest around US$276 million to create smart cities in the next two years. The High Level Group of the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) for Smart Cities and Communities has agreed the Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) which will serve as the basis for speeding up the deployment of Smart City solutions in Europe. The SIP is drafted by and based on a thorough consultation of representatives from industry, cities, civil society and research including UITP.
October 25, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
The 1690 European Commission (EU) is expected to invest around US$276 million to create Smart cities in the next two years. The High Level Group of the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) for Smart Cities and Communities has agreed the Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) which will serve as the basis for speeding up the deployment of Smart City solutions in Europe.

The SIP is drafted by and based on a thorough consultation of representatives from industry, cities, civil society and research including UITP. The plan sets out a broad range of new actions and approaches to encourage cities to become smarter. The plan concentrates on how to drive forward improvement in buildings and planning, new information technologies, sustainable urban transport and energy, and new ways of integrating these areas.

The plan also suggests improvements to the way that cities are run with better ways of involving citizens and more collaborative ways of doing things. It suggests innovation zones, new business models, a re-evaluation of rules and legislation and a more standardised approach to data collection and use to enable better comparisons between approaches and between cities.

This is just the beginning of a large scale programme of work by all the partners and many others. An important part of that work will be the "’Lighthouse Projects’, cities which will demonstrate and deliver Smart city solutions on a large scale. These projects will be partly financed by the European Commission's Horizon 2002 Research Funds. Further business and public funding will help to spread these new solutions to other cities and economies of scale will help to make these innovative and high tech solutions the norm and available more easily to all cities and neighbourhoods.

The Commission is expected to invest around €200m to create Smart cities in the next two years. More details about these next steps and about European Commission funding and business commitments will be announced at the official launch of the delivery plan on 26 November in Brussels.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • ITS America launches 3-year strategic plan
    January 11, 2023
    Message of inclusion reflects CEO Laura Chace's call to action at ITS World Congress 2022
  • Smart Cambridge set to speed up ‘smart’ solutions for the region
    March 22, 2017
    UK city Cambridge is aiming to be at the centre of a leading ‘smart city region’ with the Smart Cambridge programme, which is being scaled up to explore how the latest data and digital technology can be used to transform the way people live, work and travel in the region, and beyond. The programme has recently been allocated US$1.9 million (£1.6million) by Greater Cambridge City Deal over the next three years, as part of its investment plans to improve the transport infrastructure and promote economic g
  • Transport planning consultation is culturally important
    February 2, 2012
    Andrew Bardin Williams explores the efforts under way in North Dakota to consult with native tribes during the early stages of transportation project development. These efforts have led to the signing of a Programmatic Agreement between the state DOT and local tribes and the creation of a tribal consultation committee that allows Native Americans to advise on the identification, evaluation and treatment of historic properties, including those of religious and cultural significance
  • ITS solutions to keep truck traffic moving
    June 8, 2015
    David Crawford reviews freight management initiatives. Managing truck traffic to minimise its environmental impacts, without adversely impacting on its critical economic role, continues to drive ITS-based solutions in both urban and interurban contexts.