Eurotowns member cities of Ulm and Solingen were selected as one of thirteen German model sites „Model Project Smart Cities“, in which approaches and solutions are developed and tested to become a blueprint for German municipalities in the near future. The funding rate is 90 percent.

For example the city of Solingen will receive about 9 million euros of federal funding for the next few years to develop Smart City projects. A city becomes a “Smart City” if it uses the digitization of all spheres of life actively and successfully to create added value for the citizens and the economy. Solingen was able to prevail in the competition against more than a hundred cities and convinced the jury with its comprehensive and holistic digitization strategy and is now selected as one of three major cities and receives the funding of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior.

Mayor Tim Kurzbach: „I am happy and proud that Solingen has received this grant and that we can count on nine million euros for our projects. Solingen has deserved this award, too: although we have little money available, we, as a growing city, have been investing heavily in the development of digital infrastructure in schools, kindergartens and administrative buildings. Already in 2018 we set ourselves ambitious goals with the digitization strategy: for digital administration, for purely electric bus traffic without diesel and much more.

The funding now puts us in a position to be even more ambitious: sensory, artificial intelligence and smart solutions should control the traffic. Urban development and traffic planning will change. “City 2030”, the urban development project for the city center of Solingen, will also become a laboratory for digital approaches which enrich and facilitate the life of the city dwellers. Now let’s get started! “

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