Karlsruhe pilot: Workshop ‘Karlsruhe – unterwegs in Richtung Zukunft‘
The 5th Workshop ‘Umwelt-Energie-Stadt’ (Environment-Energy-City) was organized at 25.10.2018 by the City of Karlsruhe in cooperation with 3 centres of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology ‘Klima und Umwelt’ (Climate and Environment), ‘Energie’ (Energy) and ‘Mobilitätssysteme’ (Mobility Systems). The focus lay on a sustainable information exchange and in-depth discussions between stakeholders from the scientific and administrative branch. The URBAN INNO pilot project eDrais 2017 functioned as one of three best practice examples for successful cooperation in the field of urban development and the involvement of citizens in the process. EIFER (The European Institute for Energy Research), the scientific partner of CyberForum e.V. in this project, presented the main outcomes of the pilot.
The audience consisted mainly of scientific personnel from different institutes within the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology and administrative personnel from the City of Karlsruhe. The main idea behind this concept, which takes place every 2 years, is an in-depth exchange between the two branches. Thereby, the practical usage of scientific innovations and knowledge shall be ensured. Around 45 participants came together to present and discuss the latest ideas and developments in the fields of climate and environment, energy and mobility. Thereby, the regional or city framework of the workshop can function as a test field for a further international use of the inventions. The workshop followed the concept of short pitch presentations – no presentation was longer than 3-5 minutes and a maximum of two follow-up questions were allowed. The get-together afterwards then gave the opportunity to address interesting projects directly.
Following the pitch presentations and networking, URBAN INNO contributed to the workshop by presenting the German pilot eDrais 2017 as an example for a successful integration of citizens in the urban development process in the scope of energy transition. This also plays a major role in the strategic direction of the city of Karlsruhe.
The workshop was an important event for future collaboration opportunities. It showed the growing necessity to involve citizens in any urban development process – both to ensure acceptance and for the use of their innovative potential. Hence, URBAN INNO was a good example to sensitize the two stakeholder groups on this issue. In addition, the two participatory methods used in the German pilot, PPGIS (Public Participation Geographic Information System) and vision workshop were presented. For the presented future project ideas, using those forms of public involvement can now be considered.
