Launch of the Fraunhofer Innovation Partnership »City Centers 2030+ I Future Public Space« in October 2020

Shopping, recreation, culture, entertainment, living, working, contact - in city centers all areas of our everyday life come together, which gives them a special significance as an economic and cultural center. They are a location factor, real laboratories and innovation platform at the same time. But cities and communities are facing massive challenges: Retailers, mobility providers, gastronomy, but also large retail companies and the cultural industries are struggling to survive in the current crisis. It has made visible in a short time what has been in evidence for many years. "The future of city centers has already begun," says Steffen Braun, head of the Urban System Design research department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO. "We are therefore building a powerful alliance with the city councils and other future-oriented companies and municipalities in order to think ahead today and test tomorrow's solutions in practice".

Against this background, the Fraunhofer IAO and the city rescuers will establish the largest innovation platform for the city center of tomorrow with their innovation partnership "Innenstadt 2030+ I Future Public Space" and develop resilient solutions for the public space of the future. The project will be officially launched at this year's "Smart City Solutions" at the INTERGEO Digital on October 14, 2020.

Together with actors and partners from administration, politics, business, research and society, the Fraunhofer IAO is initiating the innovation partnership »City Centers 2030+ I Future Public Space«, an interdisciplinary ecosystem that overcomes sectoral thinking in the design of public spaces. The complexity of current and future urban developments is in the spotlight in order to successfully implement adequate processes and technologies.

Under scientific supervision and economic analyses, the association develops needs-based solutions and concepts for the liveable and resilient inner city of the future.

Become part of the largest innovation platform for the city center of tomorrow!

Regular dialogue and impulse formats are embedded in the Morgenstadt Initiative. In addition, a discourse on innovation policy is being established in order to point out political framework conditions for new partnerships and socio-economic value creation. On the basis of strategic future scenarios and practical analyses, sustainable solutions are identified and applied in demonstrators. In addition, the implementation of three living labs in selected partner cities is planned, in which first prototypes will be tested and examined for their potential.

We look forward to discussing specific interests, partners and their potentials with you soon. Please feel free to contact us!

Maral Koohestanian

Network Coordinator Morgenstadt
maral.koohestanian@iao.fraunhofer.de