Berlin’s Smart City—The model project ends
But there was no sign of a sense of disillusionment. This year’s CityLAB Sommer Konferenz provided an impressive summary of the Berlin model project. Markus Sperl from CityLAB Berlin has summarised the key findings and aspects in his blog post.
“Berlin: Liveably Smart”—the Smart City Berlin Model Project is in its final stretch. Funding will expire at the end of 2026; Berlin was selected for this funding six years ago as part of the second phase of the "Model Projects Smart Cities" program of the Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Building (BMWSB).
The Model project is currently in its final implementation phase. Its five pilots – including the Smart Space Hardenbergplatz project and the Kiezbox 2.0 for communication in crises—are nearing completion. Stakeholders from the projects and the city administration are working intensively on institutionalising proven processes, enabling their continued use and scaling, and raising awareness for the lessons learned.
At this year’s CityLAB Sommerkonferenz, the results and lessons learned from the Berlin pilot projects and the overarching Berlin Smart City Strategy Gemeinsam Digital: Berlin were presented and discussed.
There was no sign of a disillusionment, as Marcus Sperl from CityLab Berlin summarises in his retrospective blog post “The Berlin Smart City—the pilot project ends, but the community lives on”.
And for anyone interested: the annual conference of ‘Gemeinsam Digital: Berlin’, to be held on 3 September 2026 in the ballroom of the Rotes Rathaus, offers plenty of opportunities to strengthen existing contacts, exchange ideas and build networks for the future. (vdo)
