Morgenstadt Global Smart Cities Initiative

Goals

MGI's primary objective is to mitigate the consequences of climate change in the pilot cities, to increase their resilience towards climate risks and to ensure the preservation of natural resources.
The close international cooperation with partners from research, economy and politics, the exchange of knowledge and experience between the pilot cities as well as the expertise of the Morgenstadt Network are therefore the key to success.

Implementation

For each of MGI's pilot cities, the transformation path starts with the City Lab, which was developed by the Morgenstadt Initiative. The Morgenstadt framework is adapted to the specific impact factors of each city in order to create a comprehensive sustainability profile by conducting on-site visits, meetings and workshops in collaboration with important local actors over the course of several weeks. The profile presents strengths, weaknesses and areas of need of the urban system and identifies potentials, opportunities and risks.

Results

During the City Lab process key sectors are defined which require action. Based on the data analysis and in co-operation with local stakeholders, a strategic roadmap is developed, according to which innovative measures and projects are devised and their implementation and financing are initiated.

Kochi is located on the Malabar Coast in the Ernakulam District of Kerala State and consists of several low-lying islands and peninsulas. The coastal location makes the city one of the major ports of India, attracting workforce from neighboring areas. With over 600,000 inhabitants, Kochi is one of the most important cities on the west coast in the fields of finance, trade and tourism. On the other hand, its location poses great challenges for Kochi such as rising sea levels and changing rain patterns. In addition to flooding, increasingly built-up city areas cause negative effects, such as the urban heat island effect.
In order to increase resilience to the effects of climate change, MGI works mainly in the energy, housing and water sectors with a focus on energy efficiency, water pollution control and locally adapted construction methods.

With almost one million inhabitants, Saltillo is the capital as well as the largest city in the state of Coahuila de Zaragoza in northeastern Mexico. Due to a dry, medium-warm climate with scarce rainfall, which increases in summer, the Saltillo region is often threatened by droughts, extreme temperatures and flooding.
Its location close to the US-Mexican border makes Saltillo a popular location for production facilities of major automobile manufacturers, a factor that contributes to the city's prosperity but also presents a challenge in improving the sustainability profile of these large industrial facilities.
MGI is mainly concerned with the sectors energy, mobility and water. The project considers climate change mitigation and adaptation as an overarching priority among the different sectors.

Located in northwest Peru at the banks of the Chira river, Piura is the fifth biggest city in the country and the capital of the Piura region with about 473,000 inhabitants. Rapid growth of the city and population as well as a lack of long-term urban planning strategies have led to the unregulated settlement in environmentally sensitive areas.
Due to its geographical location, Peru is particularly affected by the consequences of climate change, with extreme temperature fluctuations and irregular rainfall, as well as the melting of the Andean glaciers, which threatens the water supply. Piura in particular is exposed to El Niño and La Niña events that pose the dangers of floods and landslides.
In Piura, MGI focuses on the urban planning, water and energy sectors in order to increase the resilience towards climate risks and to guarantee broad access to water and electricity.

The coordination of the overall project is conducted by the University of Stuttgart, represented by the Institute for Human Factors and Technology Management (IAT) working together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (IAO) on the basis of a cooperation agreement.

Implementation Partners:

• Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO (Coordination Piura)
• Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP
• Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB (Coordination Kochi)
• Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy System ISE
• Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI (Coordination Saltillo)
• Frankfurt School of Finance and Management FSFM
• Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education ITESM, Mexico
• Municipality of Piura, Peru
• National Institute of Urban Affairs NIUA, India
• Saltillo Municipal Institute of Planning IMPLAN, Mexico
• University of Piura UDEP, Peru
  
  

• Fernandez, T., Schroeder, S. (2021): “Global Approach - Local Solutions: Sectorial Planning Approaches for a Sustainable Urban Future in Piura, Peru”, from the conference proceedings for the Conference of the International Forum on Urbanism (IFoU) organized by TU Delft (peer-reviewed, DOI: https://doi.org/10.24404/6151bea604e942000831d6f0 
• Schroeder, S. Fernandez, T., Stöffler, S. (2022): “Contextualised guidelines and indicators for smart and sustainable urban project definition at local level in developing countries”, from the Regional Development and Regional Policy Journal, published by the Adam Mickiewicz University (peer reviewed, DOI: 10.14746/rrpr.2022.60s.06)  
• Fernandez, T., Schroeder, S. (2023): “Impact-Based Project Ideas for Sustainable Cities: The Case of Digital Planning Tools In Piura, Peru” from the conference proceedings for the 36th Passive and Low Energy Architecture Conference PLEA, Conference Vol. 2, organized by the University of Utah and United Nations Academic Impact (peer-reviewed, Link: https://plea2022.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/PROCEEDINGS-ONSITE-FINAL-MARZO.pdf)

• Fernandez, T., Schroeder, S. (2023): “GIS for Sustainable Urban Transformation in Countries With Emerging Economies: The Case of Piura in Peru”, article published in the International Journal of E-Planning Research (IJEPR), 2023, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-20. (peer-reviewed, DOI: https://doi.org/10.4018/IJEPR.319733) 
• “The World Towards the Future. Global Initiative for Healthy Cities. Piura, Peru” in Publications Volume II of the First Academic Conference of the Sustainable Development Goals Utah Valley University, USA: https://www.uvu.edu/global/docs/wim22/wim22-publication-v2.pdf
•  Nature-Based Solutions through Blue-Green Infrastructure as Measure of Adaptation, Resilience and Liveability to Climate Change: Case Study City Lab Saltillo, Mexico https://www.corp.at/archive/CORP2023_61.pdf

Smart City Finance Report Kochi 

Smart City Finance Report Saltillo

Smart City Finance Report Piura

MGI Pilot Project Factsheets 

Report of the Kick-off event in Barcelona (PDF)

Report Stakeholders Workshop in Kochi (PDF)

Report on the City Lab Kochi - Executive Summary (PDF)

Project flyer (PDF)

Result Paper of the first MGI COVID-Session 

Report on the City Lab Saltillo – Saltillo Summary Report 

Report on the City Lab Piura – Piura Summary Report 

Climate Risk and Resilience in the Global Context: Insights from the Morgenstadt Global Smart Cities Initiative

A Guide to Gender Justice and Urban Planning

• Linking COVID-19 Response to Climate Action (January 2021)
• Smart City Policies (März 2021)
• Integrated Planning for Resilient Cities – Tools and Approaches (June 2021)
• Urban Water Management for Climate Resilience (November 2021)
• Climate Mitigation in the Mobility Sector (February 2022)
• Nature-based Solutions and Climate Resilience (May 2022)
• Smart City Finance and Procurement (October2022)

Further Information on the Project-Website