»Urban Winters in Times of Covid-19« | Internal Network Meeting

The internal network meeting on November 12^th, 2020 was themed »Urban Winters in Times of Covid-19« and gave the participating members of the Morgenstadt network the opportunity to focus on currently relevant topics and issues of urban development in the context of the upcoming winter months during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Morgenstadt Updates

In addition to personnel changes in the Morgenstadt network and the introduction of new partners, the »Data Competence Center Cities and Regions DKSR« and the #MorgenstadtRoundtable were presented. Here, municipalities are given the opportunity to integrate their own contributions into the sessions and to discuss needs and questions with other partners from the Morgenstadt network. The question of how Morgenstadt can contribute to addressing the impact of the Corona pandemic on cities and communities was answered. Finally, the introduction was complemented with a closer look at the situation of the Morgenstadt Global Smart Cities Initiative MGI in the respective three partner cities Kochi (India), Piura (Peru) and Saltillo (Mexico).

Impulse lectures - Part 1

In the first part of the impulse lectures, initiatives and best practices of Fraunhofer institutes as well as the International Building Exhibition IBA were presented. Central questions of the program »Innovation Program Inner Cities 2030+: Future Public Space« deal with the shift of the once central places of the marketplace and the shopping street to the digital as well as the design of a livable and sustainable public space. A central approach from the IoT living lab »Lemgo Digital« consists of sensor technology for situation recognition with which, among other things, pedestrian frequency can be measured. The development of a digital platform for linking creative professionals, property owners, businesses and administration for better use of unused spaces was presented in the »Fluid Cities« project.

Digital Networking & Impulse Lectures - Part 2

The challenges for the night economy were presented by Jennifer Krauß (Fraunhofer IAO) in the afternoon. These include conflict management between residents and night workers, mobility and security, as well as the Covid-19 shaped gridlock of leisure- and consumption-oriented nightlife. Possible solutions require data-based urban planning adapted to the respective times of day. Lutz Leichsenring (VibeLab & Clubcommission of Berlin) used the example of the »Global Nighttime Recovery Plan (Covid-19)« to illustrate how innovative and creative best practices can look like, e.g. the repurposing of open and dance spaces, innovative lighting or nighttime mobility. Eva Ottendörfer concluded by emphasizing the importance of digitalization and spatial planning as key issues for cities during and after the pandemic. Networks can make a valuable contribution to this by enabling the exchange of experiences and helping to inspire each other and master the crisis together in the best possible way.