The term "smart city", which has become popular among experts as well as the general public, refers to the idea of making a city efficient, climate-friendly and liveable - also through the use of modern technology. With the establishment of the Digitalization Stabsstelle, Lord Mayor Dr Felix Schwenke set the goal of making Offenbach fit for the data age and gradually creating the conditions for a "smart city".
Lord Mayor Dr. Felix SchwenkeIn order to be fit for the future, cities must gradually make use of the opportunities offered by digitalization. When developing our city into an 'open smart city', it is important to me to take the ideas and needs of citizens into account. Because without the people who live here, even a 'smart city' will not work. This is why our 'Open Smart City Strategy', which has not yet been made public, focuses on the people who make Offenbach diverse and worth living in. We want to continue to develop as a city together with our citizens and develop a vision for the Open Smart City of the future - and make the strategy better known.
Citizen participation in the Open Smart City Offenbach started on May 13, 2023 with the first future workshop in the Weather and Climate Workshop. Citizens were randomly selected from the official register of residents and invited to contribute to the future vision of the Open Smart City Offenbach. In order to enable citizens from different life situations to participate, the Stabsstelle Digitalisierung offered an interpreting service and on-site childcare.
"The participants were a good reflection of Offenbach's urban society. The oldest participant was 81 years old and the youngest 20 years old. They all identify very strongly with their city," says a delighted Christa Petrovic, the project manager in charge of citizen participation in Open Smart City Offenbach. "The participants were very interested, motivated and contributed a lot of ideas." At the future workshop, the Stabsstelle Digitalisierung first provided information about the project and then exchanged views with those present on topics such as what is important in the development of a smart city and what problems it should solve. "The future workshop was just the start of a whole series of citizen participation events for the Open Smart City this year," said Mayor Schwenke. This is being financed by funding from the "Starke Heimat" program from the state of Hesse, among other things.
Further opportunities for public participation are to take place at the end of May and in June in the town hall pavilion and online. Anyone wishing to keep up to date with the Open Smart City and other projects can write to the project office at opensmartcityoffenbachde or find out more here:
