3 + 1 questions for «Smart Inter-City»

In november 2020, smart city responsibles from NEXPO cities met remotely to lay the foundation for new models of future-oriented collaboration. We spoke to the project managers of «Smart Inter-City» to find out more.

«Smart Inter-City» is a pilot project within NEXPO that deals with fundamental issues related to social coexistence in the 21st century. Specifically, we would like to develop new models promoting future-oriented forms of collaboration between smart cities. Sustainability plays a key role here. For us, it’s about structuring digital transformation as sustainably as possible, always with a focus on quality of life and the society's well-being.

The core ideas of NEXPO are reflected in Smart Inter-City. The pilot project serves as a platform for the NEXPO cities to work together to address future issues and challenges relevant to the development of Switzerland in the 21st century. NEXPO offers the necessary framework for this and gives us access to a national Expo that everyone can get involved in and be part of.

Networking and collaboration are key for Smart Inter-City, and the seven NEXPO cities of Basel, Bern, Lucerne, Lugano, St. Gallen, Winterthur and Zurich have already joined forces in the first phase. But we would like to open the door to other cities and interested partners from business, science and the population to seek smart solutions to the challenges facing the cities.

We personally value the uncomplicated neighbourly assistance we see in our district. This is driven to a large extent by real-world relationships. But we also find it exciting to discover new forms of digital neighbourly assistance, which naturally also have their advantages in these times of COVID-19.