Communities are an important factor in world-wide efforts of creating better, more sustainable places for people to live and work.
The emphasis is all too often on cities, that’s why we have taken lead in creating a network for smart districts.
The new network will focus on rural municipalities and smaller towns.
The Smart Districts Network is the sister organisation of the 14 cities collaborating in Norwegian Smart Cities. Here more about the network here:
Challenges
Our experience has proven that collaboration between sectors and city borders does foster change, but there is no platform for knowledge exchange between rural areas today. This is sought after across the nation. Several counties are supportive of the initiative, with Rogaland having decided to participate in the creation of the network.
For towns, smaller municipalities and rural districts distinct challenges such as attractiveness for businesses, inhabitants and visitors is a recurring challenge. Developing smart, sustainable means of public transportation another.
The new network will be an arena for districts to collaborate through areas such as:
- Co-creation with inhabitants, across the public sector, private sector and academia.
- Procurement
- Piloting and testing
- Innovation and business development
- International outreach
The aim is to accelerate the development of sustainable, efficient and adaptable local societies.