Opportunities from Space for Cities

On 27 October 2020 Eurisy hosted the “Space for Cities” workshop. Now they have published the results of this meeting in a report. The report contains the main messages from the workshop, which carried the subtitle “From innovation to operation: A talk about concrete uses of satellite data and services to support cities’ resilience and sustainability”.

The report covers the opportunities and challenges related to the uptake of operational satellite-based services in cities as presented by the different speakers during the workshop. Please find a summary of the results of the event here:

The Eurisy “Space for Cities” Initiative

The Eurisy “Space for Cities” initiative aims at fostering the use of satellite-based services where most people live, i.e. in urban areas. The initiative aims at exploring current and potential uses of satellite applications to make our cities healthier, cleaner, safer, and more efficient, and at promoting the development of increasingly efficient and user-friendly satellite-based services.

Within the Space for Cities initiative, Eurisy has identified and analysed several cases of cities
using satellite-based services operationally. In partnership with local and regional authorities, the association has organised events in which these examples were showcased and discussed and has published several short articles that are accessible on the Eurisy website.

At the same time, Eurisy has also identified a number of research institutes and private companies working with cities to co-develop software, methodologies and tools relying on satellite data to support decision-making at the local level. These entities work closely with local authorities to propose satellite-based solutions increasingly efficient, user-friendly and economically viable.

Online Workshop Results

This online workshop was organised with the aim of bringing together representatives of local administrations, SMEs, research centres and space organisations to discuss opportunities and challenges related to the operational uptake of satellite-based service in cities.

In summary, here are the key messages from the workshop:

Satellite services that could support decision-making in cities exist, as well as funding mechanisms to develop new services better adapted to user needs.
Nevertheless, innovation produced within projects struggles to be integrated operationally into cities’ procedures.
There is still a lack of awareness among public administrations about the existence of services based on satellite applications, and in particular on Earth observation.
Marketing satellite-based services can be a challenge for both academics, researchers and private companies developing these solutions. To interest local managers towards innovative solutions, these need to become mainstream.
Many cities would need support to procure satellite-based services
To favour the uptake of services based on Earth observation in cities there is need to expose the general public to convincing case studies.
The key to turn innovation into operation is to focus on needs

You can read the full report on the Eurisy website here.

Read more about the European Commission ‘Smart Cities Marketplace’ here.