SSD

EIT Climate KIC Flagship programme - Smart Sustainable Districts

Description

Smart Sustainable Districts (SSD) is a consortium of city districts, academic partners, policymakers, local municipalities, utilities, private developers, innovation experts, sustainability specialists and citizen groups, working together to develop and deliver transformative sustainability projects at a city-district scale. A smart sustainable district is characterised by low carbon mobility, smart grids, energy neutral buildings, efficient water management and accessible, public green space, all underpinned by responsive technologies that optimise resources. At the city-district scale, city stakeholders can plan, pilot and prove approaches that overcome challenges to systemic change – to then be scaled back to city-wide implementation.

SSD was established in 2014 as a way of accelerating sustainable district development through district-led technologies and innovation. So far twelve district projects from European cities have been supported through the SSD programme, including: Utrecht ‘The New Centre’, London’s Queen Elizabeth Park, Berlin Moabit West, Malmö Sofielund and Helsinki’s Kalasatama; as well as districts in Paris, Rotterdam, Gothenburg, Copenhagen, Lisbon, Valencia and Valletta. Leveraging experiences from other districts is supported by a range of activities within the SSD programme dedicated to district advice, knowledge-building, tools and processes, methods of assessment, implementation frameworks and education.

SSD receives annual funding (2.65 million in 2017) from the EIT Climate KIC, which is Europe's main public-private innovation partnership focused on climate innovation to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Currently, 29 public and private partners associated with the EIT Climate KIC community engage in the SSD programme, including academic partners, district municipalities and utility providers. The long-term ambition is to offer its unique scoping, assessment, feasibility and framework implementation services reflecting the commercial value and market opportunities that integrated district developments bring.

SSD Programme Management is led by Tim Taylor (SSD Programme Manager) from EIT Climate KIC and Svea Heinemann (SSD Programme Operations Manager) from the TU Berlin. Leading the finance management of the programme since 2016, EURICE forms part of the SSD Programme Management Team.

Coordinator

Tim Taylor

Climate-KIC

Email