Berlin and Bad Belzig/Wiesenburg become Smart Cities of the Federal Government

We are immensely pleased with this award, especially for the district capital of Potsdam-Mittelmark, as it shows the potential that rural areas have through digitisation, that the work of the past years has paid off and that many digital places and technology projects are now also emerging in rural Brandenburg.

As the WFBB, we have accompanied key players such as Coconat and Neuland21 from the very beginning, supporting these settlements and their innovation projects as part ofntr Smart Country Brandenburg. We are also very pleased to be a cooperation partner of the model project and look forward to further cooperation in the capital region!

With the Smart Cities model projects, the federal government supports municipalities in strategically shaping digitalisation in the sense of integrated sustainable urban development. The aim of the funding programme is to develop and test cross-sector digital strategies for the city life of the future.

The projects selected this year will be funded with over 350 million euros. The Federal Government had decided to increase the programme by 500 million euros to 820 million euros as part of the economic stimulus and future package adopted in June 2020. 

The Smart Cities 2020 model projects have the motto "Common good and network city / city network". The funded projects are intended to demonstrate how the qualities of the European city can be transferred to the age of digitalisation. 86 cities, districts and municipalities as well as inter-municipal cooperations from all over Germany applied for the BMI's call for proposals.

According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the funding decision was based on a multi-stage review process. All applications were evaluated by two experts each. On this basis, an eleven-member jury chaired by State Secretary for Construction Anne Katrin Bohle made the decision. The jury consisted of representatives from science, politics and the municipal umbrella organisations.