Siemens and partners are creating a "smart" city in Vienna, Austria -- a living lab that tests designs and systems for intelligent cities of the future such as: intelligent traffic solutions, green buildings, water management and smart grid infrastructure among others.

 

The partners, which include local power companies and real estate developers, created Aspern Smart City Research to govern the project, slated to begin work in October with a $51 million budget.

 

It will be built in Aspern, a district in northeast Vienna, one of the largest urban development projects in Europe. The goal is to use resources as efficiently as possible by connecting building systems with intelligent power grids and information and communication technologies that interact.

 

The district, which covers 595 acres on a former airfield, will have apartments, offices and a business, science, research and training center. Half the area will be reserved for public areas, such as plazas, parks and recreation areas. The dense, walkable community sits on the shores of a lake and has easy connections to public transportation.

 

Step by step, between now and 2030, the district will evolve into a city with 20,000 residents and 20,000 additional jobs.

 

Decentralized renewable energy with energy storage will supply Aspern's electrical needs. IT solutions will detect faults in the system, recognize inefficient consumption patterns and identify potential opportunities for savings.