Bearing the similar mission and vision of creating smarter cities, Nordic Edge has been collaborating with Forum Virium for several years through different projects and events. In 2021, Forum Virium organized a workshop at Nordic Edge Expo where Tools for Urban Innovators tested in Helsinki’s urban labs have been launched. At the workshop, concrete cases have been presented from urban labs and been reflected on by participants.

You can watch the Open Forum (valid until 31 Decemer 2021): here

Introducing tools for urban innovators

The Helsinki Innovation Districts project introduces a set of methods and models that are useful in living lab work in a city district. Browse through the Tools for Urban Innovators to learn about Helsinki’s best practises for smart city development. 

During the past years, Forum Virium Helsinki has been running Smart Kalasatama, the model smart city district in Helsinki, that features several advanced technologies. 

In Smart Kalasatama, a variation of living lab methods and models were used to the creation of smart solutions, such as running design sprints to plan green infrastructure and using a shopping center as a living lab environment for testing an autonomous delivery robot. 

Now, the living lab work is expanded for several neighbourhoods – Helsinki Innovation Districts – with the support of the tools.  

Tested and co-created for urban innovation

The tools in the collection are versatile. For example, the agile piloting programme model offers practical examples for the cities on experimenting with new innovative solutions. It facilitates co-creation with multiple stakeholders. 

The model has already become an established part of the toolkit used by major cities in Finland. For small companies in particular, the model offers a low-threshold opportunity to participate in the development of smart solutions with and for the cities. 

Another example is the use of Urban Digital Twin in the urban lab context. The twin utilises 3D models to create a comprehensive visual and virtual model of the existing cityscape. It supports living lab activities in several ways: ideas can be tested, experimented with and demonstrated early. 

Opening dialogue with peers 

For the Helsinki Innovation Districts team, the Tools for Urban Innovators has been a way to gather, document, and share the methods and models that best support multi-stakeholder co-creation in the urban lab environment. Hopefully, these tools will inspire and open dialogue on the best practices with other urban labs.

Working with the Helsinki Innovation Districts, these Tools for Urban Innovators will be complemented and enriched in the future with more practical tools and inspiring cases. 

Read more about the Tools for Urban Innovators