City governments around the world are investing heavily in smart city technologies. From the internet of things and predictive analytics to automated infrastructure. Yet a lot of investments in the past have been wasted because of a failure to take the needs of citizens into account or the role that they can play in making their cities smarter. The demand for building a ‘smart city’ has been growing rapidly, and in order to create valuable solutions, involving citizens in the process is crucial.
To tackle this issue, our team organized an open 3-day creative marathon where young citizens from Skopje came together to design and propose innovative solutions for making Skopje a smart city. 100 participants gathered in small teams worked intensively with 20 Solveo facilitators and 20 mentors to discover answers to crucial questions:
How can we improve the process of implementing modern technology in cities?
How can we make it easier for people to adapt and use the benefits of technology in their city?
How can we contribute to Skopje to become a smart city?
The event began with a large conference where carefully selected experts shared insights on various aspects of the topic: online payment and user experience, concepting idea for a smart city, marketing communications of smart city projects, rethinking how the government runs the cities of the future, youth e-participation as a pillar for sustainable society and how smart buildings are changing today's workplace.
The idea behind this creative marathon is to co-create innovative solutions together with various stakeholders, rapidly test and validate the solutions, and discover new opportunities for growth. During the sprint, we answered critical questions through design, prototyping, and testing ideas with customers. The process of innovation is iterative and agile and requires embracing change and customer involvement.
The core value of the sprint is that it allows us to fast-forward into the future to see our finished product and customer reactions, before making any expensive commitments.
At the end of the creative marathon, three teams were selected to continue working on their solutions with mentorship.
The winning team created a solution for generating electric power from human steps. Platforms on the ground connected to generators produced 5-8 W per step. The energy is stored in batteries to provide street lighting across Skopje’s busiest locations, ensuring efficiency and cost savings.
The second-best team presented an urban agriculture solution using residential roofs. Utilizing an aquaponics system, they proposed a self-sustaining ecosystem to grow fruits and vegetables efficiently, using minimal water and no fertile land.
The third-place team introduced "Skopje is Recycling," a platform to improve waste selection. Smart bins recognize material types and track fullness, aiming to change citizens' habits and streamline the recycling process through tailored communication strategies.
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