Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAOUrban systems in interaction with people, technology and the space they occupy
Our cities will change profoundly in the decades to come. They must not only overcome the challenge of steadily rising populations, but also deal with climate change, scarcity of resources, demographic change and technological transformation. For these reasons, cities and towns represent the most important field for innovative solutions and intelligent concepts for sustainable development, combining to serve as one of the largest markets and a field that demands our greatest attention. Urban systems are important not only in large cities; they also address the close interaction of people, technology and space in today’s polycentric systems of cities and their immediate surroundings. Walls used to demarcate city limits; firewalls seem to serve the same purpose today. The engineers of urban systems must manage the complexity and dynamics at the interface between government administration, business and the general public.
Our objective is to envision pioneering living spaces and their basic functions, from public administration to infrastructures, and to stimulate innovative strength, efficiency and sustainability. Fraunhofer IAO helps municipalities, public utilities and private companies create urban systems and processes in an agile, flexible manner. In this context, we combine our expertise in technology with the latest scientific findings on organization and spatial development.
Some current projects entail the creation of innovative participation methods and co-creative processes to involve people in development projects that will jointly shape the livable cities of tomorrow. Our scientists tap into the opportunities provided by digitalization, IT and communication technologies in built-up areas. We also create organizational and information technology concepts for our customers, in compliance with the latest data protection regulations, to further develop urban processes in the best possible way. In addition, our interdisciplinary teams carry out in-depth research on the societal consequences of urban developments and put current scientific knowledge to use.
Our Urban Systems Engineering researchers focus on:
- System solutions for customer-friendly logistics and services that are geared to demand
- Identification and assessment of service potential in the sphere of urban logistics
- Integrated management of urban parking facilities and setup of microhubs in city centers
- Scientific assistance on experiments and reality labs in urban spaces
- Development of intelligent district concepts
- “Morgenstadt – city of the future” as a new paradigm of urban development
- Internationalization of potential solutions for sustainable construction and urban planning
- Use of creative formats for the transdisciplinary networking of stakeholders
- Shaping of innovation processes at the interface between municipal authorities, private enterprise and the general public
- Optimization of crisis and disaster management in cooperation with various stakeholders