Citython Hamburg to Discuss the Urban Mobility of the Future

From 28 September to 1 October, Hamburg will host the third edition of Citython 2021, a four-day online hackathon that puts the spotlight on active mobility and autonomous and connected driving. During the hackathon days, multidisciplinary teams of students and professionals of different backgrounds and expertise from all around Europe will compete with the goal of coming up with the best solutions to urban mobility challenges faced by the city. Citython Hamburg will also become part of the European Mobility Week.

Over four days, Hamburg (Germany) will participate for the first time in the organization of the third edition of Citython 2021, in which small groups of students and professionals matched-up in multidisciplinary teams will gather together online to jointly solve the challenges proposed by the Hanseatic city in order to become a model city for innovative mobility solutions.

Prof. Dr. Rasmus Rettig, Department of Information and Electrical Engineering, HAW Hamburg, says: “As many cities in the world, Hamburg faces the challenges of urbanisation: a growing population, a rise of commuting and commercial traffic, and an increased demand for mobility. Here in Hamburg, we are working for more efficient, safer, and environmentally friendly mobility solutions in both passenger and freight transport, and in future the possibilities of digitalization of mobility and transport and the use of digital technologies will play a key role“.

Organized by CARNET (coordinated by CIT UPC) in collaboration with the Digital Hub Logistics Hamburg, the event is funded by EIT Urban Mobility, an innovation community to create more liveable urban spaces supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.

Citython Hamburg will also become part of the European Mobility Week, the European Commission’s awareness-raising annual campaign to promote the idea of sustainable urban mobility, which takes place from 16-22 September each year.

Programme and key mobility challenges

The kick-off event of Citython Hamburg 2021 will be on 16 September in a public ceremony. The welcoming remarks will be followed by the presentation of three urban mobility challenges faced by Hamburg, with the help of recognized experts such as Florian Albert, Co-Founder AVES Reality, Henrik Morgen, Director Innovation Hub North EIT Urban Mobility and, Dr. Mónika Bachofner, Research Funding Manager Volkswagen Group Innovation.

Participants in this edition will tackle these challenges:

• Prioritize active mobility (transport based on human physical activity, such as walking and cycling), which can help to reduce traffic jams or slow traffic and mitigate traffic-related environmental impacts such as emissions and noise, instead of individual motorized transport.
• Facilitate autonomous and connected driving to make moving around the city more efficient and safer.
• A third urban challenge to be solved, to be announced during the webinar presentation.

The registration deadline is on 19 September and participants will develop their solutions until 1 October, when their final ideas must be presented to the jury. On 28 and 29 September, all teams will be able to attend mentoring sessions to get feedback on their work. A prize of 1,500 € will be given out in awards, and the ultimate winners for each challenge will also have a stand to present their solutions during the Smart City Expo World Congress, to be held in Barcelona from 16-18 November.