Plans take shape for Belfast’s ‘smart district’

Belfast has outlined plans for a ‘smart district’ spanning its city centre where new technologies will be trialled and showcased.

The initiative is the centrepiece of the new Smart Belfast Urban Innovation Framework, which sets out how the city will use technology and data to address pressing issues such as the impacts of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, and to meet longer-term strategic goals.

This includes a particular focus on the city centre and connections between climate, the economy, urban design, health and resilience.

The central area has been selected due to several factors, including that it offers many challenges that innovators can work to solve and is home to key players such as corporate companies, research institutions, regeneration schemes, and innovation and co-working hubs. It will also help the city share projects with the public.

Councillor Emmet McDonough-Brown, Chair of Belfast City Council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, said: “The Smart District will be a collaborative testbed for new ideas and technologies that maximise investment opportunities, while directly addressing the challenges associated with the city centre. It will also showcase the best of our city’s amazing innovators in industry and academia to the world.

“The citizen is at the heart of our plans. It’s important to the success of both the Smart District and our wider approach to urban innovation that communities are directly involved in identifying the challenges we want to address and in co-designing solutions.”

Development

A challenge-based approach will be used to bring the smart district to life.

Mark McCann, Belfast’s City Innovation Programme Lead, told Cities Today: “We are not planning a major public launch for the district. Instead, we are developing individual initiatives within the district concept. In delivering each project we will also be strengthening the district’s various functions.”

He said the first initiative in spring or summer this year will be a £1 million (US$1.2 million) collaborative innovation funding call, focusing on the potential of mixed reality (XR) technologies to “re-imagine the city centre experience”. In addition, a waterfront programme on the city’s ‘maritime mile’ is underway, and a challenge fund competition is also beginning this spring to support innovation entrepreneurship in local communities.

Funding

The Smart District will draw upon a range of funding sources, including the Belfast Region City Deal, which is providing £120 million for digital investments across the city region.

“Belfast City Council is working with five other local authorities to develop business cases to access the funding and our aim is to use a proportion of the funding to develop and enhance the Belfast Smart District,” McCann said.

“The council’s City Innovation Office is also working with partners to maximise the opportunities for innovation through £2 billion of private and public sector capital investments being developed in the Belfast Smart District.”

These include a new Belfast Transport Hub and active travel investments, the £100 million Belfast Stories visitor destination, university and research facilities, public realm regeneration schemes, and property developments.

The Smart District will also tap into funding sources from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and others.

Belfast previously announced plans to develop a ‘Citizen Office of Digital Innovation’ (CODI) to support digital skills that help residents to better understand and shape how technology is used in the city.