Ground-Breaking Software for Sustainable Smart City Planning

Project Information

ForeCast

Grant agreement ID: 836197

DOI

10.3030/836197

Project closed

EC signature date 3 December 2018

Start date 1 November 2018

End date 28 February 2019

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

FORCITY
France

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ForeCast (Ground-Breaking Software for Sustainable Smart City Planning)

Reporting period: 2018-11-01 to 2019-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

In addition to designing districts, buildings, infrastructure and services, urban planning also needs to consider digitisation, integration, quality of life, citizens' needs and equality: information and communication technology (ICT) has become the key enabler in a transformation that turns cities into centres of technological innovation, or the so-called smart cities.
Urban evolution is a result of the interaction of many interdependent areas like demography, economy, transport, land use, energy, water and waste. Usually, urban decision-makers support long-term investments with strategic studies from engineering and consulting companies. These studies simulate a series of scenarios using a limited number of variables. Urban evolution is thus analysed as a deterministic reality.
ForCity uses multiple sectors complex modelling to provide finely tuned long-term scenarios where the interdependence of the parameters is considered over time by a core engine, Digital City Lab. The platform consists of a web-based 4D visualisation engine fuelled by powerful prospective models capable of simulating long-term outcomes for complex projects which typically require heavy investments, such as district heating or water networks.
We provide a modular SaaS (Software as a Service) suite for multiple sectors, allowing users to play out infinite amounts of scenarios over a 20 to 30-year timeframe. Users run simulations anytime, anywhere, by accessing a user-friendly interface. Different scenarios and strategies can be compared by financial, social or environmental indicators, thinking both globally and systemically to provide unparalleled insight into potential development and strategic support for smart, collaborative and sustainable planning.
The use of ForCity software suite allows the planning of urban infrastructure (energy, water and waste) to be done in a way that saves resources and offers better services to citizens. In addition, it helps reducing daily travel time and help urban planners to build cities better adapted to the needs of the population.
Nowadays, ForCity suite is successfully available for French cities. The main objective of ForeCast project is to pave the internationalisation of the suite by completely adapting it to German and British cities, which are the most promising markets in Europe and to start preparing their adaption in other European countries. With the completion of this project, ForCity will be able to expand throughout the EU.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

We prepared the roadmap to adapt our software to Germany and UK, including developing new data processing modules and supervising pilot roll-out. We defined the associated work plan, to be included in the phase II of the ForeCast project.
The feasibility study included a deep analysis of Smart City Planning market in target countries and the validation of the data availability in these countries.
The commercialization strategy, business model and communication strategy were also fully elaborated, including the preparation and update of local marketing strategies (web/social media updates, SEO campaigns, Press Releases…).
A full FTO analysis was also performed, leading us to the appropriate IP strategy, mainly through patent preparation and application (France, EU and/or US). In this context, regulatory barriers were also assessed.
Finally, we developed the complete financial plan, based on the initial 5-year forecast, and further detailed the resources needed to complete the project and optimize profitability.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Alternatives to ForCity software don’t provide turnkey solutions but instead offer heavy simulation technologies, which must be adapted to each business case. This approach makes multi-sectoral coverage very difficult.
ForCity software suite is based on a core engine, the Digital City Lab, which is easily customizable to other business applications and countries, with minimal effort. The goal is to become a standard in the market, with a cross-sector platform that will systematize urban expansion planning by simplifying and streamlining data processing. It has implemented complex LUTI models that were formerly used only in academic environments in their commercial applications.
ForCity business applications have been developed in collaboration with well-known end-users (Veolia, EDF group, etc.) and major cities (Paris, Lyon, etc.). They are built around decision-makers’ actual business needs. No other vendor provides this kind of technology and range.
ForCity suite strives for user-friendliness and does not require any IT skills. It allows users develop simulations faster and acquire a pragmatic approach that shows the trends decision-makers could not have seen before.
Also, cost and time are strong advantages of ForCity suite. Customizing the software to the client’s needs is not just costly, but time consuming.
The environmental and societal impacts focus on providing better and more accessible essential services to citizens, such as heating, transport, water and waste and sewage collection. For example, heating and cooling accounts for half of the EU’s annual overall energy consumption and 68% of all its gas imports. Our District Heating business application improves the expansion of Heating network developing the maximum potential at minimum cost. On the other hand, the Geoworking business application reduces on average employee commute time by 15%, reducing fuel consumption and increasing population welfare.

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