RUGGEDISED lighthouse Cities are forerunners in the transition towards a low carbon and resource efficient economy. As smart and sustainable cities they have chosen to become innovation leaders in providing smart solutions to significantly increase cities' overall energy and resource efficiency of building stock, energy systems, urban (e-)mobility and public space.
Erasmus Centre for Future Energy Business is collaborating with Gemeente Rotterdam, Port of Rotterdam and more than 20 organizations and businesses to introduce the Heart of South area as the Rotterdam Lighthouse district.
The goal is to have new forms of local energy systems, lighting, water use and most importantly, neighbourhoods providing a safe, enjoyable and a creative living and working environment in five years’ time. Our economy as we know it will shift into a next economy with new models and structures. ECFEB is involved in this project proposal by enabling business models, e-mobility algorithms and other scientific studies which will accelerate this transition process resulting in a better quality of life. This includes health and social cohesion, competitiveness, jobs and growth. The lighthouse cities that will cooperate in the project are Rotterdam (the Netherlands), Glasgow (Scotland/United Kingdom) and Umeå (Sweden). The follower cities in RUGGEDISED are Brno (Czech Republic), Parma (Italy) and Gdansk (Poland).
Why this project is called RUGGEDISED? The word ruggedised means “designed or improved to be hard-wearing or shock-resistant”. The solutions that are being implemented by the cities in this project will make the cities resilient against future developments. The acronym is made up by the lighthouse cities Rotterdam, Umea and Glasgow: Generating Exemplar Districts In Sustainable Energy Deployment.
