The Hague Unveils Smart City Innovations from Living Lab Scheveningen
The Hague, Monday, 11 November 2024.
The Hague’s Living Lab Scheveningen project showcases cutting-edge urban technologies, including a fiber optic network connecting street furniture and a Crowd Safety Manager using 3D mapping for real-time crowd insights. The initiative, which earned the city a World Smart City Award in 2021, demonstrates how smart tech can enhance urban livability.
Harnessing Technology for Urban Livability
The Living Lab Scheveningen in The Hague has become a beacon of innovation, testing and implementing smart technologies that promise to reshape urban environments. Over the past five years, this initiative has laid the groundwork for a smarter city by integrating an extensive fiber optic network that connects various street elements such as lamp posts, kiosks, and charging stations. This infrastructure not only supports digital communication but also powers solutions like the Crowd Safety Manager (CSM), which employs advanced 3D mapping to monitor and manage crowd density during major events, such as the Invictus Games[1].
Crowd Management and Data Privacy
The CSM system stands out for its ability to synthesize data from multiple sources—traffic, parking, and public transport—alongside anonymized visitor information to facilitate proactive crowd management. This capability is crucial for city officials, police, and event organizers, allowing them to deploy traffic controllers or guide visitors to alternative parking solutions effectively. Importantly, this system is developed with a keen emphasis on data privacy, as highlighted by Dirk van Brederode, the former Smart City project leader, ensuring that the management of citizens’ data remains under municipal control[1].
Innovations in Harbor and Public Lighting
Beyond crowd management, the Living Lab has also brought innovations to Scheveningen Harbor, where a system now logs ship movements automatically without recording sensitive data, enhancing safety and operational efficiency. In terms of urban infrastructure, René Oomkes, Manager of Public Lighting and Charging Infrastructure, noted the challenges of integrating some streetlights into the fiber optic network due to community agreements that restrict excavation in certain areas. These insights into digital infrastructure design and management are vital as cities worldwide grapple with similar urban challenges[1].
Global Recognition and Future Prospects
The success of the Living Lab Scheveningen has not gone unnoticed. In 2021, The Hague was honored with the World Smart City Award in the Energy & Environment category, underscoring the city’s leadership in deploying technology to improve urban life. Deputy Mayor Saskia Bruines emphasizes the lab as a continuous platform for experimentation and stakeholder collaboration, fostering the development of technological solutions that address both local and global urban challenges. This commitment to innovation aligns with The Hague’s broader vision as an international hub for peace, justice, and security, further enhanced by its burgeoning role as a center for cybersecurity initiatives[1][3].