The Hague Achieves Milestones in Smart City Innovations
The Hague, Monday, 24 February 2025.
Over five years, The Hague has successfully implemented smart technologies to enhance sustainability, citizen engagement, and urban management, significantly improving living standards in the city.
Smart Infrastructure and Real-Time Monitoring
The Hague’s Living Lab Scheveningen project has demonstrated significant success through its comprehensive fiber optic network infrastructure, which connects various street facilities including lampposts, kiosks, and charging stations [1]. A standout achievement is the Crowd Safety Manager (CSM) system, which provides real-time 3D mapping of crowd movements using data from traffic registrations, public transportation, and anonymized visitor information [1]. This system proved particularly valuable during major events such as the Invictus Games, enabling proactive crowd management through strategic deployment of traffic controllers and parking guidance [1].
Advanced Security and Maritime Management
In a significant technological advancement, The Hague has implemented an automated ship registration system in Scheveningen harbor that monitors vessel movements while preserving privacy [1]. The city has also made strides in security innovation through collaboration with Northwestern University’s Security & AI Lab, testing the Drone Early Warning System (DEWS) over an eight-month period. This system can predict whether drone flight trajectories are threatening within 30 seconds, with asset value being the primary determining factor [2].
Climate Action and Energy Transition
The Hague, currently home to over 562,000 residents, has set ambitious climate goals with plans to achieve climate neutrality by 2030 [3]. The city adopted a comprehensive Heat Transition Vision in 2023, outlining strategies for transitioning districts to clean energy sources [3]. This initiative is particularly significant as The Hague plans to phase out natural gas infrastructure that has been in place since 1967 [3]. The city’s energy transformation strategy includes implementing smaller-scale solutions from 2025-2030, followed by a complete system transformation between 2030-2040 [3].
Learning from Setbacks
The city’s approach to innovation has been pragmatic, with some projects being discontinued based on practical outcomes. For instance, a pilot project for riot recognition was terminated due to technological limitations, while a smart camera system for detecting nitrous oxide use was discontinued when the social need diminished [1]. These decisions reflect The Hague’s commitment to implementing only those technologies that deliver tangible benefits to its residents [GPT].