In the context of the project Smart City Linz, supported by the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund, the Ars Electronica Futurelab is currently on its way to Linz in the year 2050. The members of the Smart City Linz consortium—the Futurelab, the City of Linz, Linz Strom GmbH, Austrian Institute of Technology, Austrian Energy Agency and the Energy Institute at the Johannes Kepler University—are exploring strategies of dramatically lowering energy usage and CO2 emissions (EU aim: 80% reduction by 2050) in Linz and simultaneously raising the quality of life in the city. Initiatives and ideas concerning smart metering, e-mobility, energy efficiency in buildings as well as information and communication technologies are being linked to create the vision of a “Smart City Linz 2050”. A “Roadmap 2020” and an “Action Plan 2015” describe the intermediate stops. The Ars Electronica Futuelab’s research focus is set on the “Smart Citizens”, the human factor, which includes consciousness raising and formation of group identity in the area of climate and energy topics, innovative feedback technologies concerning energy consumption data and the dissemination of the project.

www.smartcitylinz.at