Abstract
The topic of smart cities is assuming an increasing relevance, both locally and nationally. The key challenge for smart cities and communities is to significantly increase the overall quality of life in urban areas, for the benefit of their inhabitants and economic activities. This process occurs both through the improvement of traditional utility-grids and services, and through the implementation of digital sensor- and communication technologies in the urban ecosystem. In this scenario, the adoption of enabling tools to support the smart urban development, appears crucial to manage processes and data information flows, as well as to permit better communication and collaboration among the involved stakeholders. This paper describes the development methodology of an open digital platform for smart cities. This platform will be an enabling tool for the smart urban development of a city i.e. will be able to support and encourage the growth of new services for - and with - citizens, companies, tourists, and public administrations. The concept derives from the ongoing research project OPENIoT4SmartCities, funded by the Operational Programme European Regional Development Fund ERDF 2014-2020 (CUP: B11B17000720008) Südtirol/Alto Adige. The main objective is to realise a product-prototype software, for the management of smart services in cities, using IoT. The platform has been designed based on the specific service needs of Merano, a city in South Tyrol, Italy. The activities regard the identification of concrete use cases in the field of public illumination and water management. In particular, this paper will present the results of previous analysis, consultation meetings and workshops that have been conducted by the research team together with the public administration and local service providers of the city of Merano.