Looper project - About - consortium

Project partners

1. Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) - Mobilise

The Mobility & Logistics Research Group (Mobilise), located at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), has a long track record in socio-economic evaluations for urban mobility and logistics. The team has developed tools for decisionmakers in the private and public sectors. It analyses the environmental, economic and social impact of new concepts involving stakeholders in the decision-making process.

VUB-Mobilise coordinated LOOPER and was responsible for management and quality control of the entire project as well as for developing co-design methodologies. It was also responsible for the Brussels Urban Living Lab, together with project partner BRAL.

2. University IUAV of Venice (IUAV)

IUAV is a dedicated place for teaching, specialisation and field research for design of living space and evironment. The research group at the "Design and Planning in Complex Environments" Department guides IUAV laboratories in the field of building Information Technologies for smart cities. The research group has instruments and compentences for the characterization of environmental aspects of cities, GIS and IT technologies for the realization of urban geo-referenced datasets to support urban policies. The group has relevant expertise in environmental impact assessment, urban planning, territorial information systems and urban policies development.

IUAV developed the LOOPER platform through which data can be collected and visualized. It was also responsible for the Verona Urban Living Lab, in cooperation with the City of Verona and Legambiente Verona Volontariato.

3. University of Manchester (UoM)

The University of Manchester has extensive research communities organised around Energy, Cities and Living Labs. The LOOPER team draws upon the expertise of the Centre for Urban Resilience and Energy (CURE), a member of the Manchester Urban Institute. Partly funded by the European Research Council, CURE is home to more than 20 academics working on urban intelligence and innovation, urban living labs and urban sustainability. CURE was established in 2000 and collaborates extensively with local and regional authorities, public and private institutions in research projects, and activities relating to urban sustainability and urban living labs.

The University of Manchester was responsible for the development of implementation and monitoring frameworks for the three Urban Living Labs. It also coordinated the drafting of policy recommendations, and shares responsibility with S4B for the Manchester Urban Living Lab.

4. S4B

S4B is regenerating the Brunswick neigbourhood of Manchester on the doorstep of the University of Manchester. S4B is the non-profit housing provider and regeneration organization for Brunswick. Brunswick benefits from a strong sense of community and ejoys a great location on the doorstep of the vibrant city centre. The regeneration will bring in major investment to transform Brunswick. Alongside the physical regeneration S4B is supporting the socio-economic regeneration of Brunswick through employment projects, digital inclusion, health and well-being and community events.

The implementation of the Manchester Urban Living Lab was a shared responsibility of S4B and the University of Manchester.

5. BRAL

BRAL is a city movement striving to make Brussels sustainable. Along with its members and partners it wants to build an evironmentally friendly, affordable and solidary city. BRAL organizes actions, lobbies, supports citizens' initiatives and provides advice to authorities. BRAL exists since 1974 as a Brussels member organization which unites neighbourhood committees, Brussels activists and academics, and other organizations. BRAL's main fields of expertise are environment, mobility, urban planning and participation. Since 2014, BRAL's focus is on better air quality, an economy that is both green and social, and an urban development based on citizen's participation.

BRAL organized the Brussels Urban Living Lab, together with Mobilise.

6. Clicks and Links

The company Clicks and Links (CL) has been trading since 2000 and has delivered over 200 IT projects to a range of customers, primarily in the public and associated sectors (e.g. construction, energy, transport). CL has often led with new innovations: from the first urban wireless network and local authority website to today's application of gaming technology for serious purposes (e.g. building visualisations), in particular the use of virtual reality. The company employs a total of 12 people and it has offices in Manchester and Amsterdam. Their skills include art, design, game engines, web and app development as well as project management.

CL was responsible for the creation of a participatory method and information dashboard as well as for setting up the LOOPER platform.

7. City of Verona

Verona is located in the nort-eastern province of Veneto, Italy and has around a quarter million inhabitants. The Municipality of Verona is a municipal public authority with about 2500 employees. The Environment Directorate is in charge of pollution prevention, energy saving promotion, animal affairs, recycling promotion, information campaigns and educational initiatives in its field of competence.

The Municipality was responsible for the Verona Urban Living Lab, together with the University IUAV of Venice and Legambiente Verona Volontariato.

Commune di Verona - Municipality of Verona

Co-operation partner

Legambiente

Legambiente Verona Volontariato was founded in 1983 as a local branch of Legambiente, one of the most prominent environmental organizations in Italy. In Verona, the association organizes activities related to the promotion of active citizenship in environmental matters as well as in the conversation of the artistic and cultural heritage, to counter urban sprawl and decay. Over the years, the association has organised and joined several campaigns and has undertaken direct actions for the protection and development of green areas and cultural heritage. To do this, Legambiente involved and trained volunteers from Verona as well as abroad. The Verona branch is organised as a volunteer group and is registered as non-profit organisation.

LA was responsible for the Verona Urban Living Lab, together the University IUAV of Venice and the City of Verona.