GrowSmarter:
urban solutions

We coordinated 12 pioneering solutions for efficient mobility, housing, and infrastructure across 8 European cities, inspiring replication continent-wide.

The challenge

To ensure a future for both people and the environment, European cities are driven to seek innovative solutions, facing the pressing need to reduce their environmental footprint and embrace sustainable, resilient living, while forging efficient, eco-friendly, and liveable urban spaces. In response to this, the GrowSmarter project emerged as a groundbreaking initiative, integrated into the Horizon 2020 program of the European Union. Over a four-year period from 2015 to 2019, Stockholm, Cologne, and Barcelona united their efforts to pilot 12 cutting-edge smart solutions, validating their effectiveness, and paving the way for replication across the continent.

Our approach

To tackle this ambitious task, a consortium of 40 leading companies, industries, and academic entities joined forces to develop and implement these pioneering solutions. With a substantial budget of Euro 46 million, the project aimed to address key areas such as sustainable urban mobility, efficient housing, and integrated infrastructure. Anteverti played a crucial role in this endeavor, working closely with the City Council of Barcelona to coordinate the implementation of the 12 smart solutions within the city’s neigborhoods.

The GrowSmarter project exemplified an innovative, collaborative, and cooperative spirit, laying the groundwork for a greener, more efficient future for European cities. Within this context, we also contributed to ensure that the relevant expertise and knowledge generated by Barcelona during the implementation of the solutions was accordingly shared with the other two cities—and vice versa.

The impact

Across the three pilot cities, more than 130,000 square meters of building stock underwent a transformation through extensive refurbishments, embracing energy efficiency and eco-friendly practices. Sustainable mobility solutions were successfully deployed, providing residents with cleaner and more efficient transportation options. Moreover, our cities were connected to the ‘Internet of Things’, fostering a smarter and interconnected urban ecosystem.

The impact of our efforts was immediately evident, as the cities achieved CO2 reductions ranging from 30 to 70 % in the refurbished buildings, contributing significantly to our commitment to combat climate change. Additionally, our collective work led to energy savings of more than 8GWh, showcasing the immense potential for resource efficiency within urban environments.

Moreover, the GrowSmarter project sets a vision that extends beyond the pilot cities. By sharing the knowledge and experiences gained during the project, Barcelona, Stockholm, and Cologne have already inspired other European cities to follow suit. The GrowSmarter solutions have been eagerly embraced by the Follower Cities of Suceava, Graz, Porto, Valletta, and Cork, spreading the seeds of innovation and sustainable development continent-wide.