Smart City Riga: Digital innovations for a smart and sustainable city

Riga has become a pioneer in digitalisation in recent years. One key success is the modernisation of the city's ICT infrastructure. With the help of a centralised system for digital services, the city has been able to make its data management and services more efficient. Riga is also carrying out pilot projects in areas such as mobility, energy efficiency and public safety.

The city works closely with the EU and participates in initiatives such as EUROCITIES and Open & Agile Smart Cities (OASC). As a result, Riga is gaining valuable insights into best practices from other cities and is actively driving digital transformation locally.

Digital twins and AI for greater proximity to citizens

Ambitious projects are in the pipeline for the near future. In particular, the expansion of intelligent infrastructure plays a central role, for example through the use of digital twins to improve urban planning and is focusing on low-emission zones for better air quality in the city. ‘In addition, Riga plans to increase digital interaction with citizens by expanding e-services and promoting people's digital literacy,’ emphasizes Arnis Gulbis. These projects are part of a broader strategy to make Riga a pioneer in digital urban development, with a focus on sustainability, innovation and security.

Riga is also well positioned in terms of cyber security: The city relies on AI-based threat detection systems and is working with EU partners on projects to better respond to cyber threats in the event of an emergency: ‘These efforts will help protect both public services and citizens’ data in the increasingly connected urban ecosystem,’ emphasizes Gulbis.

Sustainability as a leitmotif

The overarching theme of urban development in Riga is sustainability: areas such as energy and transport are to be optimized through the use and evaluation of data. Close cooperation between the city administration, start-ups and research institutions is a central component of this.

Riga has developed the GEO RIGA platform as a structured repository for all this data, which both experts and citizens find very user-friendly. Thousands of users access the various urban data - and the platform is being expanded to provide even more valuable data. ‘Such a policy of openness will bring the city more innovation and investment in the long term,’ Gulbis is certain.

A current highlight is the participation in the EU mission for 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030. ‘To achieve these goals, the Riga Digital Agency actively promotes close internal cooperation between all departments of the Riga City Administration, with a particular focus on coordinating activities with the Riga Smart City development team.’

Digitalization in Germany

As the capital of one of the most digitalized countries in Europe, Riga has a favorable opinion of digitalization in Germany. Gulbis says: ‘Germany has long been at the forefront of digital urban development, with cities such as Berlin and Hamburg implementing advanced smart city solutions. However, Latvia, and Riga in particular, has made impressive progress, mainly due to our agility and focused strategy, which allows us to quickly implement innovative digital projects despite having fewer resources. Our strategy from the beginning has been to learn from the successes of larger European cities and adapt these solutions to our local circumstances.’

As a result of this strategy, Riga is one of the rising stars of digital city development in the Baltic Sea region.

Find out more about digitalization in Riga and Latvia at the Smart Country Convention, 15-17 October 2024 in Berlin.