Viable Cities

Viable Cities (VC) is a strategic innovation programme co-funded by several large agencies and hosted by KTH. The aim is to support research and innovation for smart sustainable cities, emphasising its role as a catalyst for collaborative efforts between different sectors in Swedish society. It also fosters commitment and participation from citizens and urban dwellers through urban development and digitalisation.

Sustainable innovative solutions are developed by VC within the following four focus areas:

• Lifestyle & consumption
• Planning & built environment
• Mobility & accessibility
• Integrated infrastructure

These developments are supported through the following five themes:

• Testbeds & living labs
• Innovation & entrepreneurship
• Funding & business operations
• Governance
• Intelligence, cyber safety & ethics.

The programme today hosts some 50 participating organisations from all sectors. VC’s incentives are both local, national, and international, and its successful solutions and models are meant for large-scale implementation and export.

Related SDG

• 11.3 By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries
• 11.A Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning
• 17. 16 Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the sustainable development goals in all countries, in particular developing countries
• 17.17 Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships