Reflecting on Inclusive Smart Cities
In early October 2025, the ENHANCE Alliance hosted a reflection webinar revisiting key insights from the ENHANCE Walk & Talk 2025 in Aachen. The event brought together participants from academia, public administration, and civil society to discuss how Inclusive Smart Cities and Living Lab approaches can advance equity, participation, and people-centred urban development.
The discussion highlighted the value of transdisciplinary collaboration as a driver for innovation in education and research. By integrating these approaches into teaching, research, and project work, the ENHANCE Alliance equips students, researchers, and faculty with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate an increasingly complex and interconnected world. Participants explored how such collaboration can address real-world challenges, foster cross-sector engagement, and contribute to solutions that advance sustainability, technology, and society.
The webinar also reflected on practical questions for the Walk & Talk methodology: How can we give back to communities? How can this format be embedded to foster long-term collaboration across science and society? The insights gathered will inform the development of a guideline for the Walk & Talk format, supporting its continued use and adaptation by a wide range of actors.
The Walk & Talk format itself was developed by colleagues at Technische Universität Berlin (Dr. Kathrin Wieck) in collaboration with the ENHANCE Alliance to foster transdisciplinary exchange on pressing societal and environmental challenges. In February 2025, the second Walk & Talk in Aachen focused on “Diversity in Focus: Digging Deep into Inclusion & Equity through Smart City Living Labs”, co-organised by the LLI, Dr. Robin A. Chang, and the local German-Turkish society Eurotürk.
Through initiatives like the Walk & Talk, the ENHANCE Alliance reaffirms its commitment to fostering transdisciplinary collaboration in education and research. By supporting dialogue, experimentation, and knowledge exchange across disciplines and societal sectors, the Alliance aims to equip learners and researchers with the tools to tackle complex real-world challenges, drive innovation, and contribute to more inclusive, sustainable, and people-centred solutions.
