Taking stock

Professor Maximilan Schüler reiterates this point: When we think about the smart city, we can't separate it from its surroundings. Schüler has been a professor of environmental studies at TH Lübeck since 2021. One focus of his work is the preparation of life cycle assessments. To create the life cycle assessment for a city, many different material and energy flows must be taken into account - these supply relationships usually don't stop at the city limits, Schüler explains.

Residents of smart cities need food, building materials and electricity - none of which are usually produced within the city itself. From the perspective of an environmental scientist, a city becomes a smart city as soon as these relationships are no longer detrimental on the environment. The keyword here is 'zero impact', according to Schüler.

Modern urban development shows various trends toward achieving 'zero impact'. Large industrial enterprises in the automotive sector are currently developing scenarios on how to bring industrial production back to the cities. In addition, many cities attempt to bring back agricultural production as well.

Networked thinking is the key to overcome the challenges of the transformation toward a smart city, says Schüler. This networked approach is at the core of our degree programs - we want to enable and encourage our students to think outside the box and find solutions to tomorrow's problems.