The city will soon get a national center for urban innovation, which will be of help to all Smart cities in the country.

Municipal commissioner Kunal Kumar, who just returned from a UK tour, said, “The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has proposed to start the centre. The city has join hands with Future Cities of Catapult Team, an organisation based in the United Kingdom.”

From its London urban innovation center, Catapult Team accelerates urban ideas to market, to improve economy and make cities better. They bring together the UK’s top architects, engineers, designers, academics and business professionals.Their work currently focuses on three core themes: promoting healthy cities, building resilience in urban infrastructure and designing strategies to help cities with finance for using smarter technologies.

The commissioner, accompanied by civic officials and industry leaders, recently visited the UK to study their initiatives in urban transport and solid waste management.

“We have spoken to the state and Union governments about this tie up and formation of the centre. The stake holders of this centre will include representatives of Pune, other smart cities, academicians, corporators, state and Centre,” said Kumar.

The commissioner said the centre will provide a platform for young innovators. The technological as well as non-technological solutions will be developed at this centre. The work will commence in six months.

Kumar said that PMC will seek help from experts and organisations from the UK to implement a public bicycle scheme, metro rail project, traffic control rooms, ‘defined software network’ for better civic services and mobile-based solutions.

The focus will be on creating an integrated transport plan. It will have details of all types of transports including public transport and special scheme such as cycle under one roof. The administration will complete the plan in a year’s time,” he said.

Source: Times of India- Pune, March 10, 2016
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