Winterthur ZH – The Zurich University of Applied Sciences has published a guide on smart neighbourhoods. Researchers studied the Talgut neighbourhood in Winterthur to determine what is required to make a neighbourhood smart.

For their analysis of the Talgut neighbourhood in Winterthur, researchers at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) spoke with numerous stakeholders about their spatial future aspirations of the neighbourhood. Their findings were published in the guide Smart Neighbourhoods. According to a ZHAW statement, the guide is applicable even to neighbourhoods that don’t resemble Talgut in terms of structure and size.

“One of the most important findings is that it is only possible to consume less resources and at the same time improve quality of life when all the different agents in the neighbourhood cooperate on joint projects in the long term,” said ZHAW researcher Evelyn Lobsiger-Kägi.

She and her colleagues set out 20 concrete measures in the guide that can make neighbourhoods smarter with regard to resource consumption and sustainability. Electric bicycle charging stations and community gardens as well as flexible workplaces are among them. The principle of cooperation also applies to sharing photovoltaic facilities, cars and offices.