Lower Saxony in smart city fever: Achim and Oldenburg shine!

Lower Saxony in smart city fever: Achim and Oldenburg shine!

What is the status of smart city development in Germany? A current study highlights the progress of numerous cities and impressively shows that Germany's urban space is moving in a technologically advanced and more livable direction. Munich, Hamburg, Berlin and Cologne are at the forefront, all of which have achieved an impressive level of development of over 50 percent. These findings come from the latest Smart City Ranking 2025 by Haselhorst Associates Consulting, which examined a total of 417 cities with more than 30,000 inhabitants. What is particularly exciting is that compared to the previous year, only Munich achieved such a value in 2024. Thanks to continuous progress, Kiel, Oldenburg, Braunschweig and Halle an der Saale have now risen to the select circle of the top 10, as kreiszeitung.de reports.

But what exactly are the criteria for this ranking? It's about how well cities implement digital infrastructure, sustainable mobility, energy efficiency and social integration in their areas. The results show that the cities have laid a solid foundation for the transformation into smart cities. These urban developments are expected to not only improve the quality of life of citizens, but also make a significant contribution to reducing emissions and increasing citizen participation.

Lower Saxony in focus

The town of Achim stands out in Lower Saxony. It saw the largest percentage increase in the emerging cities category, jumping from 27 to 36.9 percent. Together with their neighboring city of Oldenburg, which came in 8th place with 48.1 percent - mainly thanks to the “Energetic Neighborhood Quarter Fliegerhorst” project, which includes over 950 residential units and commercial space - the Lower Saxony cities are well positioned. In Oldenburg, 21 partners from science, business and administration cooperate to cover the majority of energy needs from locally generated energy.

Braunschweig, which takes 9th place in the ranking with 48.0 percent, is not lagging behind. The city is working to improve its digital infrastructure, offering public WiFi and developing mobile solutions for patient data collection. A digital city voucher and an app called “Discover Braunschweig” are also being planned in order to involve citizens more closely in the process and to enable them to experience the city more consciously.

The challenges of the future

Despite the success, cities face challenges, particularly due to expiring funding. The “Smart Cities Model Projects” program, which has helped support a total of 51 cities, 10 districts and 12 inter-municipal collaborations since 2019, will soon end. In order to maintain valuable progress and initiate new projects, it is crucial that successful initiatives are evaluated and well communicated to secure future funding.

The average growth in the level of smart city development has been constant at 15 percent since 2022. This shows that the cities are on the right track, but they still have to remain creative and develop innovative concepts in order not to fall behind in this competition. The federal funding plays a crucial role in keeping the transformations going.

Overall, developments remain promising and it remains to be seen how the cities will fare in the next ranking. The progress is proof: Germany has the potential to become a pioneer in smart city development, which is of great benefit not only for urban areas, but also for the citizens themselves.