Until October 4, projects for urban innovation can be submitted to the Ubran Lab in Rzeszow. Of the submitted initiatives, those selected by experts will be forwarded for further modeling and implementation. In this way, the city wants to improve the quality of life of its residents.
Any person of age can submit a project. The most important thing is the idea. It can concern individual neighborhoods as well as the entire city. We are looking for activities in three areas: modern and friendly urban space for residents, solutions to facilitate movement around the city, and greenery in the city. In each of these categories, solutions will be selected that will have a real impact on the lives of residents. It is important that they have a character that engages the community they are aimed at. So you can plant urban vegetable gardens together, organize workshops aimed at developing innovative solutions in the neighborhood, or propose transportation solutions for people with special needs. This is an opportunity for Rzeszow's residents to make the micro changes in the city that they really need.
consult before you submit
Those wishing to submit proposals can consult with Urban Lab staff beforehand. Consultations are conducted at Urban Lab's headquarters or online, by appointment. An unquestionable help in submitting proposals are the questions on the application form, which can lead to the right track. Among the submitted projects, those that meet the substantive criteria will be selected. Applications will be judged on innovation, risk assessment in implementation, the group of stakeholders and how they are involved, and the real change the project is likely to generate. A total of PLN 90,000 is earmarked for modeling and dissemination of selected solutions. The number of projects depends on the total estimated amount of selected projects. However, the organizers guarantee that there will be at least three projects.
© Urban Lab Rzeszow
rzeszow urban hub
The call is part of the Rzeszów Startup Urban Accelerator, a program funded under the European Union Social Fund. In turn, the call is operated by Rzeszow Urban Lab. It is an instrument that facilitates cooperation between the city and its residents. It consists of an office equipped with two conference rooms and a workshop space where classes for different groups, exhibitions, community consultations, as well as film screenings and concerts can take place. However, the space itself is not the most important thing here. There is also a group of experts divided into thematic teams at Urban Lab. In 2020, the teams cover the areas of open data, electromobility and Smart City. All this is aimed at involving residents in the process of co-creating the city.
prototyping in the city
The Urban Lab in Rzeszow was created as part of the activities of the Warsaw-based Institute for Urban and Regional Development. It conducts a project financed by the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy with funds from the Technical Assistance Operational Program 2014-2020, entitled. "Urban Lab as a pilot tool for improving the quality of life of city residents in line with the smart city idea." As IRMR experts write:
Urban Lab is an instrument of cooperation between the city and businesses, scientific entities and NGOs, aimed at improving the quality of life of residents through innovative solutions to identified problems and generating additional value using urban resources
Pioneering Urban Labs have so far already been opened in Gdynia and Rzeszow.
