Page 63 - Digital solutions for integrated city management and use cases: A U4SSC deliverable on city platforms

Figure 24: Mechanisms of financing EU city platforms

Data is turning into an important asset for the economy, hence data-driven innovation is essential
for economic growth in smart cities. Urban data platforms collected data from different sources
and its exploitation can create value in many sectors, impulse research and innovation as well as
leading to more business opportunities and increased availability of knowledge capital . Therefore,
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data is more valuable than ever before, and cities need to explore options to monetize it and can
be a new revenue source for local governments that would help them to become self-sustainable
and maintain smart infrastructure.

The European Commission aims to create a single market for data, where data from public bodies,
business and citizens can be used safely and fairly for the common good. Data Sharing Initiative
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will draw up rules for common European data spaces covering areas like the environment, energy
and agriculture, to:

• Make better use of publicly held data for research for the common good.

• Support voluntary data sharing by individuals.
• Set up structures to enable key organizations to share data.

5.4 Common barriers

A barrier to smart city platform implementation that was identified from the experiences of cities
that participated in the U4SSC elicitation exercise is that for cities of a certain size, a city-wide

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