Menu

The New Hanse Project

How can cities use data to become more democratic and sustainable?

The New Hanse Project

How can cities use data to become more democratic and sustainable?

About

The New Hanse investigates in collaboration with the Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg the relationship between urban digital infrastructures, access to and deployment of data for the public interest; with tangible data-driven pilot projects that address real world challenges for the city of Hamburg. The New Hanse aims to showcase the potential of a citizen centered digital green city in a close collaboration between administration, science, industry and civil society.

With a pilot project in the field of mobility data and by building legal as well as technical instruments to govern these data sources collectively, The New Hanse wants to create blueprints for other European cities and explore new concepts for the transformative use of data.

The city of Hamburg thereby becomes a civic laboratory for more democratic and sustainable futures. The intertwined relation between digital and “analog” urban space, the debates and regulation surrounding both provide a starting point for practical as well as theoretical investigations and interventions.

THE NEW INSTITUTE and Francesca Bria have designed this project in order to support the city of Hamburg in becoming the European capital of green digital transformation and tell a different story about the futures of (European) cities.

Cities are accelerators of social differentiation, arenas of displacement, "markets of ideas" as well as places for knowledge exchange, political articulation, and trading. In times of crisis, city alliances have historically formed transnational alliances along common strategic and normative lines.

The New Institute aims to create a network of progressive digital cities, starting with Hamburg, and connect the past of urban cooperation with an open future: The New Hanse will be the beginning of a European initiative to support a future-oriented democracy which keeps and crafts its liberal parameters in the digital age.

The goal of the cooperation between The New Institute and the Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg is to work together in the context of an Urban Data Challenge and create a blueprint for a democratic exchange of data for Hamburg and other cities in Germany and Europe.

report

Prototyping For Democracy

How does data sharing for the public good really work?

Questions
  • How should we regulate the data generated by private companies in public urban spaces? What belongs to whom and what is the role of citizens, the companies and the public?

  • How do we set up the proper incentives for collaboration between actors and ensure a fair impact and a fair share of the externalities and wealth created by those data-based services?

  • How do we establish a form of data governance that preserves the digital sovereignty of citizens - and how should we govern relations between the participating actors transparently and democratically?

  • How to put in place technical solutions, protocols and digital infrastructures that are privacy-enhancing and protect the (data) rights and the digital sovereignty of citizens?

  • Can we find good examples of use of data to face and mitigate the impact of climate change in urban areas?

GET INVOLVED
LATEST

2023/24

  • Governing the Planetary Commons

    How are the planetary commons to be governed in an ecologically responsible, just, democratic, and resilient way?
    The program "Governing the Planetary Commons: a Focus on the Amazon" examines how to responsibly and sustainably govern crucial Earth systems, using the Amazon Rainforest as an example, and explores different governance models that could work in an ecologically sound, democratic, and resilient way.

    Learn more about the Program

  • Depolarizing Public Debates

    How can we depolarize public debates on socio-ecological transformations?
    The aim of the program „Depolarizing Public Debates“ is to develop tools for reducing polarization in public discussions about socio-ecological issues, engaging with practitioners from journalism, digital platforms, and civil society.

    Learn more about the Program

  • Conceptions of Human Flourishing

    How does a non-materialist conception of human flourishing inform the reformulation of the SDGs in 2030?
    The program „Conceptions of Human Flourishing” explores how different cultures conceive of human flourishing, how the current materialist approach may limit it, and how to redesign the SDGs with a broader, more inclusive view of what human flourishing means.

    Learn more about the Program

2021/22

  • The Human Condition in the 21st Century

    How can we create a sustainable value-system for the 21st century?
    This foundational program asks what it means to be human in the 21st century and how to create a sustainable value system for our interconnected world. The program examines the relationships between humans and nature, freedom, morality, growth, animals, and technology, and seeks to turn insights from philosophy and social science into actionable projects.

    Learn more about the Program

  • The Future of Democracy

    How can we transition to an ecologically responsible and democratically resilient future?
    The program “The Future of Democracy” places its main focus on the prospects for comprehensive ecological democratization. The guiding rationale is that social transformations require a collective imaginary of a future worth striving for.

    Learn more about the program

  • Socio-Economic Transformation

    How can the economy serve social well-being within planetary boundaries?
    Our economy must serve our social needs and respect planetary boundaries. But this is currently not the case: we are on an unsustainable path. Our economic activities have contributed to societies growing more unequal across various dimensions, depriving some of meeting their basic human needs and putting political systems under stress.

    Learn more about the Program

| stay informed | stay connected

NEWSLETTER

We are in this together – and our newsletter is the best way to connect and be inspired. Competent, constructive, creative. A wealth of insight and guidance in a world in turmoil.

Newsletter

We use cookies to measure how often our site is visited and how it is used. You can withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future. For further information, please refer to our privacy policy.