Datenspaziergang – Wo entstehen in Leipzig Daten?

Urbane Daten in vernetzten Städten und Regionen

This episode follows a guided 'data walk' through Leipzig to uncover the invisible sensor networks shaping the city. Led by Heike Gebbert, t

Key takeaways

• Environmental sensors attached to street lanterns monitor air moisture, gas concentration, pollutants, temperature, and noise for the UFZ.
• The 'Leipzig Giext' initiative uses open data to coordinate community-led watering of city trees during heatwaves.

Main topics

• Urban sensor networks
• Smart City technology

Notable quotes

The data is also being raised because the perception of every person is different.

Conclusion

The episode demonstrates how integrated data collection transforms a c

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:04) Urban data in connected cities and regions. Speaker 2 (0:13) I'm Heike Gebbert, I work at the digital city of Leipzig. My focus in the project Connected Urban Twins is the participation of urban society. That's one of the reasons why I'm here. Speaker 4 (0:26) Heike Gebbert is on the main entrance level of the new city hall in Leipzig. Around 20 people gathered in front of her. They all signed up for the data walk. Speaker 4 (0:39) The walkway is a program point at Data Week 2025. It is about showing exemplary where and why data is collected in the city. And with that, a warm welcome to this episode of Urban Data in Networked Cities and Regions. My name is Wieland Mikulajczyk and I will take you with me on this special tour through Leipzig. Before we get started, Heike Gebbert has an important announcement. We Speaker 2 (1:08) will cross the city ring several times. It's just the time when it's very busy and loud. We will also pass the most important churches in Leipzig. But if someone is standing here and is talking about the Tumana Choir or the biblical revolution, then they are definitely in the wrong group. The Speaker 4 (1:26) weather is stable so far, if only a little bit fresh for the beginning of June. We walk a few hundred meters on the Martin Luther Ring. The evening traffic has begun. The group pushes on a corner on the Bürgersteig and tries as best as possible not to block the other pedestrians. In everyday life you would pass the first station. without much attention. A gray box, about three meters high, attached to a street lantern. This Speaker 2 (1:54) is the environmental sensor of the Environmental Research Center. And that's basically one, that's already a thousandth of a dozen actually under the sensors. Because this sensor raises air moisture, the gas concentration, the pollutants in the air and also the temperature and noise. And why is that smart? to collect so much data. You get a nice round picture of a general situation and can, for example, create warning messages. The data is delivered to the UFZ regularly and they have a corresponding overview of various developments, especially for the afternoon and the evening. and then you can Speaker 4 (2:44) evaluate Speaker 2 (2:44) it accordingly. This Speaker 4 (2:46) collection of data and their evaluation can have very real consequences. You can clearly see the hotspots of air pollution and traffic accidents. And that is then the basis for decision making of traffic management, explains Thomas Kretschig. Speaker 3 (3:02) You can of course program the traffic lights. That means they have a certain transparency. You can say that certain areas are not over-stowed. by the traffic light, for example, already before that. You can also say that there is a conversion, also a large conversion, where you say, you are not driving on the busy road, but you can also convert the traffic again. These are all applications that we have in mind. The Speaker 4 (3:30) data is also being raised because the perception of every person is different. An old person may not make noises as loud as a child. It is also harder for a child to breathe in the air when exposed to high pollution compared to an adult. With the increased data, an objective assessment can be achieved and measures can be taken from it. A few steps further the group comes to the Pleißemühlen Graben. The sensor we visit here is so not to be seen. The pegel sensor is under the bridge. That Speaker 2 (4:08) means, here is the possibility to control the pegel stand at appropriate times during the year and then in the future for different events to use the data, for example. In many cities, the water is getting more and more difficult to soak. And if it really rains, the streets are under water. This is also the case in many parts of Leipzig. And with the help of this data, you can, for example, provide instructions for disaster prevention and also provide Speaker 4 (4:41) predictions for Speaker 2 (4:41) various residential areas. Speaker 4 (4:45) While Heike Gebhardt is still explaining that the project is still being tested and that there will be a dashboard for surveillance next year, some of the data travelers are getting closer to the bridge. Speaker 2 (4:57) There are already some people who