About UrbanLabs.info
Innovation and research at the intersection of urban development, digital culture, and citizen engagement.
Jens Bley
Jens Bley is an eCulture Entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in transformative projects in the fields of Smart Cities, Smart Culture, Living Labs and Media, with municipal, civic, business and academic stakeholders, often in an international context.
His work emphasizes the crucial role of young citizens in shaping future cities, particularly through co-creation methodologies, fostering critical thinking, and empowering them to co-create solutions for a sustainable urban future. Through the UrbanTestbeds.JR project, he pioneered AI-supported approaches to urban ideation, climate plan analysis, and data-driven storytelling with young citizens across the Baltic Sea Region.
He is also at the forefront of exploring Artificial Intelligence applications in urban development, investigating how AI can support urban ideation, deconstruct climate plans, and facilitate data-driven storytelling while keeping the human role central in the process.
Jens Bley has been instrumental in initiating and leading several major urban innovation projects including SmartSquare, eCulture Innovationsforum (with 76 participants from business, science, and politics), ANN RADAR, UrbanTestbeds.JR, SmartQuarters Travelling Conferences to Australia and New Zealand, and engagement with the New European Bauhaus initiative as a Senior Expert.
Innovation & Research Focus Areas
Urban Living Labs
Designing, managing, and researching urban spaces as testbeds for innovation, experimentation, and citizen engagement.
Smart to Wise Cities
Developing new services, tools, and methodologies for smart city applications and urban transformation.
Young Citizens & Future Cities
Developing methodologies to meaningfully engage young people in shaping sustainable urban futures.
eCulture
Using digital technologies to bring cultural heritage, urban narratives, and archaeological history to life.
Urban Data Analytics
Applying data science, AI, and analytics to understand urban spaces, behavior patterns, and social media dynamics.
New European Bauhaus
Supporting sustainable, inclusive, and beautiful urban transformation through NEB principles and technical assistance.
Key Publications
SmartSquare: An interdisciplinary guided tour of an urban testbed
Jens Bley, Kay Hartkopf, Martin Niggemann, Anaïs Wiedenhöfer
2020 • PubliQation - Books on Demand GmbH • ISBN: 978-3-7458-7023-7
View Publication (DOI)The UrbanTestbeds.JR Playbook: Engaging Young Citizens to build a sustainable Urban Future
UrbanTestbeds.JR Consortium
2024 • Interreg Baltic Sea Region
Experimental Governance for Sustainable Cities and Climate Action: Case Study ANN RADAR Hamburg
Jörg Knieling, Jens Bley, Kay Hartkopf, Anna Wildhack
2022 • CORP Conference Proceedings
The ANN RADAR Playbook
Jens Bley, Jörg Knieling, Kay Hartkopf, Anna Wildhack
2023 • HafenCity University Hamburg
Abschlußbericht Travelling Conference SmartQuarters (Smart Cities - Urbane Reallabore)
Jens Bley, Kay Hartkopf
2019 • German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF)
Innovationsforum eCulture - eCULTINNO: Abschlussbericht
Jens Bley, Kay Hartkopf et al.
2018 • HafenCity University Hamburg
Networks & Collaborations
Europeana Network
SmartSquare became part of the Impact Assessment task force, especially in regard to multi-stakeholder perspectives in urban testbeds. Europeana serves as a gateway to digital culture initiatives and researchers across Europe.
DARIAH Network
The Digital Humanities network has led to joint research proposals with urban testbeds and stakeholders in cities including Aarhus (Denmark), Athens (Greece), Ghent (Belgium), Glasgow (UK), Nicosia (Cyprus), and Trondheim (Norway).
International Knowledge Exchange
Engaged in city-to-city exchanges with Australia and New Zealand through the SmartQuarters Travelling Conference (BMBF-funded) and European Union World Cities programme pairings, including Melbourne, Auckland, and Sydney.
Interreg Baltic Sea Region
Leading cross-border collaboration through UrbanTestbeds.JR with partners from Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Latvia, focusing on youth engagement and resilient communities.
New European Bauhaus
Engaging with the European Commission's New European Bauhaus initiative through conversations and technical assistance programmes, supporting smaller communities in implementing sustainable, beautiful, and inclusive urban transformation.
Hamburg@Work Digital Cluster
Long-standing partnership with Hamburg's digital cluster for service innovation, network development, and international cooperation including Digital Ambassador role for Australia and New Zealand.
Get in Touch
Interested in collaboration, research partnerships, or speaking engagements?
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