Government of India’s delegation headed by Mr. Kunal Kumar, JS&MD (Smart City Mission) participated in the 13th Federal Congress of Urban Development Policy (Bundeskongress Nationale Stadtentwicklungspolitik) 2019, in Stuttgart. The study tour was enriched by exposure visits to several institutions and companies in Stuttgart region like -  a construction and demolition recycling plant (Heinrich Feeß GmbH & Co), the office of Stuttgart region planning office, the Mayor and urban planning department of the city of Winnenden and a visit to a new city district as part of the national garden show (Bundesgartenschau) in Heilbronn.

Mr. Anjum Parvez, IAS, Principal Secretary, Mr. Akhil Saxena, Deputy Secretary (Housing), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Mr. Ujjwal Kumar, IAS, Commissioner of Municipal Corporation of Prayagraj, Mr. Sivakumar Kanagaraj, Commissioner & CEO, Tiruppur Smart City Limited, Mr. Saravanakumar Kothandaraman, Executive Engineer, Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC), Mr. Seshadev Panda, General Manager (Technology) Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL) and GIZ team led by Ms. Tanja Feldmann, Project Head Sustainable Urban Development – Smart Cities and Cluster Coordinator, Ms. Vaishali Nandan, Project Head, Climate Smart Cities project and other GIZ technical experts participated in the program.

The primary objectives of the study tour were:

• Participation in the 13th Federal Congress of Urban Development Policy 2019 for exposure to international urban development initiatives policies and strategies
• Participation in the kick-off events of the “International Smart Cities Network”
• Present India’s Smart Cities mission and different initiatives in cities by participating delegates from Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and city representatives
• Meeting officials of different municipalities and exposure to a variety of innovative municipal services and integrated urban planning approaches

On day 1, the delegates visited a construction and demolition (C&D) waste management and recycling plant owned and maintained by Heinrich Feess GmbH & Co located in Kirchheim unter Teck, approximately 30 km distance from Stuttgart. The visit helped the delegates to understand the whole process of C&D waste recycling. Various products developed from waste recycling were also showed and explained to the delegates.

On day 2, the delegation visited the Regional Association of Stuttgart and held discussions with the Director on the specific challenges and approaches in the region of Stuttgart. Regional planning and the coordination of the 173 member municipalities are the core competences of the association. The delegation then visited the city of Winnenden, one of the member municipalities of the Regional Association of Stuttgart, where it was welcomed by the mayor and head of the urban planning

division. A brief presentation on the city with primary focus on stormwater management and land management was made by the city officials followed by a site visit to the urban development project “Arkadien”. The project followed integrated design principles in terms of energy architecture, sustainable materials, and water bodies. The boundaries between public and private are blurred, creating neighbourly and safe living environments. Sensitive urban designing with rainwater management as a vibrant feature underlies the total success of the development.

Day 3, 4 & 5 the delegates attended the 13th National Congress of Urban Development - Bundeskongress Nationale Stadtentwicklungspolitik 2019. The Conference was organised by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (BMI) together with the Federal State Baden-Wurttemberg, the Association of German cities and the German Association of Towns and Municipalities at Wagenhallen in Stuttgart. Current strategies and approaches to urban development policy were discussed and ideas for a shared, sustainable and integrated development of urban and rural spaces on national and European levels were presented. Various excursions, social events and a project fair complemented the conference programme.

Mr. Kunal Kumar Joint Secretary & Mission Director (Smart City Mission) and Mr. Seshadev Panda, General Manager (Technology) Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL) represented India and Bhubaneswar in various panel discussions of the Arena “Smart City Dialogue” and shared the Indian national and city experiences of urban development programs and Smart City initiatives. Mr. Kunal Kumar, also represented India in the International Smart City Network, hosted by the BMI on special invitation.

On the last day the delegation visited the new city district at the National Garden Show in Heilbronn and had interactions with the Mayor of Heilbronn followed by a guided tour to the city exposition on sustainable building materials, storm water management and social housing.

The program ended with a session on reflections and learning with the delegation.