Tórshavn – A Smart City in the North Atlantic
Visit Faroe Islands Meetings
Unordinary ideas arrive in unordinary places
We spoke with Lars Larsen Black, Head of IT for Tórshavn Municipality, to learn about the Faroese capital's ambitions as a smart city and its progress in digitalizing services for citizens.
Tórshavn has been working on different digitalization projects for several years, aiming to become a hub for innovation and growth in the North Atlantic. The city actively collaborates with the Nordic Smart City Network, opening itself to businesses as a testing ground for smart city solutions and initiatives to enhance residents' quality of life.
Lars oversees IT infrastructure for the municipality, managing around 170 applications for diverse administrative tasks. Tórshavn also plays a key role in the National Digitalisation Programme of the Faroe Islands, which unifies digital services across municipalities.
How does the National Digitalisation Programme benefit citizens?
Lars Larsen Black:
The Faroese are practical people, and being a small nation simplifies collaboration. The program ensures that all citizens, even in remote areas, are connected to the internet. They can access services like online banking, administration, and registrations of diverse needs.
What about older generations—do they adapt well to digital services?
Yes, they’re actually exemplary users! We design the user experience to be simple and intuitive. The digital process is much faster than visiting municipal offices, for example, to apply for a building permit.
What is the status of critical infrastructure, such as water and energy digitalization?
Water management is handled by municipalities, while SEV, the national energy supplier, oversees energy distribution. SEV provides citizens with real-time energy supply updates and ensures sustainable grid management.
Water management is becoming a greater focus now, as it was historically overlooked due to the abundance of water in the Faroe Islands. The new EU NIS 2 Directive, which includes water and waste management as critical infrastructure, will drive modernization.
Our incoming mayor, Elsa Berg, is committed to advancing sustainability and will accelerate these efforts.
Smart City Innovations in Tórshavn
1. Remote Heating Systems:
The city has developed a publicly accessible "heat atlas," showing energy sources by colour—green for carbon-free heat, blue and yellow for central heating, and red for oil-based heating. Sensors in the heating infrastructure provide data for energy use models.
2. Smart Lighting:
Motion-sensitive streetlights turn on only when needed, reducing energy consumption.
3. Augmented Reality (AR) in Urban Planning:
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Tórshavn is piloting Microsoft HoloLens to create digital twins of construction sites, like a new National Theatre.
o Citizens can use AR to visualize new buildings’ impact on their surroundings, such as blocked views or reduced sunlight.
o This concept, called Neighbour Hearing, fosters trust by involving residents early in the planning process.
4. Traffic and Parking Management:
Data collection on traffic and parking aims to improve flow and reduce the time spent searching for parking spaces.
Building Trust Through Smart Solutions
“Our goal is to strengthen trust between citizens and the administration by addressing concerns early and transparently,”
Lars explained. By showcasing environmental and social impacts through digital tools, Tórshavn enables more constructive discussions about urban development.
Tórshavn is setting an example in the North Atlantic as a connected, forward-thinking smart city. We wish Lars and his team continued success in their efforts to create a more interactive and sustainable administration!
Come and visit the Faroe Islands with your conference and make sure to contribute to environment or society through knowledge and purposeful events, using the SDGs as orientation. We are happy to help you design your conference legacy – e g by organising visits and meetings with innovators and experts like Lars Larsen Black from the municipality of Tórshavn.
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content design/editing: Johanna Fischer, FrauBlau/tmf dialogue marketing
December 6, 2024
Esther Rasenberg for your information - in combination with the other article about the waste water management plan.