I visited the Netherlands city of Eindhoven last week during a smart city study tour I am undertaking with Lake Macquarie City Council’s Deputy Mayor, Cr Luke Cubis, and Deputy CEO, Tony Farrell.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
You may not be too familiar with Eindhoven, other than perhaps knowing of its famous football team, but it is an interesting city with a wonderful story of resilience and reinvention that has resonance for Lake Macquarie and other cities facing the challenges and opportunities of transitioning economies.
Eindhoven (pictured) is the birthplace of the Philips Corporation, which started as a four-person business over a century ago and today still employs more than 10,000 people in this one city.
Yet, in the 1990s, things were looking grim when Philips began sending its manufacturing offshore and downsizing its workforce, along with the city’s other big employer, DAF Trucks. Eindhoven lost tens of thousands of jobs, a devastating blow for a regional city.
However, through a sustained recovery plan enacted by the Council, business leaders and educational institutions, Eindhoven has transformed itself into a high-tech hub for knowledge and new-generation industries.
It is now famous for its Brainport region, a centre of invention and innovation focused on the design and development of new products and services. More than 1400 patents were registered there in 2015 alone.
The city continues to evolve – it is now planning the development of a small community purpose-built for testing smart city technologies – and is a great example of what can be achieved through an entrepreneurial and collaborative approach between government, business and knowledge-based institutions.
Eindhoven is just one of a number of thought-provoking places we have visited so far on this tour— including Singapore, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Malmo – and I look forward to sharing our learnings from this and other cities with fellow Councillors and staff on our return.
This week, I am enjoying a diversion to the International Children’s Games, in Jerusalem, where I will spend several days cheering on Team Lake Mac, our team of 11 young swimmers, track and field athletes and tennis players.
The Games continue until August 3 and I hope to bring you news of our team’s fortunes next week.
