Navigating Towards a Seamless City: Utilising Data Spaces in Public-Private Co-operation

Blog text by Olli-Pekka Mattila and Toni Lusikka

The cityscape is a patchwork of roadworks and footbridges over trenches. My sat-nav failed to spot the works ahead, where excavations began in the early hours to renew the surface water drainage system. Now, I’m forced to take a detour to reach the national football team’s crucial World Cup qualifier. The new route bypasses the local bistro where I’d booked a table for a quick bite before the match. Instead, my taxi is whisking me off in the opposite direction. Some fans heading to the ground on foot are nipping through gaps in the site hoarding to save time. I wonder if I’ll manage to eat at all before kick-off?

A scenario like the one above is a very real possibility in the complex machinery of a city, where a diverse range of operators, from small businesses to major authorities, function within the same, often cramped, urban space. Real-time information exchange between these parties would be a game-changer for sharing urban space and scheduling activities more effectively. A core objective for cities, in their bid to make life easier for residents and businesses, is to keep traffic flowing smoothly during infrastructure projects and major events.

Data spaces are a relatively fresh concept in digital information exchange. They aim to create a trustworthy environment for sharing data across organisations of all sizes and digital maturity levels. Within these spaces, data providers and users can be verified and usage can be properly licensed. Data spaces also seek to harmonise data transfer, making it much simpler to pull in information from a variety of sources.

While still in the development phase, both regarding governance and the nuts and bolts of the technology, it would be immensely valuable to work together at a national level to promote interoperability between public and private actors. This is particularly vital in cases where data cannot be shared openly and must remain restricted to authorised, trusted parties.

A Step Towards a Common Future – Transport Data Space Projects

To take that first step towards collaborative development, Forum Virium Helsinki and VTT brought together several data space projects in early February to review current pilots of the technology. The common thread was transport data, which is essential for individuals, public institutions, and businesses alike. This data is already relatively well-organised and accessible.

Alongside the organisers, representatives from the City of Helsinki, the traffic management company Fintraffic, the City of Tampere, and Business Tampere were in attendance. Participants represented the deployEMDS, Traffic Flow Data Space (TFDS), SmartRail#3, and Digital Twins as Common Good (DTaCoGo) projects.

DeployEMDS is developing a prototype for a Common European Mobility Data Space (EMDS), supporting the growth of a pan-European data ecosystem. The TFDS project is building a pilot for Helsinki to test the DS4SSCC (European Data Space for Smart Communities) model, combining environmental and traffic data. SmartRail#3 is focused on a cross-sectoral urban data space to support traffic management and digital services for travellers.

Finally, DTaCoGo is another DS4SSCC pilot (like TFDS), focusing on using digital twins for climate change adaptation and cutting carbon emissions from transport.

Despite the variety of these projects, bringing the organisations together revealed a shared ultimate goal: to break down the silos between administration and industry so that information flows seamlessly. This has significant economic potential; as data sharing becomes the norm and data quality improves, it is expected to unlock a wealth of new business opportunities.

Data Space as an Infrastructure of Trust – Lessons from the Netherlands

Sharing data is not without its hurdles. Public-facing data gateways can create security vulnerabilities or lead to leaks. Navigating European data regulations provides a framework for sharing, but it also carries heavy obligations; getting it wrong can result in substantial fines. There is also the fear that handing over data could mean losing a competitive edge or risking reputational damage if the information is misused.

While the list of risks is long, uncertainty is an inherent part of building anything new. Identifying these threats is a crucial part of the process. A data space acts as a “trust-builder” for data movement, ensuring data remains accessible while making its traceability and usage far easier to manage.

The Netherlands is a European trailblazer in digitalising societal functions. Their compact society demands flexibility and co-operation from everyone involved. This extends to the sharing of information and expertise. It’s worth noting that sharing doesn’t have to be altruistic; co-operation can be based on exchange or payment. Public bodies can, if they wish, take the lead in facilitating this marketplace.

Years ago, the Dutch established the Intelligent Data Exchange Alliance (IDEA) for transport data. At its heart is the Nationaal Dataportaal Wegverkeer (NDW), the national agency for traffic data. This ecosystem serves as a central hub for data and the services derived from it. Crucially, the data isn’t locked away for public use only; through formal agreements, it’s shared with sat-nav providers to help smooth out traffic both within and between cities.

Amsterdam is also home to the Amsterdam Data Exchange (AMdEX), a neutral, not-for-profit infrastructure for secure data exchange. AMdEX allows data owners to share their information while retaining full control. The infrastructure is overseen by its founding members, the University of Amsterdam, the internet exchange point AMS-IX, the research IT co-operative SURF, and the Amsterdam Economic Board. Responsibilities for maintenance are shared, with some elements outsourced.

Any organisation, from a tech startup to a research institute, is welcome, provided they stick to the common rules and technical standards. This model has already enabled the use of sensitive data for research and helped optimise building maintenance.

Trust isn’t built on contracts alone; it requires the technical certainty that data will only be used for its intended purpose. Amsterdam has shown that when companies trust that their data is handled securely, they are more willing to share business-critical information, which ultimately makes the whole city run better.

The key takeaway from these examples is the courage to experiment with new models. For the benefits to be realised, access to data must be straightforward. This requires technical interoperability, an area where there is still plenty of work to be done.

The Hurdle of Unfinished Technical Standards

To achieve the European vision of a data economy, where the market isn’t dominated by a handful of giants, we need software that allows public and private data to be utilised without being centralised under one roof. The goal is to make use of decentralised sources and services.

Furthermore, shifting global dynamics mean we now need tighter control over who accesses data that might have previously been open. It’s a tall order, but the technical solution is more a matter of will and co-operation than a lack of expertise. Currently, the European landscape features a mix of commercial, semi-commercial, and EU-backed open-source software.

While different implementations are necessary, they must be able to “talk” to one another using standardised protocols. Think of how the internet works; it thrives on universal standards. Groups like the International Data Spaces Association (IDSA) and the European Commission are pushing for this, but the final standards are still a few years away. We shouldn’t wait around for them to be finished.

One aim of our workshop was to find common ground between the technical setups of various projects. Even though many of them share the same software heritage, slight differences have crept in over just a few years of independent development. These discrepancies in how participants are identified and verified make interoperability difficult.
We looked into trialling data exchanges between the projects, but current resources and these incompatibilities made it unfeasible.

However, we shouldn’t be disheartened. We need to build a common way of working through small, incremental steps and experiments to avoid wasting resources on “one-off” solutions. In many ways, aligning the needs and motivations of different people is a bigger challenge than the technology itself.

The Multi-Actor Urban Environment: A Case Study

Even if a direct technical trial wasn’t possible just yet, it’s useful to “stress-test” the theory. Fintraffic suggested creating a reference architecture based on a real-world use case. This would demonstrate the value of data spaces in scenarios involving multiple parties, restricted access, and the need for formal agreements.

A practical example would help answer several key questions: Who provides the data and who receives it? Who maintains the middle-man services? What agreements are needed? Why would someone want to join? What kind of data is being moved? What business models could support this? The goal isn’t to pick a specific technology but to provide enough concrete detail to make the simulation real, ensuring the stakeholders are fully engaged in the architectural design.

Discussions with Tampere and Helsinki suggest that the “multi-actor puzzle” of a city is the perfect testing ground. Large cities are in a constant state of flux, with infrastructure projects popping up everywhere. Construction firms and service providers are constantly active.

Add to this the surge of people brought in by concerts, conferences, and sporting events, and you have a massive logistical challenge. Accurate, trusted data exchange could help align the timing of roadworks with events and support local businesses. For the public, this translates to a city that simply works better.

Back to the Match

Would a dedicated urban data space, enriched with both public and private sector info, have helped coordinate those roadworks with the football match? Could it have rerouted that taxi or guided those fans along a better path? Quite possibly. But the prerequisite would have been a collaborative process where everyone was committed to both the collective and their own goals.

The Data Spaces Alliance Finland, now nearly two years old, has been successful in bringing the right people together. It’s an excellent forum for establishing the ground rules for co-operation. We are now looking for private and public partners who need efficient data exchange in the urban environment to join us in defining this new reference architecture.

Would you like to help define this architecture through a practical use case? Is there a particular urban “bottleneck” you think a data space could clear? How do you think we should be driving co-operation in city development? If you have examples of data sharing that’s currently “stuck” for want of a reliable environment, we want to hear from you.

Blog writers:

Olli-Pekka Mattila
Project Manager
Forum Virium Helsinki
olli-pekka.mattila@forumvirium.fi
+358 40 542 6006

Toni Lusikka
Senior Scientist
VTT
toni.lusikka@vtt.fi
+358 40 636 1098

Sources:
EC, 2026. “The European Data Market study 2024-2026”. CNECT/LUX/2023/OP/0043. (https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/dae/redirection/document/122218, 24.3.2026)

The original blog post in Finnish: https://www.dataspacesalliance.fi/suunnistus-sujuvaan-kaupunkiin-data-avaruuksien-hyodyntaminen-julkisen-ja-yksityisen-sektorin-yhteistyossa/ 

Main article photo: CC BY 4.0 (Vyhtinen Pekka, 2022)