The primary objective of the Traffic Flow Data Space project was to support urban mobility by creating a data space in accordance with the European Union model, its technical implementation and governance model. The objective was to have the data space integrate data sources from various sectors, including transport, environment and construction data.
Objective
The Traffic Flow Data Space (TFDS) project introduced a pilot app in Helsinki with the intention of utilising data space to update the status of roadworks affecting the traffic in Helsinki. The pilot utilised a data space model created and tested in Amsterdam.
The impacts of data space and the pilot based on it include:
- Reducing traffic congestion
- Reducing transport emissions
- Improving urban air quality
- Promoting more sustainable city planning
- Improving interoperability between individual countries, national actors and divisions within organisations
- Improving the efficiency of data utilisation in decision-making
- Developing open data services and applications
Duration, partners, funding and budget
- Project duration: 1 November 2024 – 30 April 2026.
- Partners: Porto Digital (coordinator), City of Helsinki, City of Amsterdam, NDW (National Road Traffic Data Portal)
- Funding: The project’s funding came from the Digital Europe Programme (DEP). The total budget of the project was
€1,895,679.84, of which 50% is external funding. Forum Virium Helsinki’s share of the funding was €513,511.
The role of Forum Virium Helsinki
Forum Virium Helsinki was a subcontractor to the City of Helsinki in the project. The role of Forum Virium was to build the technical execution and compile the data space governance model in cooperation with the City of Helsinki and stakeholders. Forum Virium Helsinki also supported the City of Helsinki in project management and took part in impact assessment and planning the utilisation of the outcomes.
Benefits for Helsinki
The TFDS project produced tools to support traffic management. The aim was to use real-time data from traffic flows to update information on roadworks affecting the traffic. This also improved the data sources used by commercial navigation services.
Up to date information on the status of the road network improves the flow of urban traffic. This, in turn, helps in traffic planning, reduces emissions, and improves air quality. Therefore, the project also supported the objectives of sustainable mobility and resident well-being in Helsinki.
In addition, the project provided valuable experience in collaboration between different stakeholders within organisations, nationally and internationally, creating a foundation for future innovation activities and development projects. The results of the project are open and transferable to other cities.
Sustainability
The project complied with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union and legislation in collection, sharing and use of the data. The real-time location data of vehicles (Floating Car Data, FCD) was aggregated and anonymised for the purposes of the project.
The project ensured that data protection principles were complied within the collection and processing of data. In addition, the Do No Significant Harm (DNSH) principle was followed, which ensures that the project did not cause significant harm to the environment. The project aimed at transparent activities and sharing of results with stakeholders.
Further information about the project
The pilots were funded from a major Data Space for Smart Communities (DS4SSCC) project to develop European data space.
The pilots also followed the Minimum Interoperability Mechanisms (MIMs) standards and technical specifications created to promote interoperability between different digital systems to communicate and share data effectively in Europe.
Image: Jussi Hellsten, City of Helsinki