A Dynamic Route Planning Prototype for Cognitive Cities

A software prototype for dynamic route planning in the travel industry for cognitive cities is presented in this paper. In contrast to existing tools, the prototype enhances the travel experience (i.e., sightseeing) by allowing additional flexibility to the user. The theoretical background of the paper strengthens the understanding of the introduced concepts (e.g., cognitive cities, fuzzy logic, graph databases) to comprehend the presented prototype. The prototype applies an instantiation and enhancement of the graph database Neo4j . For didactical reasons and to strengthen the understanding of this prototype a scenario, applied to route planning in the city of Bern (Switzerland) is shown in the paper.

Bern's positioning strategies: Escaping the fate of a secondary capital city?

Bern is a classic example of a so-called secondary capital city, which is defined as a capital city that is not the primary economic center of its nation. Such capital cities feature a specific political economy characterized by a strong government presence in its regional economy and its local governance arrangements. Bern has been losing importance in the Swiss urban system over the past decades due to a stagnating economy, population decline and missed opportunities for regional cooperation. To re-position itself in the Swiss urban hierarchy, political leaders and policymakers established a non-profit organization called “Capital Region Switzerland” in 2010 arguing that a capital city should not be measured by economic success only, but by its function as a political center where political decisions are negotiated and implemented. This city profile analyses Bern's strategy and discusses its ambitions and limitations in the context of the city's history, socio-economic and political conditions. We conclude that Bern's positioning strategy has so far been a political success, yet that there are severe limitations regarding advancing economic development. As a result, this re-positioning strategy is not able to address the fundamental economic development challenges that Bern faces as a secondary capital city.