Masterarbeit, Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg, 2023

This master thesis builds upon the project idea ”Raum- und Materiallotse” which is part of Bamberg’s Smart City strategy, and makes suggestions for its implementation. It was investigated which stakeholders are interested in using a Smart Community Event Planning Platform like ”Raum- und Materiallotse” and requirements from the perspective of the expected users were identified via interviews. This project was worked on with Chaudry Hamza Tariq, who was particularly involved in developing a prototype (Smart Events Web Application) based on the user stories distilled from the interviews and proposing a solution to enable access to community-shared rooms through smart locks. Each individual’s contributions to the research are highlighted in the respective chapters.

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the Smart Events web app and explores its development and implementation’s technical and practical aspects. It also investigates the potential limitations and challenges of developing a secure access system, including user privacy, security, and scalability issues. Additionally, this master thesis examines how a space search and event planning platform can support the development of Smart Community and makes specific recommendations for its implementation in Bamberg.

By exploring the requirements and limitations of such a platform, this thesis contributes to the broader field of access control and secure storage, demonstrating how smart locks and other technologies can be applied to community-based spaces and events and highlighting this approach’s potential benefits and challenges. Furthermore, the research conducted in this master thesis contributes to the ongoing exploration of practices to improve the participation of citizens and non-governmental institutions in Smart Cities and to build sustainable Smart Communities, where individuals, organisations and governing agencies work in partnership to realise a common goal.