Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TownHall24 (A 24/7 platform providing access to services for isolated communities and reduced mobility residents)

Teaser

Cities across Europe have been experiencing the emergence of new residential areas further away from the urban centres. These offer better facilities for families in the form of larger, cleaner and greener living areas. However, the downside of this urban sprawl includes...

Summary

Cities across Europe have been experiencing the emergence of new residential areas further away from the urban centres. These offer better facilities for families in the form of larger, cleaner and greener living areas. However, the downside of this urban sprawl includes increased traffic congestion, social isolation, and lack of services and businesses in the new areas.

The lack of efficient and easy transportation and logistics in these areas mean that consumers cannot access or afford their preferred services. This mainly affects about 25% of EU’s population with limited mobility, especially the elderly and young people without driver’s licenses and/or cars. For the more mobile consumers, the total annual cost of car usage to access stores and services in Finland alone is estimated at €3.5 Billion. Extrapolated to the entire EU, this amounts to over €300 Billion.

The overall objective of the TownHall24 project is to provide physical spaces, placed in the heart of local communities that is combined with a digital service platform, to connect people to physical and digital services that are currently not readily available to them locally.

Work performed

We undertook a technical feasibility study to define and prioritise the technical features and specifications of TownHall24. Additionally, we carried out a technical risk analysis and drew up mitigation measures.

We also carried out a comprehensive market study which included investigating the regulatory environments in order to determine the market needs, as well as the most promising markets. We also performed an intellectual property rights analysis and found no infringements.

We established the investment requirements to commercialise the solution, and made 5 year financial projections for the TownHall24 project. Based on these results, we concluded that the TownHall24 project is technically and commercially viable and prepared a comprehensive business plan for the commercialisation of TownHall24.

Final results

The novelty of our solution is the combining of three complementary elements into one integrated platform:
a) Automated delivery/pick-up points
b) Sharing economy hub
c) Self-service space rental

This will attract a significant user base while retaining a low-cost structure of services within walking distance. TownHall24 will enable cost effective access to consumer services that require a hyper-local presence in suburban areas, and will spur the growth of local sharing economy entrepreneurs.

Website & more info

More info: http://townhall24.com.