CUTLER · Project

Big Data Platform Helping Cities Make Smarter Decisions About Waterfront Development

environmentPilotedTRL 7

cutler-h2020.eu

Imagine a city council trying to decide what to do with its waterfront — build more shops, protect a wetland, or add a park. Right now, most of those decisions are based on gut feeling. CUTLER built a data dashboard that pulls in sensor readings, economic data, social media sentiment, and environmental measurements, then shows decision-makers the actual trade-offs. It was tested in four real cities — Thessaloniki, Antalya, Antwerp, and Cork — each dealing with different waterfront challenges.

By the numbers

European cities where the platform was piloted

consortium partners involved in development

countries represented in the consortium

total project deliverables produced

EUR 5,080,125

total EU funding for the project

The business problem

What needed solving

Cities with waterfront areas constantly face tough decisions: how to balance economic growth along rivers, bays, and coasts with environmental protection and community needs. Most of these decisions are still made on intuition and political pressure rather than hard evidence. The result is costly policy mistakes — overdevelopment that degrades ecosystems, or overcautious restrictions that stall economic growth.

The solution

What was built

CUTLER built an integrated big data platform with a multi-faceted dashboard that combines economic, environmental, and social analytics into a single decision-support tool for city planners. Concrete outputs include: visualization widgets for environmental, economic, and social data; an IoT-connected reference architecture; a GDPR-compliant data collection and management layer; and a complete platform tested across 4 pilot cities — with all components going through two refinement cycles based on real user feedback.

Audience

Who needs this

Municipal planning departments managing waterfront or flood-prone areasEnvironmental consulting firms advising cities on climate resilienceGovTech companies building decision-support products for public sectorWater management authorities responsible for urban water infrastructureUrban development agencies balancing growth with environmental compliance

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Urban Planning & Smart Cities

enterprise

Target: Municipal governments and urban planning consultancies managing waterfront or flood-prone areas

If you are a city planning department dealing with competing demands for waterfront zones — economic development vs. environmental protection vs. social needs — CUTLER developed an integrated platform with visualization dashboards tested across 4 European cities. It pulls sensor data, economic indicators, and social signals into one view so planners can see trade-offs before committing to a policy, not after.

Environmental Consulting

mid-size

Target: Environmental consulting firms advising on coastal resilience and water management

If you are an environmental consultancy helping cities prepare for climate risks along waterways — CUTLER built optimized methodologies and visualization widgets for assessing environmental impact from real-time sensor data. The tools were refined through pilot deployments in 4 cities across 7 countries, covering storm water planning, bay development, and river corridor management.

GovTech & Civic Technology

SME

Target: Software companies building decision-support tools for public sector clients

If you are a GovTech company looking to expand your product with evidence-based policy tools — CUTLER's open platform integrates big data analytics, IoT sensor interfaces, and multi-faceted dashboards into a single architecture. With 36 deliverables including optimized data collection and visualization components, it offers a ready foundation to build commercial decision-support products for municipalities.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to implement this platform in our city or organization?

The full project received EUR 5,080,125 in EU funding across 17 partners over 3 years. Individual implementation costs would depend on city size and data infrastructure. The platform was designed as modular — cities can adopt specific components (environmental, economic, or social dashboards) rather than the full system.

Has this been tested at a real-world scale, not just in a lab?

Yes. CUTLER was piloted in 4 cities: Thessaloniki (bay development), Antalya (brook-to-park transformation), Antwerp (storm water planning), and Cork (country development plan review). Each pilot went through two phases, with tools optimized after initial feedback. This is real municipal-scale deployment, not a lab demo.

What about IP and licensing — can we use or build on this technology?

CUTLER was funded as a Research and Innovation Action (RIA) under Horizon 2020. The consortium of 17 partners across 7 countries holds the IP. Licensing terms would need to be negotiated with the coordinator (ETHNIKO KENTRO EREVNAS KAI TECHNOLOGIKIS ANAPTYXIS in Greece). Contact SciTransfer for an introduction.

Does this comply with data protection regulations like GDPR?

The project explicitly included a data collection, management and protection component integrated within the architecture, refined across two development phases. Given the project handled demographic data, sensor readings, and user-contributed content across EU cities, GDPR compliance was a core design requirement.

How long would it take to deploy this in our context?

The full project ran from January 2018 to December 2020. However, since the platform and tools are already developed and optimized through pilot feedback, deployment in a new city would primarily involve integrating local data sources and configuring dashboards — significantly shorter than the original development timeline.

Can this integrate with our existing city data systems and IoT sensors?

Yes. The architecture was specifically designed with IoT interfaces and went through an optimization cycle. Deliverables include an optimized reference architecture with updated IoT interfaces, meaning the platform was built to connect with existing sensor infrastructure rather than requiring proprietary hardware.

What kind of ongoing support or expertise is needed to run this?

The consortium includes 5 universities and 3 research organizations providing deep technical expertise, plus 4 industry partners experienced in deployment. The visualization widgets were designed for decision-makers, not data scientists, reducing the need for specialized staff to interpret outputs.

Consortium

Who built it

The CUTLER consortium brings together 17 partners from 7 countries (Belgium, Germany, Greece, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Turkey), with a balanced mix of 5 universities, 3 research centers, 4 industry partners, and 5 other organizations. The 24% industry ratio and 4 SMEs suggest the project was primarily research-driven but included real-world implementers. Notably, the 4 pilot cities span different geographies and governance models — from Mediterranean to Northern European — which strengthens the platform's adaptability claims. The coordinator is a Greek national research center (CERTH), one of Europe's largest research institutions, lending credibility to the technical outputs.

ETHNIKO KENTRO EREVNAS KAI TECHNOLOGIKIS ANAPTYXISCoordinator · EL
STAD ANTWERPENparticipant · BE
OULUN YLIOPISTOparticipant · FI
INTERUNIVERSITAIR MICRO-ELECTRONICA CENTRUMparticipant · BE
DIMOKRITIO PANEPISTIMIO THRAKISparticipant · EL
Sampas Bilisim Ve Iletisim Sistemleri Sanayi Ve Ticaret A.S.participant · TR
DRAXIS ENVIRONMENTAL SAparticipant · EL
DIMOS THESSALONIKISparticipant · EL
ANTALYA METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITYparticipant · TR
EMC INFORMATION SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL UNLIMITED COMPANYparticipant · IE
UNIVERSITY OF STUTTGARTparticipant · DE
UNIVERSITAT KOBLENZparticipant · DE
KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVENparticipant · BE
AUTORITA' DI BACINO DISTRETTUALE DELLE ALPI ORIENTALIparticipant · IT

How to reach the team

The coordinator is ETHNIKO KENTRO EREVNAS KAI TECHNOLOGIKIS ANAPTYXIS (CERTH) in Greece. SciTransfer can facilitate a direct introduction to the project team.

Order a report on this consortium See ETHNIKO KENTRO EREVNAS KAI TECHNOLOGIKIS ANAPTYXIS profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how CUTLER's urban decision platform could work for your city or product? Contact SciTransfer for a tailored briefing and introduction to the research team.

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