If a soccer field is covered with a thick layer of snow, it’s better to close it for use or remove the snow; otherwise the field gets broken and repairing costs a lot of public money. But how can the city administration know exactly when the time has come to close a field, or to remove the snow? The Swedish City of Växjö found a smart yet simple solution: put a sensor in the soccer pitch, that sends a signal to the responsible city department when the snow cover reaches a certain thickness; and then, just close the field. It sounds straightforward, but to make such approaches work, cities must put in place new types of organisational routines, systems and infrastructures.

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