The Municipality of Heraklion is one of the eight partners in URBACT’s project “Remote-IT”. Remote-IT network tackles the new challenges cities are experiencing connected to the future of work.
During the current project’s phase, all partners design and implement small-scale actions (testing actions) aimed at making Heraklion a friendlier city for digital nomads. Depending on the results and lessons learned from the test actions, each city partner can opt to include the action in the Integrated Action Plan.
After many proposals and consultations, the Municipality of Heraklion decided to create a dedicated website for digital nomads, as well as to acquire a soundproof working booth to transform an existing municipality infrastructure into a more digital nomad’s friendly working space.
Specifically, during the 4th meeting of the Heraklion’s Urbact Local Group, all relative stakeholders participated in a brainstorming session to propose ideas for short and long-term actions. More than 30 different actions were proposed, with the following being the most prominent:
- A dedicated website for digital nomads (including SEO)
- A physical info point and services for remote workers (also in Greek)
- The creation of mini working spaces
- The development of promo material (social media and videos)
- A database for working spaces & houses
- The Internet network mapping of the city
- A training program for local businesses and citizens
- Several marketing campaigns in global digital nomads’ portals
In order to be prioritized, all the proposed ideas were mapped on an effort-impact grid. In the next phase, the participating institutions, taking into account the limited budget and the tight schedule of the Remote-IT project, discussed which of the above could be implemented as testing actions. Through a voting process, the actions with the best effort-to-cost ratio were chosen: the website for digital nomads and a small working station (working space).
Dedicate Website for Digital Nomads
The purpose of this website is firstly to provide interested digital nomads with the necessary and reliable information about the Heraklion area and secondly to present the advantages of the city, making it attractive for digital nomads.
During discussions for the design of the digital nomads’ website, several proposals were made by the local ULG regarding both the visual aspect (user-friendly) and the type of information it should include. The goal is for visitors to easily access information on accommodation, working spaces, healthcare, and transportation. Additionally, there will certainly be information about events organized by the Municipality of Heraklion in the social, athletic, and cultural sectors to meet the nomads’ need for social interaction. Additionally, through the website, digital nomads can quickly and easily register, allowing Heraklion to have a more official and reliable source of information for those coming to work and stay for a while. This registration will help identify additional needs and improve the services provided. Technically, the website will be hosted under the domain of the Municipality of Heraklion and it will be created according to the modern web design.
The impact of this testing action will be measured mainly using as an indicator the number of people (digital nomads) visiting and interacting with the website, but also other web traffic statistics.
A digital nomad’s friendly working space in Heraklion’s municipality infrastructure
This testing action aims to transform existing municipal infrastructure into a more remotefriendly workplace for digital nomads. The municipal infrastructure will be enhanced with a modern soundproofed workstation allowing visitors to make distraction-free calls and conference calls with their remote partners.
The working space should be located in the center of Heraklion city, in order to be accessible to many remote workers and digital nomads. After the examination of a couple of alternatives, the municipality of Heraklion chose Heraklion’s Youth Center (a cultural hub and art café), which is near the Town Hall. The installation of a soundproof booth makes this beautiful municipal café a more suitable place for digital nomads who want to spend some time in the city center but also have the opportunity to work remotely.
The Heraklion Youth Centre as a space friendly to remote workers can be a showcase for café and restaurant entrepreneurs in Heraklion. Thus this pilot action allows the Municipality of Heraklion to support, within the Remote-IT project, another innovative action: the initial tracking of café and entertainment venues by providing a sticker indicating the remoteworkers-friendly cafes in the city.
The impact of this testing action will be measured by recording the use of the soundproof booth, with the main indicator being the number of people (digital nomads, and remote workers) using this booth.
Testing actions face several challenges such as bureaucracy to obtain equipment/services, ongoing collaboration with other stakeholders, proper documentation of the effectiveness of actions, etc. Nevertheless, the success of these actions will strengthen Heraklion’s perspective towards digital nomads and provide valuable input for the completion of the Integrated Action Plan.
The Program is implemented by the Planning Directorate of the Municipality of Heraklion with its competent Department of European Programs.
