Convenience meets new possibilities of mobility – An outlook for the Westfield Hamburg-Überseequartier: A guest article by Jannick Fischer, Marketing Manager at Floatility

Convenience meets new possibilities of mobility – An outlook for the Westfield Hamburg-Überseequartier: A guest article by Jannick Fischer, Marketing Manager at Floatility 2560 1707 Südliches Überseequartier

What do mobility offers at the push of a button and the Westfield Hamburg Überseequartier have in common? Both provide people with maximum comfort and offer a wealth of possibilities. So it was not too far off to bring these two projects together. The result is a dynamic partnership between Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and e-floater, a local start-up in the e-scooter sharing industry.

In addition to space for living and working with cultural and leisure activities as well as shopping and entertainment concepts, mobility plays a decisive role on the emerging site of the southern Überseequartier. Intelligent systems, which serve as feeder and means of transport for exploring the neighbourhood and surrounding areas, ideally fall back on micro-mobility vehicles. Small, electrified lightweights satisfy the need for mobility over these distances. The e-floater is as future-oriented as the place of application in HafenCity itself.

Liveable city districts – for everyone!

An urban district that wants to improve the quality of life for residents and passers-by actively counteracts dust nuisance from cars in its infrastructure planning. A central element in the implementation of Überseequartier is the subterranean relocation of parking spaces – a novel and ingenious step for a car-reduced quarter. The result is more space for people and individual locomotion on foot or shared mobility offers. Intermodality is the key to a green and at the same time comfortable mobility network. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) also makes use of this insight. This also creates opportunities for residents from the surrounding area who do not have their own car to efficiently develop the district. One of the companies responsible for a corresponding shuttle project is the start-up Wunder Mobility, also based in Hamburg’s HafenCity, in cooperation with other companies. The partnerships reinforce the inclusion of non-authority owners from the Hamburg area.

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Some features of the e-floater solution come tailor-made for the southern Überseequartier. The green and emission-free solution meets the need for an environmentally conscious means of transport in the city centre. The three-wheeled structure of the vehicle enables a unique driving experience, called “float”, which is reminiscent of carving while skiing. The fun of driving is central to the user experience. The three-wheeled vehicle also opens up another, hitherto futuristic theme, which is to be used in the mobility portfolio around the Westfield Hamburg Überseequartier.

Autonomy for individual mobility needs

Autonomous redistribution and “mobility-on-demand” for the e-floater fleet on the Überseequartier campus maximises the options for convenient mobility. The unique system allows vehicles requiring recharging to be driven to inductive charging stations and redistributes the fleet around the campus to ensure high vehicle density where it is needed. Mobility at the touch of a button allows a vehicle to be requested to meet the user’s individual needs. The focus is on a pedestrian-friendly quarter that anticipates demand situations and ensures seamless integration into the experience at Westfield Hamburg Überseequartier.

The development of these possibilities is directly linked to ITS2021 in Hamburg. E-floater is currently planning a series of show tracks in the course of the congress to be held in October 2021. The topic of new possibilities in the field of mobility will benefit both projects and Überseequartier and will also play a key role in the city’s overall urban perspective.

The partnership promises exciting and unique implementations for the opening of Überseequartier in the heart of Hamburg’s HafenCity. The multifunctional quarter is a place of application for new and progressive technologies that are fun and simplify life. A big step towards presenting innovation Made In Hamburg.

We are all delighted about this enrichment of the neighbourhood and are proud to work with Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield in Hamburg.