Initial steps towards creating smart cities

Source : Business Times – 11 Nov 2009

AS world leaders prepare for the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen next month, it’s an appropriate time to assess what cities around the world are doing to reduce their carbon emissions.

Cities everywhere are preparing for a more sustainable future by optimising their infrastructure, their man-made and natural systems to minimise environmental impact and improve the quality of life. Lessons learnt in one locale may be of help to a different municipality in another part of the world. The first steps towards creating smart cities are being taken today.

# Singapore, Brisbane and Stockholm are all working to reduce both traffic congestion and air pollution through intelligent transport solutions, including predictive tools routing vehicles to avoid areas of traffic congestion.

# Rotterdam will adopt a monitoring and forecasting system for the management of water and energy to create the first ‘Smart Delta City’: A city that uses real-time information to manage infrastructure and operations related to the effects of climate change in a complex natural water system.

# In New York, almost 80 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions come from heating, cooling and providing electricity to buildings, which is more than double the US average. New York wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from city-owned buildings by 30 per cent within the next eight years and by 30 per cent from all buildings by 2030.

# China is spending the equivalent of billions of dollars to introduce high-speed trains and add over 40,000km of track to its rail network between now and 2020. Its goal is to create a transportation system to move people and goods and fuel economic development without increasing car or truck traffic. China expects to have more high-speed passenger rail than the rest of the world combined in the next five years.

Sustainable city development projects are cropping up across Asia, particularly in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, China and India. These address areas ranging from energy consumption and renewable energy production to environmentally friendly buildings, sustainable transportation systems, waste recycling and water management.

Sustainable Cities 2009 is a premier event within the Singapore Energy Week taking place this month. International authorities, developers, architects and urban planners will gather to discuss key issues and trends, regional legislation and policies, investment opportunities, green technological discoveries and solutions associated with developing the sustainable cities of the future.

Sustainable Cities will showcase several existing and future projects, such as the Mata de Sesimbra in Portugal, the City of Edmonton in Canada, the Tianjin Eco-City and the Dongtan Eco-City in China, the BedZED in London, the Waitakere Ecocity in New Zealand, the Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, and more.