Smart cities and climate change

The verbs “mitigate” and “adapt” have become the watchwords of the states involved in the international climate summit. If environmental issues are a concern, solutions exist. By combining the strengths of ever-evolving technologies with the creation of infrastructure, which is also born of innovation, we can make cities smart and generate significant energy savings.

The smart city is therefore expected to optimize the concepts of urbanization on its territory, to limit all types of pollution and waste.

How does climate change impact cities?

Rising sea levels, repeated forest fires, acid rain, sulfur dioxide produced by industry, CO2 concentration in the air… the list of environmental issues is long and alarming. Although the smart city has its advantages and limitations, it deserves to be developed, if only to curb the phenomenon of urban pollution.

smart city climate change

Geographers are formal. Without a profound and rapid revolution in our lifestyles, the quality of our air, water and soil will only worsen, until it becomes toxic. That is why we need to rethink our uses of natural resources, at the city level, by :

  • rationalizing electricity and fuel consumption in homes and businesses;
  • improving waste recycling;
  • recovering solar energy, for the operation of devices self-powered by Wifi;
  • temporarily suspending industrial activities before any pollution peak.

How can the smart city deal with climate change?

As more than half of the world’s population resides in cities, and this trend is intensifying year after year, the notions of smart cities and IoT (Internet of Things) are seen as solutions for a sustainable protection of the “living world”.

In an attempt to mitigate the climatic impacts on the daily life of their population, the authorities are turning to initiatives to transform the cities, with :

  • fully automated buildings secured by connected systems;
  • public transport connected to the high-speed Internet network, to facilitate intra-city mobility;
  • Intelligent sensors, which detect particle emissions in real time, making it possible to decide immediately on the implementation of alternating traffic;
  • inhabitants who intervene directly with the main actors of the project, whether they are from the public or private domain.

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