If the notion of sustainable city is beginning to spread to the four corners of the globe, it is because it allows us to respond to the energy and environmental challenges of our era. In the face of climate change and ever-increasing urban overpopulation, smart cities and their innovative infrastructures offer multiple advantages.
The smart city is convincing urban planning professionals, whose architectural engineering initiatives aim to promote biodiversity and sustainability within metropolises. In addition, they tend to curb air pollution and electricity waste, and offer a pleasant, green environment.
Energy consumption, a challenge for a sustainable city development
At the crossroads of ecological and digital transitions, the smart city has very specific specifications, which allow it to manage, in a limited territory, mobility, housing, commercial, leisure, education and health activities of the inhabitants, while respecting the ecosystem and taking into account ecological constraints.
If sensors collect, inform and transfer data related to the energy consumption of homes and businesses, we must also all behave as actors directly involved in the life of the smart city.
By combining technical and human resources, it proves to be :
- efficient, thanks to the prowess of new technologies;
- economic, as smart distribution networks control the availability and potability of water;
- secure, with 24-hour connected surveillance cameras;
- by reducing the carbon footprint of the digital and transportation sectors;
- resilient as a result of taking concrete action against the overexploitation of natural resources.
What does energy management look like in a sustainable smart city?
To truly define what a smart city is, interoperability and innovation are essential keywords. It is, in fact, the advances in advanced technologies that are transforming the city into an intelligent city where artificial intelligence holds a place of honor. There is no shortage of examples of how IoT systems are used:
- Sensor-equipped garbage cans optimize the movements of waste collection trucks;
- Mobile applications make transportation more accessible, which helps to improve traffic flow;
- Smart grids adjust the distribution on electricity networks according to the needs of users, by installing smart meters in all buildings;
- Open data platforms automatically process the information, in order to know the needs for indoor and outdoor lighting;
- Leak detection devices in pipes and water contamination promote the creation of eco-districts and green spaces.