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I don’t believe there’s a challenge anywhere in the world that’s more important to people everywhere than finding solutions to the problems of our cities,” Walter Disney said in a 1966
promo film introducing what would become Disney World.
We can’t agree more, especially considering the rapid acceleration of urbanization which brings an enormous impact on biodiversity and on climate change.
Let’s look at the numbers:
The United Nations
has estimated that by 2050 more than 70% of the world’s population will live in cities. On top of that, the
ecological footprint of the cities contributes significantly to climate change, as they consume two-thirds of the world’s energy and produce approximately 70% of the greenhouse gas emissions. That makes searches for solutions for building
sustainable cities even more pressing than it is now.
From Zurich to London to Sydney,
many cities around the world have already redesigned their
city planning strategies to address the urbanization issues. Smart cities bring us in a totally new era of technology and advancements in how we design and build more sustainable cities.
Smart cities have been tried before with varying levels of success. Early adopters were the European cities of Barcelona and Amsterdam, with Copenhagen, Dubai, Singapore, Hamburg, and Nice, France quickly following suit. In the US, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Miami, Denver, Boston, and Atlanta are among the cities adding smart city technologies and pilot programs.