Currently, cities are home to 50% of the world’s population and generate 70% of greenhouse gas emissions. This overpopulation results in a depletion of natural resources and a strong impact on the environment that must be stopped imminently.
In 2050 it is expected that 80% of the planet’s inhabitants will live in cities. Therefore, it is crucial to change the current development of cities, improving energy and resource efficiency, with the aim of reducing the impact of the environmental footprint and guaranteeing the supply of raw materials.
Cities such as New York, Paris or London have already opted to implement the use of new technologies to manage their resources efficiently, with the aim of building sustainable and habitable cities.
This path towards the cities of the future is associated with the transformation of the current building stock and the implementation of systems that optimize the management and control of cities. In this article we tell you how new technologies allow to achieve a sustainable and efficient environment.
Smart City, the answer to build sustainable cities
With the emergence and evolution of technologies such as Big Data, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence, cities have Smart City solutions: operations platforms that guarantee improved results when it comes to optimizing energy resources, as well as a tangible impact on the quality of life of citizens.
The control of urban mobility, such as traffic or tourist saturation, even fire detection systems, video surveillance or air conditioning, are some of the examples of this technology in cities, but it also serves to offer quality citizen attention, where the digital gap is reduced and communication between the different parties is democratized.
Some examples of Smart City projects are:
- In London, a sustainable development plan has been working since 2017 on the construction, waste management and energy of the city.
- The first Smart Hospital has been built in Singapore, where all areas are digitally connected and resource optimization software is used.
- In Amsterdam, an automated system for the use of bicycles has been implemented, in addition to waste management and real-time district control.
- In New York they have applied the Midtown in Motion program to manage the influx of traffic in the center. Through speed sensors processed in a data center, they have managed to improve travel times.
Smart City solutions to improve energy efficiency
Although we have seen how the digitization of city management has different applications within the city, we focus on the field of energy saving and efficiency.
These technologies make it possible to deal with the overpopulation of cities that increasingly consume more energy resources, generate large amounts of waste, and emit more greenhouse gases.
To improve energy efficiency, Smart Cities make use of centralized management platforms that allow them to remotely control the following areas:
- Control energy supply and consumption, through intelligent accumulators and renewable energies.
- Manage electric vehicle recharging stations in urban areas, promoting the use of sustainable mobility and reducing CO2.
- Minimize the costs of public lighting, thanks to the customization of the hours of switching on and the use of renewable energies.
- Manage the distribution and supply of water, optimizing its use based on needs in real time.
- Automate the irrigation systems of neighboring areas, and receive alerts that allow you to manage possible incidents in real time.
- Monitor noise, pollution and other environmental factors such as the perceptual or climatic environment.
- Efficiently manage waste. Smart systems allow urban elements to be inventoried and organized according to the needs of each area. At the same time, the measurement of the data, together with the notifications of alerts or incidents, enables the planning of the collection service. This, in turn, allows savings in fuel consumption costs in the collection service and increases productivity.
An example of an application of Smart City Solutions is the case of Sant Boi, where they have implemented an operations platform that allows them to centrally integrate and manage different existing solutions and data on air quality measurements, photovoltaic production and management. energy of buildings mainly in the industrial area, which has great weight in the life of the municipality.
The transformation of traditional buildings into Smart Buildings
Want to make your city more sustainable and efficient?
Applying this type of solutions in today’s cities means taking the step towards digital and sustainable transformation that will improve the lives of citizens, while reducing the environmental impact. Therefore, it is important to have an agent specialized in the implementation of these control and management systems.
Nexus Integra is the enabler that allows transforming a traditional city into a Smart City. Through a single platform, all urban services are integrated, facilitating centralized management and government of the city and buildings. Control, monitor and operate from one place.
Request a consultancy with our specialized team and turn your city into a Smart City.
