Page 189 - Shaping smarter and more sustainable cities - Striving for sustainable development goals

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scarce resources in cities. This resource constraint has brought into focus the need to be more
sustainable in all aspects of human living and has been precisely one of the triggers of the
transformation to SSC. Rising energy prices, energy security, depleting energy sources and global
warming caused due to the impact of energy usage have made energy management one of the key
challenges to smart and sustainable cities.

Cities stakeholders demand different type of resources; therefore it is important that decision
makers and citizens should understand that resources are limited. In this respect, ICT can play a
crucial role in developing services for the efficient management of waste, water and energy in cities,
for example with smart buildings, smart water management systems and smart grid technologies.
 Environmental management challenges

Cities face several environmental management challenges due to its economic activities, urban
expansion patterns and citizens' consumption habits. At present cities are responsible for the
management of the environmental quality of the city (air, soil and water) and its pollution control.
Cities must provide services such as urban waste management or transportation. With increasing
urbanization, cities are enduring various challenges to secure financially sustainable water and
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sanitation services for it citizens.
The growing demand of goods and services in cities, generate an ecosystem in which economic and
industrial activities are carried out. If not controlled effectively, these generate environmental risks
especially with reference to potential pollution sources such chemicals, hazardous waste
generation, emissions, among others. Controlling and managing these environmental problems is
the responsibility of city administration. In this context, any process or solutions that can be
improved by ICT based smart sustainable cities solutions should be considered to improve a city`s
environmental quality.
 Climate change challenges

The role of cities has been increasingly recognized as being key in the implementation of policies
and programs to tackle climate change impacts. In the future cities may need to become much more
resource efficient and resilient in the face of extreme weather events and other threats. As experts
have pointed out, "natural hazards linked to climate change have increased in intensity and
frequency… rising sea level, floods, heat waves, and storms are projected to continue to be
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worsen." Scientists project that the adverse effects may include more floods, windstorms, forest
fires, and the melting of permafrost that holds about 1,700 gigatons of carbon. At present, most
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of the cities of the world are called upon to develop their climate actions plans with a long‐term
planning vision. These plans usually include mitigation and adaptation policies together with an
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innovative approach to technologies and financing mechanisms.

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12 https://www.kpmg.com/dutchcaribbean/en/Documents/KPMG%20Expect_the_Unexpected_
ExctveSmmry_FINAL_WebAccessible.pdf
13 Technical Report on Smart Water Management for Smart Sustainable Cities. Focus Group on Smart Water
Management (FG‐SWM). International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
14 http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/2843WESS2013.pdf
15 http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/speech/2014/01/15/climate‐change‐is‐challenge‐for‐sustainable‐
development
16 World Bank. Cities & Climate Change Leadership Program. (2013)

ITU‐T's Technical Reports And Specifications 179