MEGACITIES: CHALLENGES FOR MAYORS, ENGINEERS AND PLANNERS
From 1950 to 1980 the number of people living in favelas in Rio de Janeiro alone increased from about 170,000 to more than 600,000, and by the early 21st century it was estimated that there were as many as 1,000 favelas there.
By 2025, the developing world, as we understand it now, will be home to 30 megacities.
Each month five million people are moving to cities.
How can we plan now for more sustainable ways of life in a radically different world?
In this dossier you will find solutions infrastructural planners, engineers, communicators, the mayor and her/his administration, industries and all involved people
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Climate Proof Cities
Cities are highly vulnerable to climatic risks. Think of heatwaves, water scarcity and extreme rainfall. What can cities do to become resistant climate proof? This article gives insights about integrated water demand – supply management. Read all about is here
Water savings – get the industry involved
Savings: In France, 20% of drinkable water is spoiled by leakage attributable to aging pipes. By implementing smart water grid solutions, a city can reduce consumption and thus save money
New revenue: Barcelona has reduced its parking costs by 22% while increasing its parking revenue by between 20-30%. With the implementation of smart parking solutions, cities can increase efficiency, reduce time wasted in traffic congestion, introduce simple automatic billing, etc.
in Hamburg it may be dockside services
(Cisco has managed to massively reduce traffic through the introduction of smart parking)
if you combine, say, street lighting services and public video monitoring systems – you can remotely monitor the number of people in a given square on a given evening and adjust the level of street lighting in that area accordingly.
Barcelona is one of the best smart city examples we can think of. They have created an entirely new governance model, mashed up services to create a horizontal infrastructure, and embraced technology as an integral part of their urban infrastructure.
