This paper is following the EU target of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Near Zero Energy and Positive Energy communities are expected to play a significant part of the strategy that will be followed. Within this context, the authors aim to investigate the feasibility of a new-built positive energy neighborhood and the retrofit of an existing neighborhood to near zero energy performance in the city of Alexandroupolis, Greece. The study may act as a roadmap for the uptake and development of positive energy and near-zero energy communities in Greek Cities, similar to Alexandroupolis. Furthermore, it can be used as a decision support tool for policy makers, when assessing alternative options towards the path of decarbonization of EU economy by 2050.
Watch: Cities
Sidewalk Toronto project, developed by Sidewalk Labs, was suspended earlier this month. The company claimed “unprecedented economic uncertainty’ caused by the current pandemic.
The project consists of a highly controversial topic, due to privacy concerns. Sidewalk Labs, a Google affiliate, designed a large-scale project towards the transformation of the Waterfront of Toronto into a smart city.
The authors of this is paper, inspired by the context of the current pandemic, attempt an exploration on urban resilience. Within the reality of smart cities, they outline the importance of seeking standardization of communication across and among them. One month after detection and during the outbreak, they surveys the virus outbreak from an urban standpoint.
This paper “Smart systems of innovation for smart places: Challenges in deploying digital platforms for co-creation and data-intelligence” by Anastasia Panori, Christina Kakderi, Nicos Komninos, Katharina Fellnhofer, Alasdair Reid and Luca Mora, argues that the rise and interconnection of various types of intelligence (artificial, human, collective) could transform the way smart places are being created and evolve. Through the case study of the research project OnlineS3, the paper indicates that digital platforms can better respond to the complexity of innovation systems providing dynamic and scale-diverse information.
Examining the changing nature of cities in the face of smart technology, this book studies key new challenges and capabilities defined by the Internet of Things, data science, blockchain and artificial intelligence. It argues that using algorithmic logic alone for automation and optimisation in modern smart cities is not sufficient, and analyses the importance of integrating this with strong participatory governance and digital platforms for community action. The book was edited by Nicos Komninos, Director, URENIO Research and Christina Kakderi, Department of Spatial Planning and Development, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.
This article explores whether smart city policy and sustainability outcomes are intertwined, through a systematic literature review. The review highlights limitations of smart cities to achieve sustainability and reveals that cities cannot be truly smart without being sustainable first. Overall, authors advocate the sustainable and knowledge-based development of smart cities and emphasize on the need for a post-anthropocentric urban turnaround for sustainability.
This article “Smart innovative cities: The impact of Smart City policies on urban innovation”, the authors look at the urban innovation impact of smart city policies. Based on the observation that there is no statistical evidence suggesting the existence of a positive association between the implementation of Smart City policies and urban economic performance, the authors try to shed light on this issue. To work on this issue, they collected and analysed data on 309 European metropolitan areas regarding smart city features, smart city policy intensity and urban innovation outputs.