Smart Cities Round Up - 29 NOVEMBER 2024

With 2024 on track to become the hottest year ever recorded, and the first to breach the critical 1.5°C global warming limit, cities and their partner ecosystems are ramping up efforts to combat the growing challenges of urban heat. Rising temperatures and extreme heat events pose severe health, environmental, and socio-economic risks, especially in densely populated urban areas. Two major initiatives announced this week are helping cities worldwide tackle this escalating crisis with innovative solutions and tailored planning.

The first initiative saw C40 Cities partnering with Carrier, a leading provider of intelligent climate and energy solutions, to address the mounting risks of extreme heat. Carrier ’s $1.05 million grant will fund sustainable cooling initiatives over the next three years. These initiatives aim to promote energy-efficient cooling technologies in buildings and neighbourhoods while aligning with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C climate target. C40 Cities highlights that nearly one-third of the global population now faces life-threatening heat extremes for at least 20 days annually, underscoring the urgency of these efforts.

In the United States, the Centre for Heat Resilient Communities (CHRC) is providing financial and technical support for cities and communities to create Heat Resilience Roadmaps. As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, this initiative – funded through the Inflation Reduction Act – offers up to $10,000 and expert guidance to up to 10 selected communities. The programme focuses on helping cities assess heat-related risks, strengthen response capacities, and develop customised resilience strategies tailored to local needs.

These initiatives demonstrate how cities and their ecosystems are uniting to tackle urban heat with actionable solutions, from sustainable cooling technologies to comprehensive heat resilience planning. As temperatures continue to rise, such collaborative approaches are crucial to safeguarding public health, mitigating climate risks, and building more resilient urban environments.

Luke Antoniou , Senior editor, SmartCitiesWorld

Here is a round up of our other News this week:

1. Public sector taking longer to recover form cyber incidents
2. Green light for eco-friendly coastal town in Edinburgh
3. Cop29: Urban climate resilience pledge and water declaration
4. Lake Tahoe to introduce electric ferry
5. Smart floating infrastructure aims to accelerate net zero goals
6. C40 collaboration to help cities tackle extreme heat
7. Ann Arbor chosen for autonomous vehicle testing by May Mobility
8. US communities provided support for heat resilience planning
9. Urban Glen “live-work-and-cultural” development unveiled for Hangzhou
10. UK transport operator heads towards zero emission travel
11. Organisations’ lack of data poses challenge to decarbonisation
12. US Dot launches local climate action playbook
13. Canberra begins construction of battery energy storage system
14. Tallinn commits to 15-minute city principles for 2025
15. TfL tackles problematic dockless e-bike parking
16. Plans unveiled for air taxi routes in South Carolina
17. AI-designed urban wind turbine unveiled
18. Municipal solar scheme sign-up launched in Barcelona
19. Toronto breaks ground on transit-oriented mixed-use development
20. Sugar Land welcomes Plug and Play innovation platform

WEBINARS

1. Panel discussion (11 Dec): Harnessing the power of AI for smarter utilities

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