Showcasing Sustainable Solutions for Urban Life

We’ve lived in cities for at least 6,000 years, yet urban life wasn’t always the norm. One hundred years ago, only 20 percent of the global population lived in cities. Now, the majority of us live in cities, and that number is projected to increase to 68 percent by 2050.

But these metropolitan areas are far from perfect. Cities are a major contributor to climate change, emitting 70 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide. They’re also hotspots of poor air quality and water pollution, damaging residents and the environment. 

Yet cities can also be part of the solution. By piloting clean energy, sustainable buildings and public transport, they can lower their footprints and improve the well-being of their citizens.

The Smart City Expo World Congress, which brings together industry executives, government officials, researchers and entrepreneurs, focuses on moving cities toward a better future. With over 25,000 attendees from over 850 cities, it’s an unparalleled networking and educational opportunity. By transforming cities into more sustainable and livable spaces, can we have our city life and embrace it, too? 

Organized by Fira de Barcelona, the 2024 congress invited 600 speakers and experts under the theme “Live Better.” Held since 2011, this year was the biggest event ever, with over 1,100 exhibitors showcasing the latest solutions and technologies for urban efficiency, mobility and sustainability.

“Smart City Expo aims to establish a common strategy for urban innovation: to improve well-being, create opportunities, and foster a better relationship with our planet and our communities,” Ugo Valenti, Director of Smart City Expo World Congress, said in a statement. “If we want to live better, we need to change the way we live, leveraging technology, innovation and collaboration. We want to offer a meeting point where all those involved can come together and chart a roadmap towards a better tomorrow.”

The event focused on strategies to improve cities in areas like mobility, public services, utilities, citizen engagement and sustainability. For example, the biotech company Bioo displayed biological batteries fueled by soil microorganisms, the robotics company Clevon featured electric autonomous delivery robots, and the city of Bamberg presented a drone tree-monitoring project.

Besides showcasing the latest tech and innovations, the conference also walks the walk — focusing on minimizing waste, banning single-use plastic, and recycling and reusing any leftover conference materials. All structures from the conference were distributed to schools, museums and gardens after the event. And leftover food was donated to the NGO Nutrition Without Borders.   

Tech-focused solutions 

At this year’s expo, smart solutions abounded. 

The Curiosity Lab in Georgia, for example, is developing smart traffic lights. These lights respond to real-time traffic conditions, reducing congestion and commute time. In turn, they lower vehicle idling and the associated greenhouse gas emissions. In the U.S., vehicle idling accounts for around 30 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. The lab also has a 500-acre tech park and innovation center for startups and companies to develop new technology like shared autonomous vehicles, health monitoring devices and virtual 3D models.

Similarly, Gogoro, a producer of electric scooters and battery platforms, is focused on improving traffic. It’s filled the city of Taipei with battery-swapping stations for electric scooters. Riders can drop off used batteries and get a new one immediately, fueling the transition away from gas and oil-fueled bikes. Electric scooters grew to 12 percent of all scooter sales in Taiwan in 2022. As a plus, the charging stations feed energy back to the grid in times of need.

Another attendee, the consultancy firm Ecoten Urban Comfort, created an urban heat vulnerability map of Vienna to help address extreme heat. This product combines heat exposure, existing green spaces, water bodies and the population density of those most vulnerable to extreme temperatures — such as children and the elderly. As a result, Vienna developed its Cool Streets project, creating open spaces with trees and installing mist showers to cool the pavement. For a few weeks, it also banned parking in certain areas so citizens could spend more time outdoors.

Large-scale solutions 

Besides the barrage of new tech, other solutions were centered on the urban big picture.

The research firm ThoughtLab studied 250 cities, representing nine percent of the global population, and divided them into three categories — future-ready, progressing and beginning — based on self-reported survey data and monitoring data, including pollution and traffic levels from Numbeo. Future-ready cities, like Tokyo, Seattle and Quito, are sustainable, resilient, digitally enabled and inclusive.

Overall, future-ready cities have made substantially more progress in improving sustainability, transportation, safety and health compared to other cities. More than 80 percent of future-ready cities have made significant technological investments in monitoring air and water quality and energy usage. They’ve also set emissions targets and are working to improve infrastructure resiliency for natural disasters. 

The firm’s report is meant to act as a guide and, ideally, inspiration for other cities in the progressing or beginning phases, said Daniel Miles, chief economist of ThoughtLab. Despite these positive examples, ThoughtLab found many cities still face daunting challenges, from climate change, public health and housing shortages to inadequate transportation and infrastructure. 

In addition to urban research, other large-scale initiatives were focused squarely on climate change mitigation.

For instance, the European Union's mission for Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities aims to make over 100 cities emissions-free by 2030. Encompassing 12 percent of the European Union population, these cities are found in each member state. They first develop investment plans alongside an overall plan for climate neutrality across sectors, including energy, buildings, waste management and transport. 

For instance, Lisbon plans to reduce its emissions by promoting electric vehicles and public transportation, reducing traffic in the city, and improving the energy efficiency of buildings. It also aims to increase solar and other renewable energy, install green roofs, plant trees and augment recycling.

“These cities are a model for other cities,” said Patrick Child, deputy director general for the environment at the European Commission. It’s planned that all European cities will follow suit by 2050. 

But there are challenges along the climate-neutral path, including mobilizing funding, getting the legal framework right and obtaining buy-in from the citizens involved, Child said.

A better urban life

Cities cover only two to three percent of land worldwide, yet they use over 75 percent of our natural resources and energy. Sustainable development can align our needs with those of the planet. It can also fuel job growth, free up funds and improve living conditions. And sustainable cities may spur economic growth by attracting a more talented and diverse workforce, while also improving workers’ health and time efficiency.

By bringing together diverse people and companies, the Smart City Expo World Congress is spreading ideas and innovation. It’s an important step in our path to a smarter and greener city life.

Editor's Note: Travel and accommodations to Barcelona, Spain, were provided by the Smart City Expo World Congress. Neither the author nor TriplePundit were required to write about the experience.