With urbanization on the increase around the world, just over half of the planet’s population now live in cities. They also produce 75% of carbon emissions worldwide. As urban populations have mushroomed during the last 50 years, “smart” information and communication technologies (ICTs) have led efforts to improve the efficiency of urban systems and services.
The quest
for sustainable urban development has led to the loosely defined concept of the
“smart city” (also called “digital” or “connected” city). Although Europe and
North America led the way in the 1980s and 90s, attention is turning to Asia
and the Middle East, where the concept is gaining momentum and smart cities are
being built from scratch.
This article was first published in The Middle East magazine, July/August 2012 issue.
Smart cities
use ICT to build new or adapt existing infrastructure, buildings and systems to
make better use of energy and resources in meeting the challenges of climate
change, population growth, demographic change, urbanization and resource depletion,
and contribute to reducing emissions while increasing living standards.
A 2011
report from Pike Research, a US firm that analyses global clean technology
markets, forecast that investment in smart city technology infrastructure would
total $108 billion in the decade from 2010 to 2020. By the end of that period, annual spending
will reach nearly $16 billion, Pike Research anticipates.
Ali
al-Khulaifi, market development manager at ictQATAR, the country’s telecoms
regulator and technology advocate, defines a smart city as an “intelligent
ecosystem employing integrated technology to provide public and private
services”. They tend to be long-term projects, usually taking between 5-10
years, which require significant investments.
In the
Middle East, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have earmarked more than $63
billion over the next five years for development authorities, infrastructure
companies, governmental and corporate entities to develop smart city projects.
At the Arab
Future Cities Summit in Doha in April 2012, participants agreed on the
importance of developing smart and sustainable cities in the Arab region, given
that the majority of the population in the GCC region now live in cities.
While global
corporate giants such as IBM, Cisco, Siemens and Orange look for their slice of
the smart city pie, commentators also
see social aspects such as investment in human and social capital and
participatory governance as vital elements.
The GCC
countries are leading the way in implementing smart infrastructure developments
in the Middle East, lavishing vast sums in investment and funding for major projects
such as Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, Lusail in Qatar and King Abdullah Economic
City in Saudi Arabia.
Qatar, which
currently has the highest per capita rate of CO2 emissions in the world, is
investing billions in “green” building and solar technologies in a bid to
reduce its carbon footprint.
Lusail, an
extension to Doha, is intended to be Qatar’s biggest green field area once it
is completed over the next 15 years. Extending across 38 sq. km, the new city
includes four islands and 19 multi-purpose residential, mixed use,
entertainment and commercial districts. As well as 200,000 permanent residents,
it will have 170,000 employees and 80,000 daily commuters. The promoters of the project describe Lusail
as the “conscience of sustainable development”.
In Saudi
Arabia, the ambition of Dubai property giant Emaar is to develop its $100
billion King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) project, taking shape 100 km north of
the Red Sea port of Jeddah, into one of the world's most advanced smart cities.
The KAEC
website paints a picture of “seamless integration of state-of-the-art
infrastructure and advanced technology with business and public services”.
KAEC will
include one of the largest ports in the world. It forms part of a $400 billion
plan announced by the Saudi government in 2008 to make the kingdom less
dependent on the oil industry and provide jobs and housing for the 10 million
Saudis under the age of 17.
But it is
Masdar City, 17 km from Abu Dhabi, which stands out as the Gulf’s current
landmark smart city. The aim of the developers of the $22 billion project was
to create the world's first zero-carbon, zero-waste city, with the emphasis on
energy efficiency. The 36 sq. km city, designed by British architects Foster +
Partners, incorporated renewable energy and clean technologies as part of its
design.
There is a
strong emphasis on natural cooling, with streets aligned to provide daytime
shading, parks located to channel prevailing winds into the city, and
traditional Arabic building principles such as wind towers. Exterior materials
and windows were chosen to provide maximum cooling and reduce heat gain in
buildings.
Construction
began in 2008, and when it is completed in 2025 the city is expected to accommodate
40,000 residents and 50,000 daily commuters. Conventional cars have been replaced
by public transport using electric pod cars.
Masdar City
treats wastewater for landscaping, to reduce the need for desalination, and
uses 54% less water than the average UAE city.
Its 10MW
solar-power plant, the largest grid-connected plant of its kind in the Middle
East, is designed to produce more electricity overall than the city consumes,
with excess transferred to the national grid. By 2020, Abu Dhabi aims to
generate at least 7% of its power needs from renewable sources.
Every
electrical outlet in the city is monitored, and smart meters collect and
continuously analyse data about power usage to provide an accurate "live"
model of energy use.
Smart energy
grids are vital to smart cities. They can reduce peak demand for electricity by
providing information and incentives to consumers, allowing them to shift
consumption to other periods.
Smart
metering is key to the effective operation of smart energy grids. The
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the Geneva-based global
standards organization for all areas of electrotechnology, maintains that
without accurate measurement it is not possible to demonstrate energy
efficiency improvements credibly.
The UAE
currently leads the smart meter market in the Middle East and North African region.
A June 2012 report by Northeast Group, a Washington-based market intelligence
firm, projected that MENA countries could save between $300 million and $1
billion every year by adopting smart grids to incorporate renewable energy
sources, cope with rising demand and reduce energy losses on networks. The
report predicted that capital spending in the MENA smart metering market would
rise to $3.9 billion by 2022, with smart meters installed in 86% of homes in
the Gulf.
But while
conspicuous energy consumption remains a feature of Abu Dhabi, Masdar comes
across more as a development project rather than an environmental one. And
other regions of the world, such as Europe, are still ahead of the GCC in using
real-time data systems to collect data on water and power usage and increase
user awareness in environmentally friendly smart homes.
So, given
the enormous financial resources of the Gulf states, why are there relatively
few smart cities in development in the region?
Andrew
Nusca, editor of the US-based website SmartPlanet, believes that while the Gulf
states have considerable wealth, traditionally they have not been good at
distributing it throughout the population or investing in public works projects
that enable wealth generation. He told The Middle East: “By definition, the term ‘smart city’ denotes not just
physical capital - infrastructure - but intellectual and social capital, too. That
can't happen until the Gulf states begin to give their own people the tools to
generate economic benefit for themselves and the state. That kind of progress
takes generations to materialize, which is why we're only seeing the beginnings
of this in the Middle East today.”
A city that does not pollute the environment, what could you ask for more. Just knowing that makes you fell like moving in there too. Living in a green, eco friendly city has become a possibility with this.
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