The future at stake:
Smart solutions and sustainable ambitions
for the cities of tomorrow
Stefan Kuhn
Deputy Regional Director for Europe
stefan.kuhn@iclei.org
© ICLEI 2008
www.iclei-europe.org
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ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability
An association of over 1,000 local
governments representing the interests
of local authorities at international level.
A movement driving positive change
through projects, initiatives and
programmes on local sustainability.
A resource centre offering information,
tools, networking, training and
consulting services.
© ICLEI 2008
www.iclei-europe.org
•
Where we work
15 offices plus satellite offices
150+ staff
© ICLEI 2008
www.iclei-europe.org
•
Global Membership
660 million – 8.3% of world population
85 countries
© ICLEI 2008
www.iclei-europe.org
Sustainable City: Key Interrelations
- Housing
- Food
- Safety
- Access
- Education
- Social
interaction
- Meaning
- Production
methods
- Technology
- ICT
- Procurement
- Governance
- Management
- Planning
- Regulatory
framework
- Water
- Air
- Soil
- Climate
- Raw materials
© ICLEI 2008
www.iclei-europe.org
Sustainable City: Key Options
- Values
- Societal
consensus
- Awareness
- Political
culture
- Individual
behaviour
- Efficiency
- Technological
- Sufficiency
and social
- Replacement innovation
- Integration
- (Re-)Production
- Bold reduction
© ICLEI 2008
www.iclei-europe.org
"Smart solutions and sustainable ambitions"
What is our starting point?
 Do we want to apply existing and emerging ICTs
(and argue they contribute to sustainability)?
or
 Do we want to create sustainable cities
(and identify how ICT can contribute)?
© ICLEI 2008
www.iclei-europe.org
Sustainable City: Key ICT contributions
 Manage and coordinate intelligent electricity grids
 Turn consumers into prosumers
(renewable energy, knowledge, goods and services...)
 Organize shared use and reduce overall number of devices
(cars are parked 23h/day...)
 Make sustainable choices more attractive than unsustainable ones
(public transport...)
 Limit resource consumption to times when it's needed
(light, heat, coolness...)
 Support integrated management + governance processes
(planning, monitoring, information, participation...)
© ICLEI 2008
www.iclei-europe.org
Some issues to be considered
 Rebound effects
> efficiency gains over-compensated by higher total consumption
 Cities aren't companies
> Who decides about systemic changes?
> Societal consensus and values (time aspect)
> Democratic control and governance of common goods
 Transparency, ownership and resilience
> Who decides/knows about data flows?
> Which levels of privacy and individual freedom are desirable?
> Decentralization of applications / centralization of data integration?
> How resilient are ICT solutions to natural / man-made disasters?
© ICLEI 2008
www.iclei-europe.org
...in essence:
 A Smart City is not automatically a Sustainable City.
But a Sustainable City needs a lot of smart solutions.
 The 'CEOs' of a city have to ensure their re-election.
That's why they move with societal consensus.
 Before 'smart solutions' are implemented,
the problem they solve should be clear.
© ICLEI 2008
www.iclei-europe.org
Thank you!
© ICLEI 2008
www.iclei-europe.org