CIENS-urban conference: Smart and green cities - for whom?

According to UN two thirds of the world population will live in cities already by 2030. To achieve social sustainability, cities aim at using available space for multiple purposes, to satisfy the needs of current and future inhabitants. To cope with population growth and environmental problems, the smart, compact and green city is considered a solution, to reduce sprawl, long commuter distances and extensive land use. Green?blue spaces have proven to have a positive impact on human health, to contribute to good urban water management and to ameliorate the negative consequences of climate change, by absorbing excess rain water runoff or providing a cooling effect during heat periods. In October 2016, the Oslo Centre for Interdisciplinary Environmental and Social Research (CIENS) invited to a 1-day conference. Approximately 80 participants, including researchers from a variety of disciplines, urban planners and entrepreneurs, met and participated in a critical discussion of the societal potential and implications of smart and green urban development trends. The conference was structured in 4 topics: - Potentials of smart and green cities - Smart green city concepts and strategies - Socio-technical and infrastructural changes necessary for smart and green city development - Societal and social impacts and challenges of smart and green city development - Learning from examples and sharing experiences - city cases Innovation and technological change are key driving forces in the smart city. Several presentations showed the potential of these shifts for urban sustainability, e.g. concerning airborne emission reduction. Conference participants learned about modelling approaches to assess social, economic and ecological implications of future urban developments, as well as indications of the feasibility of measures and thus help to guide decisions. There were presentations on how cities in practices aim to become greener and smarter: Amsterdam municipality cooperates with research institutes under the umbrella of the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions, to develop tailored solutions in order to become a circular, connected and vital city. In Stockholm a new district housing 140 000 new homes is under development, where future climate change, biodiversity and ecological values are taken into consideration alongside property developers interests. From an example in Trondheim the audience could learned how important cross-sectoral communication is: Building permission was given to raise a several story high building right next to a building equipped with solar panel walls, reducing the production of electricity considerably. In India the central government launched a smart cities mission in 2016, aiming in developing 100 sustainable and citizen-friendly satellite towns to foster urban transition to sustainability. On the agenda they put: adequate water and electricity supply, sanitation and waste management, efficient urban mobility and affordable housing, robust internet access and citizen participation processes via e-governance, urban safety and security, health and education as well as sustainable management of environmental resources. The example from Trondheim, and experiences from India, thus drew attention to some of the challenges of how to govern smart city development and how citizens can engage with and shape smart cities.

An increasing share of the world population lives in cities. However, cities are not self-containing. They are characterized by their enormous resource consumption and waste production, and they heavily depend on their surroundings to provide them with food, fresh water, raw materials and energy, but also to take up their waste and pollution. To cope with population growth and environmental problems, the smart, compact and green city is considered a solution, to reduce sprawl, long commuter distances and extensive land use. At the same time many cities are increasingly unequal and segregated, socially and culturally. To create inclusive future societies it is therefore an urgent requirement to ensure that city inhabitants have the same chance to participate in the public realm and to be socially integrated. Norwegian green cities are also on their way to transform into smart cities. The CIENS-urban conference 2016 "Smart and green cities - for whom?" will provide a forum for Norwegian and international practitioners and scientists to - explore potentials of developing smart and green cities that also are sustainable - raise awareness for the societal and social impacts and challenges related to smart and green city development - discuss the character of socio-technical and infrastructural changes necessary for smart and green city development After launching the conference end of May through different channels (see Formidlingsplan) by end of June 40 persons already had registered. The envisaged number of participants is 120. Invited keynote lectures from Norwegian and international urban researchers and city practitioneers, as well as selected presentations from participants will create an inspiring frame to discuss prospects and challenges of green and smart city development. After the conference abstracts, posters and presentations will be made available on the conference web-pages. Participants will be provided with each other contact details.