Building Sustainability in an Urbanizing World

About 3.7 billion people now live in urban areas, and that number is expected to double in just 50 years. With urbanization, more people have access to basic services, literacy, good jobs, and longer lives. But urbanization also raises concerns about whether cities can finance enormous amounts of infrastructure for millions of new citizens, adequately plan for land requirements, provide basic services— and do all of this in a way that strengthens social capital, preserves the integrity of the Earth’s ecosystems, and prepares for the shocks of climate change.
We need to assemble what facts we can, and antic- ipate how best to proceed in the face of uncer- tainty. And we need to build new partnerships and strengthen existing ones to embark on the challenging journey ahead.
While cities face urgent challenges, from urbanization and climate change to increasing global competitiveness, inequity, and resource constraints, the opportunity for technology to help address these challenges has also never been greater. Information and communications technology (ICT) may be able to drive efficiency gains through better monitoring of infrastructure and more responsive services. The Climate Group’s Smart 2020 report (2008) estimated that, globally, ICT-enabled solutions for smart grids, smart buildings, and smart logistics and industrial processes can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 7.8 Gt in 2020—a reduction larger than total emissions produced by China in 2010. In addition, technology is driving integration across traditional city department silos. Smart grids are bringing together our energy and telecommuni- cation systems, and electric vehicles are connecting our transport systems with our energy networks.