Research Reveals Urban Models of Sustainability

Which cities could be used as blueprints of replicable models for countries that will have to work hard to accommodate an additional 2.7 billion people in the world's cities by 2050?  Technologies for Future Cities: Integrating Efficiency, Sustainability, and Environmental Concerns, a new study by Lux Research, has found that Amsterdam, Stockholm, Colorado's SmartGridCity and Portugal's PlanIT Valley initiative are some of the examples that could inspire policymakers who need to find ways to deliver sustainability to 6.3 billion living in cities by the middle of the century, or 70% of the total. Currently, 3.6 billion people live in cities, or 52% of the total.

"Technology companies need to understand the variety of models under which future cities develop so they can tap the widest channel to market in each case," said Ryan Castilloux, Lux Research Analyst and the lead author of the report. "Cities like Singapore, Stockholm, Masdar, Incheon Free Economic Zone, and PlanIT Valley are structured to ensure integration and interoperability of technologies and systems across the urban value chain." he added.

The research company established a framework of eight urban development models and found that technologies must cost-effectively maximize convenience, connectivity, energy efficiency and environmental sustainability while accommodating rapidly growing urban populations in the decades to come.

The report found that brownfield and greenfield cities will need to go hand in hand. By 2032, over $40 trillion will be required to retrofit and expand dated urban infrastructure in brownfield cities globally. But with the extra 2.7 billion people expected to populate the world's cities by 2050, Greenfield efficient future cities like Masdar in Abu Dhabi and Songdo in Korea will need to be built, and at affordable costs.

The future city will hold hands with technology firms the report highlights. The efficient future city market will favor well-known technology leaders such as IBM, Cisco, Microsoft, Hitachi, Siemens, and Philips that have already converged on the so-called "efficient future cities market"; in some instances, those companies are collaborating on initiatives like Amsterdam and PlanIT Valley. The private companies will make significant contributions and leverage their pre-existing core competencies to maximize market share.

Finally, government incentives will drive early adoption of innovative technologies priced above the end-user's willingness-to-pay. For example, technologies like onsite combined heat and power generators become competitive with top-of-the-line water boilers when government incentives are factored in. Other incentives in the form of tax breaks, subsidies, feed-in tariffs and attractive financing options will be critical for the success of efficient future city technologies.

To read an excerpt of the report, follow the link.

Image credit: Flickr/Liber