Using the fourth space to help cities cope with Covid-19

At SmartCitiesWorld’s inaugural advisory board meeting, Jeff Risom, chief innovation officer at Gehl Architects, explored how the public realm might be managed in the post-pandemic era.

SmartCitiesWorld City Profile – Sunderland

Find out how Sunderland is repositioning itself as a leading smart city – using digital infrastructure and low-carbon innovation to build a resilient, future-focused economy in the latest SmartCitiesWorld City Profile.

SmartCitiesWorld City Profile – Dublin

Find out how Dublin is innovating to improve experiences and services for its communities in the latest SmartCitiesWorld City Profile, including digital twin projects, traffic reduction, and economic growth.

Podcasts

Urban Exchange Podcast Episode 28 - Data-driven urban resilience in Montevideo

Gain insights from practitioners from the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo on how they’re breaking down silos in data and departments in this episode of the Urban Exchange podcast.

Opinions

22 - 26 June 2026: Find out more

Latest City Profile

SmartCitiesWorld City Profile – Sunderland

Smart Cities Reports

Find out how Sunderland is repositioning itself as a leading smart city – using digital infrastructure and low-carbon innovation to build a resilient, future-focused economy in the latest SmartCitiesWorld City Profile.

Latest Trend Report

Trend Report: Planning and operating thriving cities – innovation for smarter urban living

Trend Series

Download our latest report to uncover how artificial intelligence is being used to support cities in how they plan and operate city services to ensure they are vibrant, sustainable and economically thriving modern spaces.

Latest Webinar

Trend Report Panel Discussion (21 May): Operating smarter: using digital twins and AI to reshape urban infrastructure management

Webinars

Discover how AI-powered digital twins are transforming urban infrastructure and how these innovations can improve efficiency, resilience, and sustainability.

Latest Podcast

Cities Thriving on Lighting, Episode 2 – Simplicity by design in smart lighting

Podcasts

Discover the technology and considerations behind how cities can turn existing streetlight networks into secure, interoperable, and future‑proof infrastructure in the second episode of Cities Thriving on Lighting.

Latest Urban Exchange Podcast

Urban Exchange Podcast Episode 32 – Flood and energy resilience in Quezon City

Urban Exchange Podcast

Tune in for the latest Urban Exchange where we get a first-hand account of city resilience measures from Quezon City following unexpected extreme rainfall.

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Most Popular

How cities are turning public art into a civic solution

Public technology Portal sculpture unites Dublin and New York

UK city to transform phoneboxes into art installations

Columbus turns entire city into an AI-connected destination

Global business hub in China will act as a “sponge city”

SmartCitiesWorld Newsletters (Daily/Weekly)

Our editorial newsletter pulls together our latest news items into one email, direct to your inbox. We also feature our latest city interviews, Special Reports and Guest Opinions.

Home | Energy & Environment | Climate action

Climate action

The latest news on climate change concerning smart city projects across the world.

SmartCitiesWorld’s top news stories of 2025

SmartCitiesWorld’s top news stories of 2025

News31 Dec 2025

Which cities, trends and technologies made the smart cities headlines over the past 12 months? SmartCitiesWorld brings you its 10 top stories of 2025.

Art Institute of Chicago completes optimisation project

Art Institute of Chicago completes optimisation project

Cultural space08 Oct 2025

It has collaborated with Ameresco on a number of efficiency-focused upgrades that will strengthen its legacy and deepen its service to future generations.

Mayor marks Climate Week NYC with “Good Clean Fun” initiative

Mayor marks Climate Week NYC with “Good Clean Fun” initiative

Climate action23 Sep 2025

New guidelines introduced by mayor Eric Adams aims to help event producers cut waste, reduce emissions, and improve environmental impact across the city.

Berlin progresses state building decarbonisation programme

Berlin progresses state building decarbonisation programme

Municipal buildings31 Jul 2025

As part of the Federal government’s decarbonisation programme, Berlin State Library is working with Siemens to reduce energy consumption and emissions.

Study warns of $800m climate-related losses for World Cup venues

Study warns of $800m climate-related losses for World Cup venues

Climate action03 Dec 2024

Structural resilience of football venues will prove critical, as some high-hazard venues mitigate financial losses through smart design and natural barriers.

Liverpool named world’s first climate action Accelerator City

Liverpool named world’s first climate action Accelerator City

Climate action27 Sep 2024

The title comes in recognition of the UK city’s commitment to innovation and smart regulation to decarbonise the live music and TV and film production sectors.

Phoenix selects artists for extreme heat public art project

Phoenix selects artists for extreme heat public art project

Cultural space26 Jul 2024

Nine artists, chosen from nearly 80 submissions, will create shade and cooling installations in parks as part of the City’s efforts to address extreme heat.

Masdar City reveals solar tree installation

Masdar City reveals solar tree installation

Solar power01 May 2024

The tree is designed as an art piece to spark interest in sustainability but will also feed energy into the Abu Dhabi grid via 16 bi-facial solar panels.

Dubai Mangroves initiative unveiled by Urb

Dubai Mangroves initiative unveiled by Urb

Climate action30 Apr 2024

Initiative aims to integrate ecological preservation with urban development, enhancing Dubai’s coast by planting more than 100 million mangrove trees.

City of London’s green spaces worth £126.8m annually

City of London’s green spaces worth £126.8m annually

Parks and green space15 Feb 2024

Natural Capital Solutions calculated the value the City’s open spaces deliver to the public in areas such as air quality, recreation, health and wellbeing.

Most Popular

ST Engineering to provide smart city platform for Lusail City

The company will build and operate a smart city platform with citywide network connectivity for the Qatar city using advanced AI and data-driven technologies.

Huawei seals smart city deal with Barcelona

They will collaborate on projects relating to 5G, smart city applications and digital transformation.

Solar city goes live

Trina Solar’s PV modules have begun operations in the 10MW Sustainable City in Dubai, which aims to use only clean energy sources

Public technology Portal sculpture unites Dublin and New York

Each sculpture features a 24/7 visual livestream from a Portal in the other city, allowing real-time interaction between Dubliners and New Yorkers and visitors.

What is ‘Smart City’ and why do we need them?

Smart city is the framework based on Information and Communication technologies that enable the development of sustainable practices to address the urbanisation challenges. Leveraging the technology is one of the foremost pillars of ‘smart cities’ in order to increase efficiencies and improve the quality of resident’s life and the city’s services.

SmartCitiesWorld Newsletters (Daily/Weekly)

Our editorial newsletter pulls together our latest news items into one email, direct to your inbox. We also feature our latest city interviews, Special Reports and Guest Opinions.

Latest City Profile

SmartCitiesWorld City Profile – Sunderland

Smart Cities Reports

Find out how Sunderland is repositioning itself as a leading smart city – using digital infrastructure and low-carbon innovation to build a resilient, future-focused economy in the latest SmartCitiesWorld City Profile.

Latest Trend Report

Trend Report: Planning and operating thriving cities – innovation for smarter urban living

Trend Series

Download our latest report to uncover how artificial intelligence is being used to support cities in how they plan and operate city services to ensure they are vibrant, sustainable and economically thriving modern spaces.

Latest Webinar

Trend Report Panel Discussion (21 May): Operating smarter: using digital twins and AI to reshape urban infrastructure management

Webinars

Discover how AI-powered digital twins are transforming urban infrastructure and how these innovations can improve efficiency, resilience, and sustainability.

Latest Podcast

Cities Thriving on Lighting, Episode 2 – Simplicity by design in smart lighting

Podcasts

Discover the technology and considerations behind how cities can turn existing streetlight networks into secure, interoperable, and future‑proof infrastructure in the second episode of Cities Thriving on Lighting.

Latest Urban Exchange Podcast

Urban Exchange Podcast Episode 32 – Flood and energy resilience in Quezon City

Urban Exchange Podcast

Tune in for the latest Urban Exchange where we get a first-hand account of city resilience measures from Quezon City following unexpected extreme rainfall.

BECOME A MEMBER

Build your own Industry Resource Library
Gain access to all SmartCitiesWorld content
Make the most of Industry Webinar Events

Register Login

Most Popular

How cities are turning public art into a civic solution

Public technology Portal sculpture unites Dublin and New York

UK city to transform phoneboxes into art installations

Columbus turns entire city into an AI-connected destination

Global business hub in China will act as a “sponge city”

SmartCitiesWorld Newsletters (Daily/Weekly)

Our editorial newsletter pulls together our latest news items into one email, direct to your inbox. We also feature our latest city interviews, Special Reports and Guest Opinions.

Special Reports

Using the fourth space to help cities cope with Covid-19

Using the fourth space to help cities cope with Covid-19

City Profiles

Smart Cities Reports

SmartCitiesWorld City Profile – Sunderland

Find out how Sunderland is repositioning itself as a leading smart city – using digital infrastructure and low-carbon innovation to build a resilient, future-focused economy in the latest SmartCitiesWorld City Profile.

Smart Cities Reports

SmartCitiesWorld City Profile – Dublin

Find out how Dublin is innovating to improve experiences and services for its communities in the latest SmartCitiesWorld City Profile, including digital twin projects, traffic reduction, and economic growth.

Smart Cities Reports

SmartCitiesWorld City Profile 2024 – City of Madrid

Discover how the city of Madrid is innovating to become a smarter, more sustainable city that’s able to deliver improved services to residents and visitors alike.

Research