Smart Cities News

Community-owned solar microgrids in Yemen, electric cargo bikes and an action plan to tackle extreme temperatures in India are among the winners of the 2020 Ashden Awards.

Smart cities can unlock considerable business potential for the United Arab Emirates but a new report warns governments and organisations of the IoT’s cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

The quick action is an example of cities re-organising public spaces to tackle the pandemic. Bogotá is also planning a ’lockdown drill’ this weekend.

The winning projects include an Alexa-assisted citizen contact centre and data-driven systems to reduce flooding and address road accident hotspots.

South Kesteven District Council hopes to realise energy-savings of at least 60 per cent and the pilot could be expanded across the streetlighting network.

The move is part of Dubai’s goal for 25 per cent of mobility journeys to be via autonomous transit by 2030.

The move aims to boost connectivity across the city and give citizens and businesses more choice.

Four companies have been selected to develop and hopefully commercialise their technology to tackle this growing challenge.

Jeanne Holm, Senior Technology Advisor to the Mayor and Deputy CIO, City of Los Angeles, outlines the importance of using infrastructure efficiently and collaborating with the telecom industry to get more residents connected.

It is claimed that the technology generates no carbon emissions, produces less brine than facilities using conventional reverse osmosis technology and will process drinking water more cheaply than traditional plants.