OnDemand Panel Debate: Clearing the air: strategies for enhancing urban air quality

Join the latest SmartCitiesWorld Panel Debate to understand how to improve air quality in urban environments, and hear real-world case studies from leading cities. Watch Here

OnDemand Panel Debate (11 Dec): Going behind the scenes of Dallas’ smart city initiatives

SmartCitiesWorld gets up close and personal with the City of Dallas and its innovative smart city strategies. Panellist from City of Dallas, National League of Cities and Ubicquia. Watch OnDemand

COP26: 10 guiding principles to be reflected in the final agreement

Ahead of COP26, SmartCitiesWorld has written an open letter to international political leaders consisting of 10 major guiding principles that we believe should be reflected in any final agreement at the conference in Glasgow in November. Here, we break down those principles, addressing the challenges within each and the importance of cities receiving full backing from central governments as they look to a greener future.

WATCH - Reinventing infrastructure in the smart city

SmartCitiesWorld talks to AVEVA’s Rashesh Mody about the changing face but enduring importance of infrastructure.

Smart Cities Reports

SmartCitiesWorld City Profile – Chicago

Chicago is looking to smart city technology to solve issues including poverty, inequality and racial segregation.

Podcasts

Urban Exchange Podcast Episode 31 – Resilient Sydney: 33 local governments, one resilience strategy

Join us for a journey of collaboration on the Urban Exchange Podcast, where we discover how Resilient Sydney is aligning more than 30 local council on a single resilience plan.

Urban Exchange Podcast Episode 23 - Identifying urban solutions at the intersection of climate, health, and equity

Tune into the latest Urban Exchange podcast, where guests from the city of Buenos Aires City Government and Yale University discuss the links between climate, health and inequity.

Opinions

Cities Climate Action Summit 2024 – meet the exhibitor: Libelium

Libelium will be demonstrating its cutting-edge IoT solutions designed to monitor and reduce urban pollution based on artificial intelligence and digital twins.

Rebuilding green: Analysing the Biden infrastructure plan

John Fitzgerald, Project Director, Linesight, explains why major reskilling, outreach work by government and the right messaging will be key to realising benefits.

Home | Smart Cities News

Smart Cities News

Nairobi launches air quality action plan and portal

Air quality01 Dec 2025

For the first time, city leaders and residents in the Kenyan city will have access to hyper-local data about pollution levels in the places they live and work.

Toronto opens first City-run net-zero building

Climate action25 Nov 2025

The building, a childcare centre, demonstrates the city’s leadership in climate action and supports its commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2040.

Chicago nears tree-planting target with 90 per cent achieved

Parks and green space24 Nov 2025

Our Roots Chicago is a community-driven initiative to expand tree planting in the city, with a focus on underserved neighbourhoods with low tree canopy cover.

How Greater Manchester is powering schools by solar

Solar power17 Nov 2025

Five schools will save around £40,000 annually between them on energy bills and reduce the amount of carbon released into the air by about 40 tonnes each year.

Bogotá is named Earthshot Prize winner

Air quality07 Nov 2025

Colombian capital, recognised for its clean air programme, is one of five winners of the prestigious prize that celebrates innovators solving global challenges.

Rome crowned Smart City of 2025 at Barcelona Expo

News06 Nov 2025

Judges at the World Smart City Awards gala said Rome’s visionary strategy is leveraging data, 5G and digital twins to enhance urban governance, improve public services and build resilience.

Partnership to accelerate Brazil bus electrification by 2030

Electric vehicles05 Nov 2025

First-of-its-kind initiative launched at Cop30 Local Leaders Forum aims to mobilise €450m and deploy more than 1,700 electric buses across Brazil until 2030.

City of Sydney ushers in all-electric buildings future

Climate action04 Nov 2025

The new planning controls were approved by council at its October 2025 meeting, after they were met with wide-ranging support during the consultation period.

C40 World Mayors Summit 2025 opens in Rio de Janeiro

Climate action03 Nov 2025

More than 300 city leaders will attend the summit with the goal of moving from the era of climate negotiation to the decade of delivery, with cities taking the lead.

Rio previews the city’s clean air, low-emission future

Air quality28 Oct 2025

Festival Respira Rio in Avenida Chile will provide residents the first-ever opportunity to have their say on Rio’s upcoming low emission district initiative.

City of London and Square Mile on track to be net zero by 2040

Climate action21 Oct 2025

Figures in the Climate Action Strategy progress report reveal that carbon emissions across the Square Mile have fallen by 24 per cent between 2017 and 2022.

London schools to receive filters to cut air pollution

Air quality20 Oct 2025

School Filters Programme will benefit tens of thousands of children and be focused in areas of poorer air quality and higher levels of deprivation.

European Green Capital for 2027 winner announced

News03 Oct 2025

A total of 20 cities from 11 European countries competed for the awards, judged by an international panel of seven independent urban sustainability experts.

Alliance accelerates electrification of freight in Mexico

Electric vehicles01 Oct 2025

Laneshift is a pioneering initiative to speed up the shift toward EV trucks by expanding and strengthening charging infrastructure in Mexico, Brazil, and India.

Westminster City Council reduces emissions by 34 per cent

Climate action29 Sep 2025

The London local authority is encouraging residents and businesses to explore the updated climate action plan, which sets out ambitious goals for the future.

Salt Lake City invites community to shape climate plan

Climate action24 Sep 2025

Residents are invited to share their vision for Climate Forward SLC, which aims to identify key priorities to help the City reach 2040 community climate goals.

Why cities need to make circular waste central to cutting urban emissions

Resilience11 Sep 2025

Analysis in a new report from the nonprofit Leading Cities and the Afkar Collective consultancy argue how we handle waste is “first-order resilience issue”.

City centre air pollution drops by one third in Glasgow

Air quality14 Aug 2025

The reduction follows enforcement of the low emission zone, marking a major step forward in the city’s clean air ambitions and safeguarding public health.

Chicago slashes carbon emissions from large buildings

Climate action04 Aug 2025

Department of Environment’s energy benchmarking report shows both progress and areas of opportunity for making large Chicago buildings more energy efficient.

Why cities must build “active mobility resilience” into strategies

Road travel25 Jul 2025

With more than half of all urban land in American cities devoted to car infrastructure, a new report calls for a strategic reorientation of city planning.

‘Green economy heroes’ win 2025 Women4ClimateTO competition

Climate action24 Jul 2025

Twelve local Toronto entrepreneurs pitched climate-related initiatives to a panel of judges for a chance to win a financial award of $20,000 first prize.

Seattle makes climate upgrades to fire stations

Climate action23 Jul 2025

Seattle is making five fire stations across the city more climate resilient by converting existing fossil fuel systems to clean, all-electric alternatives.

Partnership aims to enhance IoT interoperability for buildings

Internet of Things07 Jul 2025

According to the partners, the collaboration will reduce integration efforts by up to 80 per cent, resulting in optimised building operations and sustainability.

£2.8m investment to expand London air quality programme

Air quality27 Jun 2025

This new investment enables Londoners across 24 boroughs to view real-time, hyperlocal air quality data in their area and take action to tackle air pollution.

How London’s action on clean air has inspired cities on a global scale

Climate action26 Jun 2025

Jane Burston, CEO, Clean Air Fund and Mark Watts, executive director, C40 Cities, explain that when equipped with the right tools, strong community engagement, and political will, cities can clean the air quickly and ensure their residents reap the benefits.

Fifty cities chosen in 2025 Mayors’ Challenge

News26 Jun 2025

Finalists from 33 countries will receive $50,000 and support to test breakthrough ideas for improving life in cities in the Bloomberg Philanthropies challenge.

Cities Climate Action Summit 2025: Meet the exhibitor – EndavaSponsored by Endava

Climate action23 Jun 2025

Endava’s James Costerton, explains how cities can utilise digital technologies to support their climate and resilience goals – particularly in energy – plus, what they will be bringing to this year’s Cities Climate Action Summit in London (24-25 June), and what he’s looking forward to at this year’s event.

Cities Climate Action Summit 2025: Meet the exhibitor – Felicity SISponsored by Felicity SI

Climate action17 Jun 2025

Sean Cowan, Group CEO at Felicity SI, explains how cities can make cost and emissions savings by upgrading existing infrastructure, what they will be bringing to this year’s Cities Climate Action Summit in London (24-25 June), and what he’s looking forward to at this year’s event.

Cities Climate Action Summit 2025: Meet the exhibitor – European Space Agency (ESA)Sponsored by European Space Agency (ESA)

Climate action17 Jun 2025

ESA’s Nick Appleyard explains how cities can make the most of satellite data, what ESA will be bringing to this year’s Cities Climate Action Summit in London (24-25 June), and what he’s looking forward to at this year’s event.

Cities Climate Action Summit 2025: Meet the exhibitor – Aeolus LabsSponsored by Aeolus Labs

Climate action17 Jun 2025

Koki Mashita, Co-Founder and CEO of Aeolus Labs, explains what the atmospheric science organisation will be bringing to this year’s Cities Climate Action Summit in London (24-25 June), and what he looked forward to at this year’s event.

Cities Climate Action Summit 2025: Meet the exhibitor – WapiceSponsored by Wapice

Climate action17 Jun 2025

Joni Kontturi, Sales Director at Wapice, explains what the AI and IoT platform company will be bringing to this year’s Cities Climate Action Summit in London (24-25 June), and what he’s looking forward to at this year’s event.

Council Climate Action Scorecards indicate slow progress to net-zero

Climate action17 Jun 2025

Climate Emergency UK calls on UK Government to make climate action a fully funded legal duty for all UK councils to remove the national barriers they face.

Gibraltar deploys simulation tool for net-zero buildings

Climate action10 Jun 2025

Modelling tool by IES will provide granular insight on net-zero energy buildings in one of Europe’s most space-constrained and air-conditioning reliant nations.

Work begins on affordable net zero homes for Bristol

Residential buildings09 Jun 2025

The pioneering project is led by social and affordable housing developer Edaroth as part of its involvement in the UN Habitat Climate Smart Cities challenge.

UK city installs its first eco-moorings

Climate action03 Jun 2025

Moorings consist of three electric pillars, each containing two sockets, which enable up to six visiting boaters on Oxford’s waterways to connect to the grid.

Non-exhaust emissions revealed as main source of road transport pollution

Air quality03 Jun 2025

Research uses London as a case study to examine the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing particles released from brake, tyre and road surface wear.

Cities Climate Action Summit 2025: Meet the exhibitor – Ecosystem Informatics (ESI)Sponsored by Ecosystem Informatics (ESI)

Climate action02 Jun 2025

Dr Shirook Ali, Founder and CEO of Ecosystem Informatics (ESI), explains what the climate tech firm will be bringing to this year’s Cities Climate Action Summit in London (24-25 June), and what she’s looking forward to at this year’s event.

Scottish councils award 20-year EV charging contract

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