# data[].attributes.body
http://smartcitiescouncil.com/resources/worlds-future-megaprojects

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.entities[].name
National Geographic Megastructures China 's Mega Bridges

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The World's Future MEGAPROJECTS (2015-2030's)

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A documentary on the ten most ambitious mega-projects currently under development around the world, featuring: Dubai World Central Airport (United Arab Emirates); Songdo International Business District (South Korea); Tokyo-Osaka Maglev Train (Japan); Masdar City (United Arab Emirates); The Grand Canal (Nicaragua); National Trunk Highway System (China); International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor [ITER] - Fusion (France); World's Tallest Building (Azerbaijan); Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (India); King Abdullah Economic City (Saudi Arabia).

# data[].attributes.body
http://songdoibd.com/

# data[].attributes.headline
Smart and Efficient Buildings and Cities

# data[].attributes.subject
Smart and Efficient Buildings and Cities

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KIC InnoEnergy is fostering innovation that:

Supports deep renovation of existing commercial and residential buildings.

Creates more energy-efficient and sustainable heat pumps, heating, and air-conditioning systems.

Enables more effective use of local energy supplies, and storage capabilities.

Supports interaction between local energy networks within the city.

Improves comfort levels and general user acceptance of energy-efficiency solutions.

Creates cost efficiencies for urban energy networks.

http://www.kic-innoenergy.com/thematic-fields/smart-and-efficient-buildings-and-cities/

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7 Green Building Trends to Watch in 2015

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7 Green Building Trends to Watch in 2015

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http://www.triplepundit.com/2015/04/7-green-building-trends-watch-2015/

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Built Environment Sustainability: Why is it important?

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Built Environment Sustainability: Why is it important?

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Communities struggle with the challenge of how to plan, build, integrate and sustain the built environment in a way that meets current and future needs. Current opportunities and challenges to achieve a sustainable built environment include:

reducing sprawl, car dependency, greenhouse gas emissions and the use of finite natural resources;

increasing affordability and livability in ways that meet diverse social, cultural and economic needs; and

improving environmental outcomes and reducing waste.

http://www.refbc.com/grants/built-environment-sustainability

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Healthy buildings: why workers are demanding sustainable offices

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Healthy buildings: why workers are demanding sustainable offices

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https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/healthy-buildings-sustainable-offices-employees

# data[].attributes.headline
Are tiny houses and micro-apartments the future of urban homes?

# data[].attributes.subject
Are tiny houses and micro-apartments the future of urban homes?

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https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/aug/25/tiny-houses-micro-living-urban-cities-population-newyork-hongkong-tokyo

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.bk.tudelft.nl/fileadmin/Files/tudelft/studeren/onderwijs_voor_professionals/SULP_TU_Delft_Module_flyer_juli2014.pdf

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International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment

# data[].attributes.subject
International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-sustainable-built-environment/

# data[].attributes.headline
Donald's Smart City with the PI System and MS Azure

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Donald's Smart City with the PI System and MS Azure

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The PI System from Council Associate Partner OSIsoft shares and combines building and utility data through the cloud. Watch this video to learn more about what that can mean for building managers, airports, stadiums and others.

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OSIsoft: Donald's Smart City with the PI System and MS Azure

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The PI System from OSIsoft shares and combines building and utility data through the cloud. Building managers are watching the local grid load, Airports are saving on utilities, and Stadiums are looking green. Everyone see their picture next to the big picture.

# data[].attributes.headline
How Amsterdam is Building the City of the Future

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How Amsterdam is Building the City of the Future

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http://smartcitiescouncil.com/resources/how-amsterdam-building-city-future

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How Amsterdam is Building the City of the Future (Future Cities by Skift and MasterCard)

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Read the full article here: http://futurecities.skift.com/2015/08/17/amsterdam-future-smart-city-masterplan/ Skift and MasterCard present Future Cities, a new series exploring how major destinations are using smart design to meet the needs of rapid urbanization. Discover more here: http://futurecities.skift.com and follow on Twitter at #SkiftFutureCities

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http://www.sustainablematerials.org.uk/resource/
http://sustainablematerials.com/muratto/

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SMaRT CONSENSUS SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT STANDARDS

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SMaRT CONSENSUS SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT STANDARDS

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Provide Substantial Global Benefits for the world’s products with Environmental, Social, & Economic criteria.
http://mts.sustainableproducts.com/SMaRT_product_standard.html

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Life-cycle assessments (LCAs) involve cradle-to-grave analyses of production systems and provide comprehensive evaluations of all upstream and downstream energy inputs and multimedia environmental emissions. LCAs can be costly and time-consuming, thus limiting their use as analysis techniques in both the public and private sectors. Streamlined techniques for conducting LCAs are needed to lower the cost and time involved with LCA and to encourage a broader audience to begin using LCA.

- Research Triangle Institute (RTI)
http://www.gdrc.org/uem/lca/lca-define.html

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The Eco-hierarchy Tool is used to select construction materials and is aimed at focusing designers on the most important environmental issues relevant to each material.
http://www.level.org.nz/material-use/life-cycle-assessment/eco-hierarchy-tool/

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EPDs are an independently verified public declaration of environmental performance of materials or products for all or part of the life cycle.
http://www.level.org.nz/material-use/life-cycle-assessment/environmental-product-declarations/

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ISO Standards

The process for undertaking LCA is set out in the ISO standards ISO 14040 (2006) and ISO 14044 (2006), with more specific detail concerning the application of LCA to building products in ISO 21930 Sustainability in building construction – Environmental declaration of building products (2007).

ISO 21930 is part of a suite of developing standards concerned with sustainability in building construction and construction works.  Others are as follows:

ISO 15392: Sustainability in building construction – General Principles (2008).

ISO 21929-1: Sustainability indicators – Part 1: Framework for development of indicators for buildings (2011).

ISO 21931-1: Framework for methods of assessment of environmental performance of construction works – Part 1: Buildings (2010).

European standards

Published European standards include:

EN 15643-2 Sustainability of construction works. Assessment of buildings. Framework for the assessment of environmental performance.

EN 15978 Sustainability of construction works. Assessment of environmental performance of buildings. Calculation method.

EN 15804 Sustainability of construction works. Environmental product declarations. Core rules for the product category of construction products.

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Examples of environmental impacts that can be calculated using LCA:

Global warming (greenhouse effect) – that part of climate change caused by the emission of greenhouse gases.

Ozone depletion – ozone helps reduce harmful levels of solar radiation reaching the earth’s surface. Ozone can be destroyed by the release of ozone-depleting substances.

Acidification of land and water – release of acidifying pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and ammonia can contribute to this.

Smog – can be aggravated by release of volatile organic compounds and carbon monoxide.

http://www.level.org.nz/material-use/life-cycle-assessment/

# data[].attributes.body
program for calculating the impact of different building scenarios. http://www.athenasmi.org/our-software-data/impact-estimator/

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http://calculatelca.com/software/impact-estimator/lca-database-reports/

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The Built Environment – which includes all of a city's buildings, parks and public spaces -- is critically important. Though most of the Built Environment is not city-owned, a city government still has enormous influence over what is inside its city limits.

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The whole-life approach from resource extraction through manufacturing, transportation, installation, use, maintenance and disposal or recycling provides critical long-term information affecting design and manufacturing decisions.
http://www.athenasmi.org/resources/about-lca/

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MSc SENSE – Smart Electrical Networks and Systems

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MSc SENSE – Smart Electrical Networks and Systems

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.kic-innoenergy.com/education/master-school/msc-sense-smart-electrical-networks-and-systems/

# data[].attributes.body
Uses power electronics and smart sensors, analytics, cybersecurity, or other IT to enhance new and existing transmission and distribution assets.

Enables condition-based, just-in-time maintenance at distribution and transmission level.

Supports smart transmission technologies such as Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) and HVDC networks.

Improves insulation, contact or magnetic materials to increase grid reliability and efficiency.

http://www.kic-innoenergy.com/thematic-fields/smart-electric-grid/

Projects:
http://www.kic-innoenergy.com/venture/thematic-area/smart-electric-grid/
http://www.kic-innoenergy.com/innovationproject/thematic-area/smart-electric-grid/

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https://www.tno.nl/en/focus-area/energy/sustainable-energy/

# data[].attributes.headline
Discover Rexel’s 2015 Activity and Sustainable Development Report

# data[].attributes.subject
Discover Rexel’s 2015 Activity and Sustainable Development Report

# data[].attributes.body
https://workshop.fluidbook.com/viewer/14717_23fcd7d8d6aab8b68bb91edd7c3ff0cb_1475838518/#/0

# data[].attributes.body
http://urbantransform.eu/about/smart-energy-city/

# data[].attributes.headline
How to develop a smart energy effecient city

# data[].attributes.subject
How to develop a smart energy effecient city

# data[].attributes.body
http://urbantransform.eu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/07/WP1-revised-final-report.march-2015.pdf

# data[].attributes.headline
Urban transformation: Defining a Smart Energy City

# data[].attributes.subject
Urban transformation: Defining a Smart Energy City

# data[].attributes.body
A Smart Energy City will be highly resource efficient, and specifically, energy efficient.
http://urbantransform.eu/about/smart-energy-city/

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(1) consumer education on current energy efficient and clean energy technologies and their energy use, environmental and cost saving advantages;

(2) purchase incentives including purchase rebates and low interest loans for the purchase and utilization of energy efficient technologies; and

(3) load management activities to positively affect members’ time of use of energy.
http://www.ppi.coop/environmental/energy-efficiency/

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http://www.ppi.coop/environmental/energy-efficiency/

# data[].attributes.headline
Smart cities: innovation in energy will drive sustainable cities

# data[].attributes.subject
Smart cities: innovation in energy will drive sustainable cities

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/smart-cities-innovation-energy-sustainable

# data[].attributes.headline
Infrastructure in imperial to food waste 

# data[].attributes.subject
Infrastructure in imperial to food waste 

# data[].attributes.body
http://smartcitiescouncil.com/resources/technology-stops-food-waste-india

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Technology stops food waste in India [HD]

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India has committed itself to fighting hunger at home and worldwide. Anambitious goal, but quite realistic. India is extremely fertile, usually two, sometimes even four harvests per year can be made. The biggest problem is the enormous food waste: 40 % of food is wasted as it goes from farms to tables.

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http://smartcitiescouncil.com/resources/magpie-plastic-sorting-technology-part-recycling-process

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Magpie plastic sorting technology as part of the recycling process - Veolia UK

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Watch this video, featuring Richard Kirkman, about Veolia's "Magpie" intelligent sorting technology at our Integrated Waste Management Facility in Padworth, West Berkshire, which separates mixed plastic into different waste streams.

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Ballarat, Australia: Managing local waste resources effectively

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Ballarat, Australia: Managing local waste resources effectively

# data[].attributes.body
http://smartcitiescouncil.com/resources/ballarat-australia-managing-local-waste-resources-effectively

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For instance, in a country like Finland, only around 7 percent of the waste gets disposed into the dumping yard and the remaining about 93 percent of the waste component is recycled.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267026164_Innovative_Solid_Waste_Management_-_Smart_Cities_for_India

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Smart Cities- Transforming Waste Management

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Smart Cities- Transforming Waste Management

# data[].attributes.body
Transforming Waste management using ICT to enable Swachh Bharat Mission
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/smart-cities-transforming-waste-management-rajul-mehrotra
Article, The Economic Times:
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-07-06/news/64142904_1_waste-management-waste-collection-system-bio-medical-wastes

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Project article: http://smartcitiescouncil.com/article/one-way-cities-can-stay-top-waste-collection-think-sensors
Smart sensors bump up Edinburgh’s bin collections

Some of city’s trial areas increase waste collections by 24% using data from ultrasonic devices
http://www.ukauthority.com/UKA-Local-Digital/entry/6516/smart-sensors-bump-up-edinburghs-bin-collections
blog post by Enevo:
http://www.enevo.com/blog/?n=enevo-helps-edinburgh-win-apse-uk-award-in-scotland
similar solutions:
http://www.pepperl-fuchs.com/global/en/27019.htm
https://www.smartbin.com/

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http://readinessguide.smartcitiescouncil.com/readiness-guide/waste-management-0

# data[].attributes.headline
smart systems for planetary water management

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smart systems for planetary water management

# data[].attributes.body
https://sdm.mit.edu/conf09/presentations/sharon_nunes.pdf

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/smart-water-management-cities-rajul-mehrotra

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Five of the best water-smart cities in the developing world
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/feb/29/five-of-the-best-water-smart-cities-in-the-developing-world

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With the majority of the world's population now living in cities, solving water problems specific to metropolitan areas is crucial. Whether there's too much water or not enough, whether it's too polluted or too salty, these issues can be solved with thought, ingenuity, money and organisation. Here are some innovative ways cities are managing, protecting and conserving water supplies.

Bangalore, India
Protecting lakes from land grabbers
The capital of Karnataka State is the third most populous city in India and home to nearly 10 million people. In 2010, the city's 450 lakes were under threat of privatisation, leading to concerns that the water would not be used sustainably.

Water from the lakes percolates down into underground aquifers, which supply neighbourhood wells across the region. If lake levels drop, the aquifers may not refill effectively and people's wells would begin to dry up.

Workshops mobilised by the Environment Support Group (ESG) were held to build awareness about the importance of protecting the lakes for present and future generations. Local people quickly decided that privatisation was a bad idea and began to organise against it.

The ESG took the matter to Karnataka's high court and filed a public interest writ which resulted in the prohibition of the ongoing privatisation of lakes. A committee of government agencies was also set up to protect and conserve Bangalore's lakes for posterity.

When the 450 remaining lakes are rehabilitated, it is expected that underground aquifers will be recharged. For urban communities, this will have significant benefits: greater quantities of quality water means that surrounding communities - mostly subsistence farmers - will have better crop growth and yields. As such, the initiative won an UN award in 2012 for best water management practices.

Cape Town, South Africa
Saving water on a massive scale

Cape Town has been internationally recognised for its efforts in water management. Over the past 15 years the city has managed to reduce water use by 30%, despite a population increase of 30% over the same period.

The city's water conservation programme has a two-pronged approach: persuading people to use less water, and deploying the latest technology to use water efficiently.

The city has adjusted the water pressure to reduce wastage, replaced old pipes, improved leak detection, carried out extensive repairs and improved the management of water meters. In 2011, Cape Town replaced 20,574 faulty water meters and trained 100 school caretakers in 60 schools about water conservation. It also persuaded 95 parks and golf courses to irrigate with treated effluent rather than potable water, saving millions of gallons a year. The project has even enabled the city to put plans for a new dam on hold.

Sorocaba, Brazil
Cleaning up polluted rivers

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City workers regularly remove 10 tonnes of dirt, leaves, branches, rubbish and recyclables from the Sorocaba river in a month. Photograph: Alamy

The people of Sorocaba are working hard to clean up the city's rivers which have been badly polluted by industry, mining and sewage. In a single day in June 2015, residents removed 228kg of rubbish from the Sorocaba river. City workers regularly remove 10 tonnes of dirt, leaves, branches, rubbish and recyclables in a month. Attempts are also being made to change the riverside into a place of beauty rather than a place to tip rubbish. Linear parks are being created along the river banks to provide space for leisure and recreation when the river is flowing normally, and to hold the extra water in times of high flows. Trees are also being planted to provide a habitat for wildlife.

Beira, Mozambique
A big team with a grand vision

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Money from the Beira 2035 plan will be used to dredge the derelict harbour and regenerate the area. Photograph: Alamy

Mozambique's second-largest city, Beira, is a port town on the Pungue River, at the spot where the river meets the Indian Ocean. With help from the Dutch, including the NGO Alterra, the city has created Beira 2035, a master plan to tackle the urgent problem of urban storm water which has repeatedly caused flooding and soil erosion, and posed a threat to infrastructure and human health in the city.

In a smart move, Beira 2035 also takes the opportunity to plan for urban expansion. The city is bursting at the seams and its growing population urgently needs more housing, so the city is funding its flood protection by attracting 300 investors who are interested in developing the port area.

Money will be used to dredge the harbour, build low-cost housing, develop local industry, improve transport links and drainage and extend the provision of water services.

Lima, Peru
Putting out a strong message

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Lima, the capital of Peru, has 8 million residents yet receives only 1cm of rain every year. Photograph: Mariana Bazo/Reuters

Lima is a desert city with very little rainfall. Just over 1cm falls every year, which is a tiny amount considering that the Peruvian capital has 8 million residents. Worse still, Limeños depend on glacial meltwater from the Peruvian Andes where glaciers are shrinking year on year- some reports have estimated that they will be gone altogether in the next 40 years.

In 2007, Lima's public officials wisely decided that to cope with severe water shortages, they needed the urban population to be tuned into those issues. The Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation together with the World Bank's water and sanitation programme aims to promote water saving, cultivate willingness to pay proper water tariffs and make people more environmentally aware.

The initiative targeted 12 to 30-year-olds after a study of the age group showed that awareness of the problem was very low. A national writing competition for school children was held and the 50 best stories about water were published on World Water Day in 2014, in a book called Mitos y leyendas del agua en el Peru which translates as "Myths and legends of water in Peru". A full time schools officer is now employed to help schools throughout Lima provide good quality education about water issues.

Which other cities in the developing world are making great strides towards a water secure future? Share your thought in the comments below. Join our community of development professionals and humanitarians. Follow@GuardianGDP on Twitter, and have your say on issues around water in development using #H2Oideas.
Topics

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Five of the best water-smart cities in the developing world

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
With the majority of the world's population now living in cities, solving water problems specific to metropolitan areas is crucial. Whether there's too much water or not enough, whether it's too polluted or too salty, these issues can be solved with thought, ingenuity, money and organisation.

# data[].attributes.headline
Intelligent Water System for Smart Cities

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Intelligent Water System for Smart Cities

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.hitachi.com/rev/pdf/2012/r2012_03_106.pdf

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Around 700 million people in 43 countries suffer today from water scarcity.

By 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity.

Two-thirds of the world's population could be living under water stressed conditions.

With the existing climate change scenario, almost half the world's population will be living in areas of high water stress by 2030.

http://www.smartwatersmartcity.com/why

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New techonology for controling stormwater
http://www.dhigroup.com/global/news/2016/03/water-smart-cities

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https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/what-green-infrastructure

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Building a
Green Infrastructure for Europe 

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Building a
Green Infrastructure for Europe 

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Very good description of what and why:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/ecosystems/docs/green_infrastructure_broc.pdf

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http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/info/pubs/docs/greeninfrastructure.pdf

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Developing green infrastructure is a key step towards the success of the EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy. The Strategy's target 2 requires that 'by 2020, ecosystems and their services are maintained and enhanced by establishing green infrastructure and restoring at least 15% of degraded ecosystems'. But green infrastructure contributes to all 6 targets of the Strategy - in particular the full implementation of the Birds and Habitats Directive (target 1) and to maintaining and enhancing biodiversity in the wider countryside and the marine environment (targets 3 and 4).

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/ecosystems/strategy/index_en.htm

Funding:
Investing in green infrastructure does not just protect natural capital. It is a big step towards the smart, sustainable and inclusive growth which is one of the EU's priority objectives.

It contributes to climate change mitigation and adaptation;

it reduces resource consumption by lowering energy use or increasing available water supply,

it attracts new investments or new businesses to an area, and inspires new business models;

it saves costs arising from negative environmental effects and brings health benefits, including through disaster prevention and mitigation (floods, droughts, forest fires, heat waves in urban areas, avalanches and landslides in rural areas,...).

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/ecosystems/investing/index_en.htm

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http://www.conservationfund.org/projects/parks-with-purpose-in-atlanta

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Project: The Emerald Necklace Expanded Vision

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Project: The Emerald Necklace Expanded Vision

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http://www.conservationfund.org/projects/an-emerald-necklace-for-los-angeles

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When nature is harnessed by people and used as an infrastructural system it's called "green infrastructure." 

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When nature is harnessed by people and used as an infrastructural system it's called "green infrastructure." 

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https://www.asla.org/greeninfrastructure.aspx

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http://sustainablecommunitydevelopmentgroup.org/wordpress/issues/green-infrastructure/

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Learning for history and including the human aspect
https://stateofgreen.com/files/download/9642

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get it here: http://bookshop.europa.eu/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/EU-Bookshop-Site/en_GB/-/EUR/ViewPublication-Start?PublicationKey=KINA24505ENC_PAPER

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Research priorities:

Urban infrastructure

New forms of organisation of urban mobility: high quality public transport, car-sharing, car pooling, demand-responsive transport

Urban mobility services with the support of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

Urban mobility systems: innovative and clean urban vehicles, quiet cities, accessibility for vulnerable users

City logistics

International co-operation

http://ec.europa.eu/research/transport/road/sustainable_urban_transport/index_en.htm

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http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/susdevtopics/sdt_pdfs/shanghaimanual/Chapter%204%20-%20Sustainable%20urban%20transport.pdf

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http://www.ejtir.tbm.tudelft.nl/issues/2004_01/pdf/2004_01_02.pdf