How can local authorities effectively address the decarbonization of urban environments in the long run? How would their interests and expertise be aligned into an integrated approach towards decarbonization? This paper delves into how strategic processes can help to integrate diverse disciplines and stakeholders when facing urban decarbonization and presents Cities4ZERO, a step-by-step methodology for local authorities, able to guide them through the process of developing the most appropriate plans and projects for an effective urban transition; all from an integrated, participatory and cross-cutting planning approach. For the development of the Cities4ZERO methodology, plans, projects, and strategic processes from five European cities that are part of the Smart Cities and Communities European Commission program have been monitored for 4 years, in close collaboration with local authorities, analyzing ad-hoc local strategic approaches to determine key success factors and barriers to be considered from their transitioning experiences. The study indicates that an iterative strategic approach and a project-oriented vision, combined with a stable institutional commitment, are opening a window of opportunity for cities to achieve effective decarbonization.
Fossil fuels-based human activity over time has generated unacceptable local levels of air pollution and GHG emissions. One of main implications of this activity is Climate Change, which unforeseen consequences are already impacting at local and global scales. This research is focused on defining an effective framework to shift that trend in the local level through the implementation of the Smart Zero Carbon City concept, which brings together the emerging Smart City paradigm and the 2030/2050 EU goals with the urgent need of decarbonizing our local environments. In this case, the study applies the Smart Zero Carbon City concept and implementation method into 5 EU cities, focusing on the case of Sonderborg municipality (DK) to extract the Key Factors towards Smart Urban Decarbonization, which are applicable to other cities facing this ambitious transition. Keywords: Decarbonization, Smart Zero Carbon City, Smart Cities, Energy Transition
Nowadays urban environments concentrate more than half the world’s population, reaching up to 70% on 2050 according to forecasts. This concentration implies that most of future challenges will take place in cities as well as the opportunities coming from their potential solutions. Current technological innovation can provide support in facing one of main challenges society is facing: reducing carbon footprint from our cities. This ambitious transition, steered by the Smart Zero Carbon City (SZCC) concept, needs a flexible characterisation method, which can be adapted to different kinds of cities to evaluate the main features of each city, hence proposing and prioritising most suitable interventions. The aim of this study is focused on the characterisation of cities according to the SZCC concept through a set of indicators: the Smart Zero Carbon City Readiness Level (SZCC Readiness Level), able to analyse key aspects of cities according to SZCC concept (Characteristics of the city; City plans and strategies; Energy; Mobility; Infrastructures and ICT services; Citizen Engagement). This characterisation enlightens the development of SZCC concept in the city, identifying its strengths and weaknesses in order to ease the alternatives’ selection towards decarbonisation, being handy at a time for those small and medium-sized municipalities, so common in the European context, which usually hold less resources than big capitals to implement decision-making support diagnoses. In order to validate this set of indicators, SZCC Readiness Level has been implemented in 5 Basque cities, which represent different urban typologies, analysing its current situation regarding SZCC concept. Keywords: Smart Zero Carbon City Readiness Level, Smart Zero Carbon Cities, Decarbonisation, City diagnosis, Indicators.
Given the current climate emergency, our planet is suffering. Mitigation measures must be urgently deployed in urban environments, which are responsible for more than 70% of global CO2 emissions. In this sense, a deeper integration between energy and urban planning disciplines is a key factor for effective decarbonisation in urban environments. This is addressed in the Cities4ZERO decarbonisation methodology. This method specifically points out the need for technology-based solutions able to support that integration among both disciplines at a local level, enriching decision-making in urban decarbonisation policy-making, diagnosis, planning, and follow-up tasks, incorporating the spatial dimension to the whole process (GIS-based), as well as the possibilities of the digital era. Accordingly, this paper explores the demands of both integrated urban energy planning and European/Basque energy directives, to set the main requisites and functionalities that Decision Support Systems (DSSs) must fulfil to effectively support city managers and the urban decarbonisation process.
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