Sustainable and Smart Cities

This paper explores the challenges and
opportunities that government officials face in designing
coherent 'rules of the game' for achieving urban
sustainability during times of growth. Sustainability is
judged by three criteria. The first involves elements of
day-to-day quality of life, such as having clean air and
water and green space. The provision of these public goods
has direct effects on the urban public's health and
productivity. The second focuses on the city's
greenhouse gas emissions. Developing cities are investing in
new infrastructure, from highways and public transit systems
to electricity generation and transmission. They are
building water treatment, water delivery, and sewage
disposal systems. Residents of these cities are
simultaneously making key decisions about where they live
and work and whether to buy such energy-consuming durables
as private vehicles and home air-conditioning units. Given
the long-lived durability of the capital stock, short-term
decisions will have long-term effects on the city's
carbon footprint. The third criterion is a city's
resilience to natural disasters and extreme weather events.
This subsection focuses on how the urban poor can be better
equipped to adapt to the anticipated challenges of climate change.