SMArt CitIES Network for Sustainable Urban Futures (SMARTIES Net)

4fb6599a-7373-4f47-bc50-9755b292e811

Closed

ESRC
ESRC
ESRC
ESRC
ESRC

£967,900

May 8, 2016

May 8, 2017

In a rapidly urbanising world where more than 50% of the global population lives in cities, the way in which cities are planned, built, operated and redeveloped has increasing social, environmental and economic importance. The concentration of people in cities continues to grow and is anticipated to double by 2050 driven by internal and external economic mobility, and migration from rural environments and global conflict zones putting direct stress on housing, infrastructure and services. Governments and city governors are increasingly developing city visions which identify long-term goals for IT (connectivity/'smart' systems/digital services), infrastructure (housing /transport /water/waste/energy/goods/food) and development (green growth/livelihood improvements) but urban sustainability is challenged by social (poverty/cohesion/inclusion/diversity), environmental (extreme weather/tectonics/disease outbreaks) and economic (recession/declining labour market/oil price fluctuations) factors which frequently operate on shorter timescales and which can impact severely on cities, urban ecosystems and people. To achieve sustainable solutions to these challenges requires innovative thinking and multidisciplinary teams of talented researchers who can develop novel approaches in partnership with communities and stakeholders locally, nationally and internationally. This project brings together such a team from the UK and India to create a SMARt ciTIES Network which will develop future thinking and new approaches to increase the sustainability of selected cities in both countries. Through networking events, workshops and entrepreneur competitions we will focus on addressing the big issues faced by urban planners and governors including traffic congestion, affordable housing, the provision of accessible, resilient and future-proof infrastructure for clean water and sanitation, transport and energy, and waste management and recycling while ensuring all citizens have equal access to and participation in a city life which is safe, secure, inclusive, healthy and desirable.

Potential Impact:
The aim of this SMARt ciTIES Network is to establish a consortium of multidisciplinary, international researchers with expertise spanning education and social science, cultural heritage and urban planning, science and engineering, ecology and environmental sciences and information technology to develop new collaborative solutions to the multi-layered challenges of rapid urbanisation. Through working together to share knowledge, expertise and experience the network participants will work with local, national and international stakeholder groups to address the need for sustainable provision of accessible, affordable, resilient and future-proof infrastructure for housing, transport and energy and waste management and recycling, clean water and sanitation, while ensuring all citizens (including the poor, displaced and disadvantaged) have equal access to and participation in a city life which is safe, secure, inclusive, healthy and desirable. We will identify locally-acceptable, gender-sensitive and environmentally sustainable solutions that will enhance the urban habitat and lead directly to economic and welfare benefits for individuals and households, promoting economic and social development. The UK-India Consortium of researchers will meet in different cities in India to brainstorm solutions to the challenges faced by urban dwellers, policy makers and governors of those locations. Future Cities reports will be created based on the discussions and key innovations identified. It is envisaged that local communities, businesses, NGOs, city officers and governors will be engaged throughout this process in co-production of outcomes that are acceptable to all.

The SMARt ciTIES Network will run an online entrepreneurship competition involving students from all institutions and local SMEs. The focus will be on Future Smart Cities and how Open Source Information, Virtual Platforms, new 'Apps' and Big Data can be used for the benefit of the targeted cities (including in areas such as traffic planning, service logistics and for public health benefits). The best groups will be awarded a travel bursary to India and work together with their SMEs collaborators to develop their ideas with community engagement events into pilot outputs. It is envisaged that the network will expand to include new associate members throughout the project since it is recognized that the solutions to rapid urbanisation require multidisciplinary and whole community input at all levels.