In the EU, the main use of energy by households is for heating their homes, and is therefore highly contributing to greenhouse gas emissions

Smart city expert Ali Vasallo Belver shares the lesson learnt from an innovative integrated retrofitting strategy across Europe

Energy-saving devices and ‘smart speakers’ are selling in record-breaking numbers, and driving hi-tech market development. However, obstacles remain due to a lack of digital skills among consumers and inconsistent service levels

District heating systems that use industrial waste are increasingly common, which helps the transition to a circular economy.

On 11 December CITyFiED got the award for its sustainable and inclusive activities with Torrelago tenants.

While the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) takes place from the 2^nd to the 14^th of December 2018 in Katowice, Poland, we have been investigating how district heating can contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases.

Involving citizens is the biggest challenge to finalise large-scale energy efficiency works in neighbourhoods. An emblematic story comes from Valladolid, Spain, where “no, we can’t” has become “yes, we can”

How The Project Transforms Three International Cities

Due to its reliance on renewable energy sources, district heating is becoming a preferred energy saving solution. One of the biggest challenges, however, is convincing homeowners of the long-term value of retrofitting buildings to accommodate the smart solution

Reducing CO2 emissions is not only about adapting new technologies, but ensuring that these technologies are also being accepted by the public

First in a series of three “Info Packs” from CITyFiED designed to unlock valuable insights and knowledge from the project tackles overcoming non-technological barriers in energy efficient renovation at district level. Additional new insights and public project deliverables available to registered users of cityfied.eu

Sustainable urban renovation is complex, particularly with respect to the decision making process, where a number of key stakeholders and several aspects need to be considered simultaneously. Evaluating and selecting alternative scenarios or measures to be implemented can be a substantial use of time and resources for cities. 

The first electric bus fleet of Turkey is being established in İzmir.

CITyFiED newsletter editorial April 2017

The CITyFiED consortium met in at demonstration site Laguna de Duero, Spain 27 and 28 February 2017 to keep the project on track to achieving substantial energy savings, emissions reductions and a climate of confidence for energy efficient renovations across Europe. 

One of CITyFiED ’s main objectives is to help cities get smarter, faster. By sharing a wealth of experiences in district level renovation and regeneration, the project can be a risk-saver, cost-saver and time-saver for cities, agencies and industries that occasionally struggle to hit Europe’s ambitious energy targets and deliver scalable change.

The Torrelago district in Laguna de Duero, Spain is home to about 4,500 inhabitants in nearly 1,500 dwellings and 31 early 1980’s buildings. A deep energy efficient retrofit is taking place as part of the EU funded CITyFiED project and captured the attention of policy makers, councillors and energy experts from nineteen European cities and the project consortium during an in depth study tour. 

Interview with Klaus Dillinger, deputy mayor for Building, Environment and Transport in the city of Ludwigshafen, Germany

“I’m out to prove the obvious,” says best-selling author Parag Khanna, “More connectivity is better.” “The transfer of technology and best practices” through learning networks of cities are “incredibly important, more important than every climate summit that’s ever been held in the world.”

How can we prepare students for the environmental challenges ahead? One way is to show younger generations the path towards smart cities of the future

Some examples in Europe show that cities running their own energy company can lower the energy bill for citizens

CITyFiED Community of Interest member, Leicester is set to receive a share of £2.8milllion of government money set aside to help the UK expand its green heat networks.

A Lund University masters student study sponsored by Kraftringen has given valuable insight and aided decision making, revealing it is more profitable for the CITyFiED project demonstration site in Lund to sell surplus power production from solar panels, instead of storing it in a battery.

From North to South, different cities of the same country look for a sustainable and replicable model for energy efficiency. Udine and Salerno are among the forerunners of Italy’s smart revolution

One of the key issues facing modern cities today is to avoid municipalities being locked in to technology from a single provider, and to ensure they are free to transition to the most convenient products and services for citizens offered by competitors

With centralised municipal management of utilities such as transport, water or waste services, Izmir is a pioneer of urban development in Turkey. The country’s third biggest city is fast developing and is fully leveraging IT to improve citizens’ lives

Views from the Smart Cities and Communities General Assembly in Eindhoven

One of the key working groups of the European Innovation Partnership is entitled ‘Citizen Focus’. CITyFiED was one site to testify, share and be inspired.  

The European Innovation Platform on Smart Cities and Communities (EIP-SCC) held their general assembly in Eindhoven, The Netherlands late this May. The event was a melting pot of ideas, people and policy trying to make sense of and give direction to the smart city movement. 

Mayors of cities in Europe and its Mediterranean neighbourhood have committed to acting together to ensure the transition to a more energy-efficient model based on the use of renewables and the reduction of CO₂ emissions

More and more people are living in the cities, which accelerates the demand for a sustainable development; regarding both the environment and economy, as well as social sustainability. This means that the cities need to develop in a way that makes it possible for its inhabitants to live a good life. Areas to consider are services, integration, building, meeting spaces, public transportation and recreational access.

Millions of euros have been crowdfunded in four years to finance small and medium renewable energy projects. And there is still potential to be developed

Does technology expose cities more to terrorist attacks? We asked urban technology expert Francis Pisani

Coordinators of 13 smart city projects from across Europe, along with experts and representatives of the European Commission, will converge on Eindhoven for their first ever meeting dedicated to community engagement on 23 May.

The project’s model for evaluation of replication potential is a framework to help CITyFiED city cluster to review their individual replication potential of the technologies implemented on the demo sites. 

Interview with Furio Honsell, Mayor of UDINE, Italy

Endowed with renewable resources, such as wind, sun, geothermal and hydro, the country is still relying on coal and other fossil fuels to produce its energy. Forward-looking public policies could make the difference and lead to sustainable and less polluted urban areas in the coming decades

A wider use of waste and an accurate evaluation of the context are crucial to improving the sustainability of one of the most important sources of renewable energy in Europe

Interview with Councillor Ramsey Milne, Aberdeen, Scotland

OpenHouse events throughout Europe represent an opportunity for outreach and replicability, central features of many European demonstration projects

Interview with Deputy Mayor for Urban Development, Dr. Balázs Szeneczey

Questions to Javier Pereiro, General Manager of FEUGA

Questions to Bernd Kappenstein, Head of Energy & Environment, Region Rhine-Neckar, Germany

Keeping tenants in retrofitted buildings fully informed about the plans helps foster their acceptance of such change in their housing

Questions to Mohamed Ouriaghli, Deputy Mayor for Housing, Equal Opportunities and ICT

Today, buildings represent the sector with the highest energy consumption in Europe, covering almost 40 % of the energy demand.

Questions to Rene Tonnisson, Member of the Executive Board, Smart City Lab

Questions to Megha Huber, Sustainable Development Coordinator for Värmdö Municipality (Värmdö kommun)

Questions to Euken Sesé, General Manager of Fomento San Sebastian

Retrofitting districts with sustainable energy systems can be a success if enough data is available to analyse the suitability of each chosen energy-saving solution

By relying on district heating combined with heat and power production, municipalities in Sweden power their cities from renewable energy sources. 

All over Europe cities and towns strive to become climate smart. They revamp their energy districts, step-by-step, while looking across borders to learn from best practices.

Zero-energy districts are the only possible future for European cities, as costs associated with palliating the effects of climate change soar, but there are many challenges ahead

Citizens living in near-zero energy districts will make significant savings and benefit from an increased comfort in their homes