Technology is making cities ‘smart’, but it’s also costing the environment

The Australian government has allocated A$50 million for the Smarter Cities and Suburbs Program to encourage projects that “improve the livability, productivity and sustainability of cities and towns across Australia”.

A smart city is usually one connected and managed
 through computing — sensors, data analytics and other
information and communications technology.

One project funded under the program is installation of temperature, lighting and motion sensors in buildings and bus interchanges in Woden, ACT. This will allow energy systems to be automatically adjusted in response to people’s use of these spaces, with the aim of reducing energy use and improving safety and security.

In similar ways, governments worldwide are partnering with technology firms to make cities “smarter” by retrofitting various city objects with technological features. While this might make our cities safer and potentially more user-friendly, we can’t work off a blind faith in technology which, without proper design, can break down and leave a city full of environmental waste.

Read the story on The Conversation by a Lecturer in Architecture from the University of Western AustraliaTechnology, Mark Sawyer - “Technology is making cities ‘smart’, but it’s also costing the environment.”