Climate change is appending today, now.
Climate Smart Cities, ‘Climate’ that combine the climate change, ‘Smart’ that connect the intelligent grid and, ‘Cities’ where exist the real action under the space. The UN Green Climate Fund call to this type of city, ‘The Climate Compatible City’ where the promotion of sustainable public transporting systems, the energy efficient, the resilient buildings and, infrastructure nor the efforts to safeguard live hoods with particular attention to urban poor are supported. The new Climate Smart Cities will decrease the rising levels will protect cities from the storm surges and, the heat stress. In moments of extreme precipitation, in inland and coastal flooding, will improve landslides and in drought moments.
Climate Smart Cities, in a direction of sustainable auto production of natural sources, will decrease the water scarcity and will reduce the air pollution.
Could it be possible to think in a small, romantic city, of an earlier time? Is it feasible to implement that feeling into contemporary cities where exist science and technology?
Changing a polis to a ‘dynapolis’ new dynamic types of settlements need, to interconnect in a smaller scale as says the Greek architect ‘Doxiádis’.
A new notion of design integration where nature arriving at the achievement of a productive Landscape as agro-grid and, a urban agro-farm or an ecological Landscape as eco-grid, natural plant, green and, wildlife and either, the Urban structuring Landscape as private, public and hybrid organisation.
How could then set a Smart Climate City? Spaces with sustainability an active area, that contains an intelligent management, which promotes citizen participation, which brings together data and, works and, transform into information and, first of all, communicate properly with each other and even, for themselves. Cities are a contributing factor to climate change. Urban activities, are a major source of greenhouse gases. Estimates indicate that cities, are responsible for 75% of global CO2 emissions through transport and buildings, being among the largest contributors. The initial origin of Smart Cities, has a connection with the global economic crisis in 2008.
Chaotic cities, unstructured spaces and low quality of life, is part of the three points of the triangle that create a need into inhabitant’s lives.
A Smart City to be considered as such, must contain public security, intelligent buildings, sustainable energy, communications and smart payments, sustainable transport and water quality and either human lives. A lively city has to collect data, communicate and work all the information to justify the excess of ‘ connectivity’.
Within this format what will differ a CLIMATE SMART CITY to a Smart City?
A Climate Smart City promotes sustainable transport, network system, more energy efficiency, buildings and resilient infrastructure, supports all efforts to ensure the well being particularly in poor urban areas and built green architecture.
The UN-Habitat, promotes these actions in direct response to reducing the rising sea level, to global climate change, in response to “heat stress” in action to intense and destructive rainfall in action of air pollution in action the lack of water that already exists. In a world in action, to dry in action, to landslides in action, to flooding in coastal areas and, on action to earthquakes, among other problematic performances. IN general they participation under the CSC construction and implementation.
Cities from type 1 are built from the scratch, as was said before. They are usually built on platforms, with absolutely nothing. These spaces, do not initially contain historical elements that can contemplate some authenticity. Sometimes, the initial phase of these cities creates melancholic spaces and standardised buildings for the first inhabitants. In such new cities, the application of human needs is easier and more automatic. It is arguably easier to apply new technologies. But, the investment in such areas, it is proved today that the financial return, is extended in time and hard to finance in long running. This type of investment requires an exceptional political and, social support to be implemented. We are talking about cities like ‘ Songdo’ or ‘Masdar’.
The Smart Cities of type 2 are, existing cities that are beginning to adapt to the concepts of smart cities. Spaces are already inhabited, with a daily circulation of population and, continued daily the economic enrichment that allows a short-term financing. However, these areas require enormous challenges of implementing new technologies, which sometimes result in, increased costs. These are cities that already contain the outset barriers to adapt to current needs of the population. Spaces with historical elements to preserve, are often more complicated than standardised architectures. Type 2 cities example are ‘ Santander’ or ‘ Vancouver’.
The Smart cities, on a whole, may continue to be applied in the world. In general they can be from both types. The goal of this investigation is clear that, Climate Smart Cities are different Smart Cities and, the implementation of this paradigm shift, is crucial in today’s world where the city has to have necessarily first to produce its energy and its water and secondly, have to be able to produce their own food in order to reduce emissions of excess transport and finally thirdly, be capable of retain water as security for maintenance and to the general production of the city.
“ Green society where humans, nature, and urban development exist in perfect harmony…People feel happier in Natural environment…low carbon in a green growth paradigm to humans and nature coexist amicably.” In urban and architectural definition of intervention areas, under the last century and, from the 70s by ‘ Michael Graves’ with his concept of Re-design of the city, or even, the city model from ‘ Le Corbusier’ are impressive influences nowadays. Other authors such as ‘ Paolo Portoghesi’ an influencer in urban design or even, ‘Colin Rowe’ which may also have been present but, a biggest influence more focused on the design of the American city that had created structural basis of Smart Cities. Other examples such as ‘Léon Krier’, ‘Rodrigo Perez’, ‘Peter Eisenman’, ‘Daniel Libeskind’ and, recently ‘Norman Foster’, where all of them, were major influencers in these new concepts of intelligent cities or Smart Cities, being present during distinct times.
Places like Brasilia, Abu Dhabi or even some elements, introduced at the Expo in Lisbon, Portugal, can have a recognition as smart cities establishment key elements. Singapore city (Figure 62) is one ancient example of these attitude under the territory, where the measure part of the territory in green. It is possible to tell that they act ‘ in a brilliant way’. They were focus in both, under the methodology, developing the city as a case study and under the city Re-design as a whole or under parts.
This research was development based under the characteristics of a Designed dissertation or thesis, where the case studies demonstrates and, present a more artistic, architectural and structured proposal.
Figure 62 – Singapore city in a spring morning
(source: by the author 2016)
All cities have several stages of construction and, they present some dominant types – housing and mono functionalities.
Kevin Lynch believes that, the following elements into a city, are the most necessary to transform and create liveable cities: the ‘Albedo’, ‘Behaviour’, ‘Clarity’, ‘Cluster analysis’, ‘Context and sub context’, ‘Ecology’, ‘Japanese erotic cinema’, ‘Motion awareness’, ‘Performance requirements’, ‘Noise attenuation’, ‘Singularity’ and the ‘Slope and Climate,’ ‘Time series.’
Kevin Lynch believes that a city can have a division into five classes as: ‘Paths,’ ‘Edges,’ ‘Nodes,’ ‘Districts’ and ‘Landmarks.’
He believes as well that, elements as ‘Emotional security’ and ‘Intensity of Human experience’ have an entrenchment into all cities.
‘Rahul Mehrotra’ from Harvard University, believes in ‘Permanents and impermanent’ elements are an integrant part of space or cities under development and that they can transform and make a city more liveable and smarter. He believes in Kinetic Cities, for new and intelligent cities.
The style, the ornament and the functionality for ‘Farshid Moussavi’ the creator of the idea of ‘The Function of Style’ best known for ‘f (style)’ are part of everyday existence, but buildings are objects through buildings everywhere.
The factor ‘unit’ has a use in the old times since the 1990s, but with diverse contemporary characteristics today. Buildings today face many challenges: space planning, security, sustainability and, sophisticated engineering that require specialist consultants on theoretic design architecture.
Distinct types of activities for people, into developing architecture, to improve quality, with time changing, most of the spaces change and, for example libraries had changed, schools had changed their needs and, architecture change every single day. Architects need to have the ability to act into buildings with knowledge. Farshid believes that, any style can be adopted for any nation and, can be accepted from any generation over the years and either, can generate new or unpredictable forms.
Even if the election of a new mayor, could imply costs in budget and under the program or, even at the building location, the environmental changes under the building envelope should be maintained. In general, this type of changes, the organisms in each element or part, can be a challenge for architects always, in respect of the conception buildings not as a unified but, as a confederation of elements wish we can call an assemblage, implementing affectivity into them Because of this, Farshid says that the following concepts in a project are: ‘time,’ ‘authorship,’ ‘nationality’ and ‘unity’ that is = to style.
Farshid believes as well that, architecture is an assemblage of large styles into one unique and new style, that glasses building outside as a facade are an error and, that the inside or the outside are in constant change and the method needs to have a use, as an agent of change. She believes too, that the way that an architect makes it together, is the exercise to collect together, the micro-polities of the everyday.
Cities start being in the direction of an ‘Auto sustainable’ level, in a direction to ‘water production’, to the ‘energy production’ and to the ‘Food production’. Harvard University believes that, seven areas are key to designing a city, and they described like: ‘space,’ ‘energy,’ ‘materials,’ ‘people,’ ‘capital,’ ‘water’ and ‘information.’
Theory entails research under the reality, at the planning and, on the city implementation. The experiment includes the conduction of the design research studies, with the city as a living laboratory.
Simulation is need, to make the invisible, visible and, to test and visualise future scenarios. The cities of the future, will differ from each other much more than those, of the present, because they emerge in a globally networked knowledge, of the importance of liveability and sustainability. Future cities, increasingly will take into account, the active participation of people and as well, the climatic and economic context.
The height level of action, was difficult to identify as Alain de Botton described ” The beautiful houses not only fail as a guarantee of happiness but can also be accused of failing to improve the character of those who live there” not only denominated ‘beautiful buildings’ count in a city development. Their content has changed interest and, they create benefits for humans and, it is today one of the priorities for urban development, following the sustainability principles.
However, Botton identifies a current reality in his thought “ We have to ask what should be exactly the look of a beautiful building…What is a beautiful building?…How can anyone claim to know what is interesting?…The creation of beauty, once seen as the primary architect task, evaporated, silently, professional discussion and passed to a particularly confused imperative…” His idea seems to be right into a beauty meaning, standards can have different levels of applications. Any city can follow diverse beauty lines but, always following basic principles of development. The United Arab Emirates, for example, contain features in their city that south of China cities, will not provide. Elements of cultural principles, used materials under-construction or even, urban elements, will differ between cities.
With these differences, how can be possible to define a structure that contains a concept of a ‘beautiful’ Smart City? The answer is: The use of this research, as manual to implement CSC will create directly ‘beautiful cities’. And why? Because this type of cities, will gave improvements and knowledge, about the ‘beauty concept’ implemented into cities with the CSC characteristics.
The truth essence of ‘beautiful’, as a scientific understanding, always have an expression in a city. The identification of criteria of what is ‘beautiful’, can be hard and complicated to identify but, the ‘beauty’ concept can produce sensations as ‘Peter Zumthor’ identifies in his book Atmospheres “ Dialogue as beauty. It is a reciprocal game of giving and take … a surprise. An enrichment … an array of built space that communicates with observers … that infects … homes caring man that let you live well and support it discreetly. Reading the place, the purpose of discovery, meaning, and purpose of the project to design, plan and formulate the work is therefore not a linear process, but multiple interlaced … an aesthetic category.”
‘Zygmunt Bauman’ into his book Trust and Fear, he highlights the cities with the follow statement “ submit ourselves to the limits of our faculties: we know very well that we will never come to dominate the nature and our body completely also will never be immortal or also immune to the relentless course of time. So there is because another remedy that not contents ourselves with what exists. As a finding, which does not have to discourage us or break the will to live, but rather should serve as an encouragement and infuse our energy. While we cannot completely root out the pain, can in some cases eliminate it in part and others believe it. The question is knowing persists it, over and over again without faint.” This requires new urban planning and, design curricula, which take into account much stronger the dynamics of future cities.
About ‘boring buildings’, that make boring cities the article from J. Urist on ‘Science of Us’ says “New Yorkers have long bemoaned their city being overrun by bland office towers and chain stores: Soon, it seems, every corner will either be a bank, a Walgreens, or a Starbucks. And there is indeed evidence that all cities are starting to look the same, which can hurt local growth and wages. But there could be more than an economic or nostalgic price to impersonal retail and high-rise construction: Boring architecture may take an emotional toll on the people forced to live in and around it. A growing body of research in cognitive science illuminates the physical and mental toll bland cityscapes exact on residents. These researchers argue that humans are healthier when they live among variety — a cacophony of bars, bodegas, and independent shops — or work in well-designed, unique spaces, rather than unattractive, generic ones. ” From Justin B. Hollander and Ann Sussman the authors of the book ‘Cognitive Architecture’ where they believe that “ designing for how we respond to the built environment’ discover new findings in psychology and neuroscience that can possible help architects and planners better to understand clients.” Architecture with the development, are under different types of investigations, that goes directly to some different areas, but some of them are very important to communicates with citizens under a city.
‘Norman Foster’ one of the most respected architectural professionals worldwide and, he has his ambitious goals in high-tech architecture. He is the Masdar ‘father’ and the beliefs that “ The use of sustainable materials for construction of all the buildings in the city (such as recycled steel, certified wood, low VOC producing compounds etc.), small carbon footprint existence (greenhouse gas reduction to minimum), renewable energy for the entire city, reducing construction footprints.” Into the city, his idea was to implement the documentation processes, ‘zero bureaucracy’ for a cleaner environment.“ Sustainable transportation within the city – powering all the vehicles circulating within the city using renewable energy methods only.”
‘Junichiro Tanizaki’ in his book ‘In Praise of Shadows’ was capable of expressing a certain level, into actions inside spaces “ I have had similar experiences. A few years ago I spent a great deal more money than I could afford to build a house. I fussed over every last fitting and fixture, and in every case encountered difficulty. There was the shoji: for aesthetic reasons I did not want to use glass, and yet paper alone would have posed problems of illumination and security. Much against my will, I decided to cover the inside with paper and the outside with glass. This required a double frame, thus raising the cost. Having gone to all this trouble, the effect was far from pleasing. The outside remained no more than a glass door; while within, the mellow softness of the paper was destroyed by the glass that lay behind it. At that point, I was sorry I had not just settled for the glass, to begin with. Laugh though we may when the house is someone else’s we accept defeat only after having a try at such schemes.” The authenticity criteria under a project, have to be one of the big issues under consideration, when we talk about CSC. Authenticity is one of the key design factors, that Japanese architect’s search for implement in every environment.
The importance of historical or old elements, in human lives, is one of the most important points at the success, into Type 2 Smart Cities.
Symbols in a city produce an automatic human reaction. ‘Jan Gehl’ also highlights the following “…walking, stopping, resting, staying and conversing. Unpredictability and unplanned, spontaneous actions are very much part of what makes moving and staying in city space such a unique attraction. We are on our way, watching people and events, inspired to stop to look more closely or even to stay or join in.” Defining and identifying elements of space that differ from area to area. However, the universal code is representing and guiding projects and human beings lives. Creativity and colours inside spaces located in the interior or exterior of spaces influence human actions and, Peter Zumthor transmits into his book Atmospheres “I enter a building see a room and – in the fraction of a second – have this feeling about it. We have perceived environment through our emotional sensibility – a form of perception that works incredibly and which we humans evidently need to help us survive…I have no idea why that is so, but it’s like that with architecture too.”
Figure 63 – Sustainable UN goals, World Health Organization
(source: un.org 2016)
Worldwide emergency measures for disasters action are an integrant part even into the initial master planning proposals. The demolition work is as well an important step that frequently is not integrated into a plan and ,is usually forgotten in planning and it is not inserted into architecture projects. Demolitions can act into climate change and materials need to be recycle under their processes. The UN launched the SDG’s goals in September of 2015, where they want to organise the actions into 17 different areas (Figure 63). These organisation can be a base for future interventions even at a micro level. The world health organisation is promoting ‘healthy lives, for all for all ages’ and they are spreading this message around the world. Nowadays, these concerns must be attached to any proposal and, particularly in this type of cities, called CSC whether in the occurrence of an earthquake, a storm, a large fire or other catastrophic event. In this investigation we want to emphasise the possible hypotheses that accompanied the proposal on the method type. The CSC will use the first seven measures do initiate the strategic plan, but the complete implementation will connect all 17 measures. These seven will be the number 3, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13 and 15 (Figure 64).
Figure 64 – Sustainable UN goals connected with Climate Smart Cities
(source: by the author 2017)
The Buildings Maintenance is an area that has been neglected for many years but in such cities, it is a structural existence. All maintenance plans after construction there is a need of a constant dedication. Facilities Management discipline is crucial to any city nowadays.
The ‘free trade action’ between cities, as we have the example into Greek history, into modern China with Hong Kong and Shanghai or other coastal cities, can be one of the possible ways of making a continuous green growth. One of the first objectives in a ‘free trade city’ is the high quality of development on local life patterns, international cultures and, global influences. The second objective has a base on language, using as a foreign language like English as the principal or communicational language in our days, with an outstanding conductor of communication.