How to plan a Green/Smart City?

Some of the common challenges faced by cities today are scarcity of water and land, traffic congestion, air pollution, noise pollution, contamination of water, spread of epidemic diseases, etc.

It is therefore necessary that cities are meticulously planned so that they are not only able to meet current challenges, but also sustain for a longer duration and flourish over the long run. It is in this context that the concept of Green City has come into play - a city that strives to achieve a balance between the present conditions and maintains a healthy future by safeguarding the environment.

Steps to be taken towards building a Green City

Some of the activities that can be undertaken in order to build a Green or Smart city, which caters to the needs of the people and simultaneously safeguards the environment, are as follows:

• Construction of suburbs must be such that they can be turned into minor agricultural hubs, close to the city in order to reduce the travel time of food from the field to the processing units. If the travel time and the steps of food processing are reduced, then a substantial portion of energy will be saved, thereby making the environment greener. • Bio-gas units, solar panels and wind turbines are examples of renewable energy sources. Cities that have such energy sources and invest in installation of units that save energy provide economies of scale. • Advocating Go-green initiatives like natural lighting, natural ventilation systems, using light colours on walls and surface that help reduce heat absorption, etc. will help decrease the requirement of air conditioning and related cooling systems. This action will save a lot of energy and carbon footprint.• There should be considerable focus on usage of collaborative methods like car-pooling, etc. to reduce contamination of the environment due to emission from cars and to avoid traffic congestion in the city.• Cities should have effective planning. The roads should be designed with pathways and walkways so that people can walk rather than cover small distances by fuel driven cars.• Sufficient amount of time and effort should be invested in improving the public transport system. • Ample emphasis must be on the installation of energy conservation systems and devices in buildings and public areas. Advanced building management systems such as Tracer™ controls from Trane provide the technology platform for the next generation of data-driven, technology-enabled services that help to create high performance buildings.

Ingersoll Rand’s technology provides an intuitive, mobile platform that gives the power and flexibility to manage buildings more efficiently by reducing cost and providing a better indoor environment and smaller environmental footprint.• Ensure that the city is planned in a way that it has sufficient number of gardens and green areas that would contribute to removing excess carbon-dioxide from the atmosphere.• The city should encourage the concept of organic farming, eco-industrial park, urban farming, urban infill, etc. One of the prime examples of such initiatives is having one’s workplace closer to home, in order to reduce travel to save energy.• While constructing concrete structures and buildings, adequate care should be taken to ensure that there is no waste produced that cannot be recycled. Also, a zero-energy building is the way forward for the future.• Adequate planning should be done for water conservation in the form of rain water harvesting, reducing storm water run-off, etc.

Therefore, by ensuring that the above recommendations are executed, one can build an energy efficient city that can be truly called a Green or Smart city.

Ingersoll Rand India are committed to meeting the world's growing constant and, critical needs for clean and comfortable air, secure homes and buildings, safe and fresh food, energy efficiency and sustainable business practices.