Shaping circular cities

Today I was in Adelaide sharing SUEZ’s insights and experiences in creating smart, connected cities as part of Powering the Change – Australia’s first conference dedicated to the circular economy.

There has been much discussion around the circular economy in recent years and its potential for benefit far beyond pure economic growth. As populations and pressure on scarce natural resources grow, cities must adapt and proactively seek new, smarter ways to foster sustainable and liveable urban centres.

In a circular economy there are many levers to pursue growth and preserve natural capital; we can harness innovation, responsible production and smart consumption and exploit the boundless resource value in our waste. Cities’ economies can flourish while enhancing environmental outcomes and providing better opportunities, health and quality of life for their residents.

The answer lies in collaboration and innovation, and the eastern French city of Dijon offers a shining example of how partnerships and technology can deliver a more efficient and connected city. Situated between the densely populated centres of Paris and Lyon, Dijon’s growth is reliant on boosting its attractiveness as a place to live and work and improving its operational efficiency. The solution: a first-of-its-kind smart city project that breaks new ground in Europe.

No longer operating from separate functional silos, Dijon will embrace a sophisticated and connected city management system with a centralised command centre at its hub. Here, critical public functions – safety and fire security, public lighting, traffic lights, video surveillance and fleet management – will be seamlessly integrated and managed, with scope for interfacing with other public services such as water management and public transport.

SUEZ is part of a joint venture delivering this transformational 105 million euro, 12-year project. The benefits are immediate and significant. Centralised services scale easily to respond to growing and changing needs. Energy efficiencies and cost savings are realised across buildings and infrastructure, with a 65 per cent reduction in energy costs through smart street lighting.

By connecting traditional functional silos of the city, there’s an opportunity to provide better coordination such as better organising the maintenance of roads and utility networks to reduce disruption to services and inconvenience to residents and reduce operational costs for providers.  The control centre could also instantly alert service providers such as waste management vehicles to events or traffic issues in a particular street, optimising routes and service times. The centre also aides in crisis management and response coordination ensures greater public safety.

With Dijon, we’ll also be exploring opportunities for data services, smart parking, electric vehicle charging stations and real time information panels into the future. Imagine an app that puts real-time information affecting residents’ days – from weather, air quality and beach conditions to events, delays and road closures – at their fingertips.

Smart cities are also learning cities; the substantial pool of secure data harvested from the centralised services paves the way for innovation, informing new and better service delivery for residents. There will be significant opportunities for innovators and start-ups where new services for residents can be created.

There are lessons and potential benefits here for Australia, but our circular economy must look to more than simply recycling and reusing. Encouraging and resourcing innovation hubs and accelerators dedicated to the circular economy is a critical step and collaboration between state and local government bodies is key. With long-term investment and an innovation focus, Australia’s cities could – like Dijon – step away from a linear economy and reap the rewards of resource efficiency and sustainable growth.