Glasgow, Greenwich officials to speak at Urban London

via Greenbang:

Two new speakers — Brian Devlin and Trevor Dorling — have been added to the lineup for Urban London, scheduled for June 5 at Digital Enterprise Greenwich.

Brian Devlin

Brian is executive director of land and environmental services for the Glasgow City Council. In that position, he oversees an annual revenue budget of £170 million and a capital budget of £318 million. He also holds strategic responsibility for around 3,300 employees.

He led the £24 million bid for Future Cities that was awarded to Glasgow in January 2013. He is the lead officer in the city authority driving that project forward.

Prior to joining Glasgow in 2012, Brian worked in a commercial support services organization. He also served as director of environment and housing for the Stirling Council.

Trevor Dorling

Trevor is assistant director for employment and skills at the Royal Borough of Greenwich. In that role, he manages Digital Enterprise Greenwich, which is responsible for developing a digital economy and embedding a smart-city approach as part of the borough’s regeneration program.

Trevor is also an adviser to London Councils on economic development and is co-chair of the British Standards Institution Smart Cities Advisory Group.

A chartered town planner, Trevor has more than 35 years of experience with London local authorities in town planning, employment and skills, and economic development. He holds degrees in town planning and ICT (information and communications technology).

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Social Entrepeneurship, cities, communications, council, councils, digital, organization, regeneration, result, smart, standards, stirling, urban london 2014

World’s megacities pick up pace on climate action

via Greenbang:

Leaders in the world’s largest cities almost universally recognize that climate change poses a “significant risk.” And they’re stepping up efforts to prepare for and minimize those risks in a number of ways.

Cities in the C40 Climate Leadership Group have doubled the number of climate-focused actions they’ve taken since 2011, with more than 8,000 initiatives now under way, according to a new report — “Climate Action in Megacities Volume 2.0″ — released today in Johannesburg. Among the areas seeing the most action are bike-sharing programs (up from six to 36, an increase of 500 percent, between 2011 and 2013), bus rapid transit systems (more than doubled since 2011) and waste-to-energy development plans (one-third of city energy supply plans focus on waste-to-energy projects).

Ninety-eight percent of the cities contributing to the report acknowledge that adaptation efforts are critical for minimizing the risks of climate change.

The data gathered for this latest report is aimed at helping C40 cities build on the efforts they first reported in 2011.

” ‘Measurement for management’ has been a key tenet of C40, and one that will remain central to C40′s operations going forward,” said Mark Watts, C40 executive director. “Our data will inform the strategic direction of C40 programs and initiatives, and enable C40 cities to set targets, evaluate actions and access resources. This ability to target our efforts is critical, given the urgent need to reduce emissions and climate risks.”

The 63 cities in the C40 network have a total population of 600 million people and generate about 5 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

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Social Entrepeneurship, cities, climate, development, johannesburg, population, result, supply, transit

Smart-city news in review: Oct. 18, 2013

via Greenbang:

• As of Oct. 17, 2013, the European Union has achieved 100-percent basic broadband coverage across the continent. “Europe needs lightning-speed connectivity,” said Neelie Kroes, vice president of the European Commission. “We cannot leave some companies and citizens behind. Now we have basic broadband achieved, we have to immediately focus on investing in new fast networks.” Kroes added, “Access to reliable and affordable higher broadband speeds of 30Mbps and 50 Mbps are essential for Europe’s economic development and for the next generation of digital products and services like Connected Television, eHealth, Cloud Computing and Connected Cars.”


• Some 8,000 utility professionals gathered in Amsterdam this week (Oct. 15 – 17, 2013) for European Utility Week. Among some of the highlights were Alliander’s launch of its Mobility Services venture to promote the uptake of electric vehicles; a discussion of grid modernization by Ambient Corporation; and the launch of a smart-meter solution for multi-dwelling buildings by Siemens in partnership with Green Energy Options.


• The Times of Malta recently (Oct. 10, 2013) reported that Smart City Malta will host a followup training program for business startups from Oct. 12 through Nov. 16. The program is one of 21 being held around the world to provide “action-oriented entrepreneurial education.”


• Tatarstan president Rustam Minnikhanov recently (Oct. 1, 2013) broke ground on Kazan Smart City, the “first example of holistic “

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Social Entrepeneurship, cities, policy