A smart city is a community that uses the most efficient ways and resources to achieve the problems that cities have. Some examples of this include trash disposal, transit, foot traffic, energy, pollution, and tons of other everyday problems. In my opinion, there is no such thing as a “smart city”. It really just depends on how smart a city is with the recourses they have and how they use them. Obviously, there are some cities that are “smarter” than others because of modernity and economic opportunity like Dubai but there are other examples like Denver Colorado which has fleets of vehicles ready for a severe snowstorm, which Dubai would be lacking. So to boil each city down to a number or even a rank of intelligence is unique per place is ignorant and not thinking of what a city really needs. Not every city has the same problems and requirements as the next. There are many factors that go into which problems will be dire enough for a city to address. For example, Cancun Mexico does not need to implement a snow system any time in the near future and Bloomington Indiana does not need a specific ordinance for a tsunami warning. The topic I chose to present was traffic and how it affects cities. I recently presented with my group on Cars and Congestion so I thought I would elaborate. The EPA states “A typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.” And the most recent census said that about eighty thousand people live in Bloomington. If we assume that just 1/3 people in Bloomington have cars, we can assume that 122.663.6 metric tons of Carbon Dioxide per year is released into the atmosphere just from Bloomington alone. Now if we think about the 8.5 million people in New York City, you can imagine the amount of fumes that are produced from cars alone. This is the reason I believe it is so important to continue to produce clean energy and have forms of public transportation that differs from your standard bus.
In 1967, Washington DC started construction on their Metro program using a cut and cover method where they would excavate the ground out and open it up to the open air. From there, they would build each track one piece at a time. Eventually, when the blue and yellow line where created in the greater region, they ere able to expand due to popularity. Now, commuters no longer had to wait in the stand still DC traffic and instead they could take a much cleaner, faster and more efficient mode of transportation. It is estimated that around 30,000 people ride the DC metro every day now which has help the Carbon footprint and traffic in the heart of the city. I live in DC and I would never dream of getting in an Uber or ride into the heart of the city because of the amount of time and effort that it takes. But it is so simple for me to walk from my home, down the road and get on the red line. After that, I have access to the whole city for the low price of 4$. Not only does this help bring in more revenue by bringing in Urban livers to the city, but this also makes the city feel more navigable. With security presence enforced by the government and a “finger” in each major hub. I love the addition of the Metro to DC. Another example of a more complex, clean train system is the Japanese monorail which is a bullet train manufactured by a private company in Japan. This train is able to reach top speeds of 250 miles per hour and is power by electricity and magnets. This has also allowed Japanese citizens to commute throughout their country in one day by speeding through cities and having very tight schedules. The reaction to this train was so positive that it received the nickname “yume no chotokkyu — literally, the “super-express of dreams.”” This mega train that sits almost a thousand people can travel extremally fast with very low friction, leaving the passenger able to sleep, work and do whatever they need in the short time between cities. I have had the opportunity to go on this train from Tokyo to Kyoto and I was able to place a quarter on its side on the window-sill without the coin falling over. This is truly a engineering feat that is extremally revolutionary and I believe that we will see many more bullet trains in the near future. Lastly, although trains are fast and efficient. Other cities have no needs due to their geography. For example, Amsterdam has tried to switch to a mainly biking city. The government has began creating two eleven-thousand bike garages so that citizens can use them exactly like they would cars. With this, citizens would be much more mobile and it is completely green. This has also kept a ton of bike shops and mechanics in business and help the economy. Since Amsterdam has canals going throughout the city. It is very hard for cars to navigate freely without having back up issues. Ever since the bikes invention almost three hundred years ago, Amsterdam and other cities of similar geography have preferred human powered modes of transportation. This bike locker will also include a ticket system like a valet and it will make it very hard for thieves to steal anyone else’s bike without getting caught. I have had the pleasure of experiencing all of these cities and seeing these modes of transportation first hand and in my opinion, a huge bike garage with multiple bridges stemming out is ne of the coolest and most innovative things I’ve seen. All of these examples are just some of the ways that the cities of the world have been acting smarter and helping the earth. These modes of transportation make more sense, are cleaner, faster and more accepted by the community. I personally believe that these ideas are the way of the future and although I do not believe we will have autonomous cars any time soon, I do think we can stick to what we know and all do our part to create a better world. If you would like to learn about more way that the world is going green on transportation, you can visit the first link below.
https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/10-ideas-green-transportation.htm
http://opa.metro.net/MetroRidership/
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/newyorkcitynewyork
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/bloomingtoncityindiana/LND110210
https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-typical-passenger-vehicle#:~:text=typical%20passenger%20vehicle%3F-,A%20typical%20passenger%20vehicle%20emits%20about%204.6%20metric%20tons%20of,8%2C887%20grams%20of%20CO2.
amsterdam unveils massive underwater garage storing up to 7,000 bikes and zero cars
Leave a Reply