Countries all over Europe have teamed up with one common goal: to embrace smart technology to defeat urban challenges, and shift to more environmentally friendly transport and buildings. Through the Sharing Cities program, London, as well as five other European partner cities, are aiming to raise €250 million (US$302.8 million) to invest towards smart technologies. Formed in 2016, this initiative has brought together 34 partners from the government, industry and academic sectors, to pursue their smart city goals. What exactly are smart city solutions? If we look at Milan and London, we see examples such as shared electric transport devices, energy efficient street lamps, retrofitted buildings, etc... The aim is not to only provide short term fixes, but real solutions which can be implemented and used for many years to come.

The Sharing Cities program

Funded through public and private funds, the Sharing Cities program has already raised €24.5 million in funding, and by the end of 2021 hopes to reach their goal of €250 million. The majority of these funds are aimed at building retrofits (€200 million), which represents 80 percent of their total investment goal. Transport improvements come in second place, with a €45 million investment goal, and urban data platforms at €5 million. Ten of their low-carbon technology solutions have already hit 50 percent of their investment goals through various grants, government funding programs, as well as private investors.

Depending on the city, there will be different imminent and long-term priorities when it comes to building their own smart cities. While Warsaw is focusing on parking facilities to reduce travel congestion, cities like Burgas are focusing on building retrofits. To put things in perspective, Lisbon has already raised €40 million to put towards clean transport: a fleet of e-bikes, e-cars and e-scooters. These innovations could not only help cities become greener and more future-focused, but also help economies recover from the effects of the pandemic.

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