The Sustainabilist | SMART CITIES
INTERVIEW
How Schneider Electric is Building the Smart Cities of the Future The Sustainabilist spoke to Marwan Zeidan, Real Estate and Healthcare Segment Director for Middle East and Africa at Schneider Electric, about the complexities of smart cities and how these needed to be addressed
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s the technology required to implement Smart Cities becomes increasingly sophisticated and complex, what steps are being taken to ensure it operates effectively and reliably? Much has been said about the benefits of a
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smart city to its citizens. There’s the ability to better access information through city apps, and better manage material issues, such as traffic flow. Much has also been said about how smart cities can improve how governmental bodies can engage with businesses and residents. These benefits
make life more convenient for sure, but there’s another discussion to be had. Sustainability hasn’t featured much in discussions around smart cities – it’s hardly featured here at all – and we need to change the conversation. There’s increasing pressure to not just make cities more efficient, but to make them greener as well. Our belief is that urbanisation and technology can work together to contribute to sustainable growth. One example of this is energy consumption; cities consume 75% of global energy resources, and account for 80% of emissions. With the right energy management solutions in place, the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of cities can be reduced. What are the security challenges that must be overcome to protect Smart Cities from threats, such as hacking? Governments must be proactive when it
