process was the town joining the Mayors´ Convention. The Convention is an initiative of the European Commission aimed at reducing CO2 emissions, a commitment of the signatory towns and municipalities to surpass the EU energy policy targets by reducing CO2 emissions and thus increasing energy efficiency and the production and use of purer energy. By joining this initiative, the town has broadened the scope of its previous activities focused on improving the quality of the environment and the health of the people, in keeping with the general strategy of the town. In this connection, the new projects and strategies are targeted at sectors which the town can influence by its activities. This concerns buildings owned by the municipality, public lighting and transport, especially as regards reducing fuel and energy consumption, a combination with other sustainable energy initiatives, projects prepared in the framework of the Smart Cities concept, projects linked to the climate change adaptation strategy, and support to activities and instruction in | 30
the household and services sector within the framework of the Healthy Town project.
nTARGET AREAS The principal target areas for the implementation of the Smart Cities concept in the Czech Republic are sustainable mobility, information and communication technologies, and efficient territorial management. In this category, projects in the ICT and efficient territorial management areas account for 45 per cent of
the total number of the already realised projects, with projects in the sustainable mobility area accounting for 31 per cent. Of the total number of the Smart City projects currently in the process of realisation, ICT and efficient territorial management projects account for 28 percent, with sustainable mobility projects currently under construction accounting for 44 per cent. These two target areas also hold a dominant position among projects under preparation, at each of which about one-third of the anticipated Smart City projects is targeted. A positive development is the fact that good practice examples, from the systemic point of view, can also be found at the regional and former district town levels. This group comprises examples of regional centres, such as Brno and Prague, as well as the former district towns, e.g. Kolín, Litoměřice, Písek, Třinec, Tábor, Chomutov, Mladá Boleslav, Prostějov, Opava, Přerov and Příbram. A systemic approach to implementation should be underscored in the case of the town of Třebíč.
Photo: Siemens archives, Fenix Group a.s.
SMART CITIES
