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The unit starts by looking at the contribution that cities make to global GHG emissions and how to measure the inventory or footprint of a city, precinct, or region. It then looks at frameworks and approaches to decarbonising cities, including how to develop a zero net emissions or carbon neutral strategy for a city. This leads to a look at four key pathways to decarbonisation of cities: renewable energy and smart grids; greener more efficient buildings and the built form; greener more efficient water and waste infrastructure and management; and green transport and new forms of mobility. The unit then looks at the circular economy and the role that it needs to play in decarbonisation.
The last 4 weeks of the unit looks at the various definitions and understanding of smart cites, the core elements of a smart city or programme and how the internet-of-things (IoT) will transform urban areas and their design. This includes studying best practice smart city design, the types of IoT infrastructure and sensors, analytics and visualisation methods used, and issues for data security and the privacy of its citizens. This is followed by consideration of the role of citizens in defining and developing smart cities and different methods of engaging citizens in the design and planning of smart cities. The topic of infrastructure is then revisited to consider smart infrastructure and the benefits and challenges of its design, construction and management. The unit finishes by discussing how a smart cities approach needs to enhance the sustainability of a city and how to measure this outcome.