Smart City funding boost for Bristol
Bristol has received funding from the EU for its pioneering work combining energy saving and ICT. The European Commission has given the city council more than £300,000 for two projects as part of its Smart City Programme and work will start in the New Year.
The first project will develop a model to monitor energy usage within public buildings such as schools. The City Council will work in partnership with a British systems manufacturer and over 30 partners across Europe, including IBM and CISCO.
The second project will support the further implementation of electric vehicles in Bristol through the development of web-based tools to highlight important information for electric vehicle users such as charging locations and links to public transport options.
This follows the launch in the spring by Council Leader Barbara Janke of the first electric car charging units to be installed in city council car parks.
“This recognition by the EU of Bristol’s pioneering work on the importance of green technology is very welcome. This is exactly why we commissioned one of the UK’s leading experts, Dr Chris Tuppen, to recommend how Bristol can take forward this agenda,” said council leader Cllr Barbara Janke. “His report shows that there are real benefits to be gained in terms of reducing our emissions through the use of user-friendly data and technology. The more information that we have as consumers, the more likely it is that we choose to go green and save energy.”
“Smart cities will rely on high quality information streams which are used for everything from effective energy management to integrated transport systems. This data will also need to be presented to users in simple and engaging ways. This new funding will help Bristol develop the necessary systems and help it on its path to becoming one of Europe’s leading smart cities,” said Dr Chris Tuppen.
Bristol’s Smart City programme was launched in March 2011 with the assistance of funding from the UK Department for Energy and Climate Change. The City Council commissioned Dr Tuppen to write the Smart City Bristol Study. His report recommends three key areas as a focus for Bristol’s smart city work:
- smart grid and meters,
- smart transport and
- smart data.
These areas could cover innovative energy efficient urban energy, transport, ICT, water and waste solutions.
Related articles
- Smart Cities Conferences (urbanplanningblog.com)
- Why The U.S. Government Should Embrace Smart Cities (fastcompany.com)
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