Eco-Friendly Smart Green Cities

In the world, 55% of the population lives in cities and is expected to increase to 68% by 2050. Cities are identified by their stunning skyscrapers which turn out to consume 75% of total power consumption. It is most important to emphasize energy efficiency and nonpolluting building materials used for construction. These days buildings have different types of designs to satisfy the specific requirements of its purpose and people who live and work in them. As time goes, with growing technology, the building constructions need to be designed and function with real-time natural environments with land, water and solar energy [1]. Thus sustainable practices and materials for building design and function are necessary for a sustainable future.

According to the world green building council, a building in its architecture, construction or function, eliminates negative impacts and generates positive impacts on our environment is referred as a green building. Green buildings are mostly designed to be carbon neutral with low energy consumptions and eco-friendly in nature. Any building can be a green building, whether it’s a home, an office, a school, a hospital, a community centre, or any other type of structure, provided it includes the features listed above. However, not all green buildings need to be the same type, it varies based on the surrounding environmental conditions. Different countries and regions have a variety of characteristics such as distinctive climatic conditions, unique cultures and traditions, diverse building types and ages, or wide-ranging environmental, economic and social priorities all of which shape their approach to green building [2].

Peoples have consider that, using solar energy and planting trees around their home as green building. Protecting the environment is far away from these activities, green buildings reduce the environmental impact of building material used for the construction and ensure the health and wellbeing of the occupants. It is necessary to plan throughout the life-cycle of a building or a community that, from master planning and siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition with a focus on the impact on both the environment and people. The use of renewable energy and eco-friendly materials to minimize carbon footprint and emission are important aspects of green buildings. This reduces the production of waste and preventing pollution of areas like water, air, noise and land. In the context as an example [3], Hong Kong is famous for the subtropical built environment of skyscrapers, high-density urban populous areas, contrasted with a large spread of hilly and mountainous terrain. For some years, Hong Kong is the world's most densely populated place, with the majority of its more than 7.4 million residents living and working in urban skyscrapers.

Figure 1. Green Building Practice at Auroville Earth Institute [Image: AEI].

Today, the major source of electricity consumption is the structures like housing estate buildings, offices and shopping malls. Compared to a global average of 40%, the buildings alone account for about 90% of Hong Kong’s total electricity consumption. In turn, this energy consumption by buildings accounts for 60% of the city’s CO₂ emissions. Hence, green buildings are mandatory in achieving energy savings in Hong Kong, as set by the Paris Agreement.

Many rating systems to evaluate the quality of the building based on its materials used, sustainable environment and the dependency of the building for water, air, and light. A green building rating system is a tool which evaluates the performance of a building and its impact on the environment. It comprises a predefined set of criteria relating to the design, construction, and operations of green buildings. In India, there are mainly three rating systems – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the rating systems from CII-Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) and the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) [4].

Besides, there is also the Energy Consumption Building Code (ECBC) and the National Building Code (NBC), which provide guidelines on energy consumption. All the buildings in India need to comply with these prescribed guidelines. Increasing smart cities' programs in developing countries focus more on sustainable resources for buildings and transportation structures. Many green building prototypes are built in India as an example of sustainability with renewable energy sources and wood, straw, bamboo and recyclable metals and stones or other substances that are harmful to health, quickly fall under “green” building materials. Indoors building materials like recycled paper, sheep’s wool, clay, sisal, cork or coconut fibers are used. Renewable energies such as solar energy, wind power, water energy or energy production from biomass play a major role in power generation. Solution concepts for waste reduction and disposal as well as the saving of drinking water are also in the foreground. For example, rainwater or wastewater from the household can be reused for the car wash or the water box of the toilet flush.

Figure 2. Green Building Smart Cities [Image: Planradar].

The smart city projects aim to develop an illustrious overview and an assessment of the current situation in the planning and implementation of sustainable buildings in different cities all over. The guiding principle in the understanding of Smart City makes use of networked information and communication technologies (ICT) to permit ecologically and economically more sustainable urban development in the areas of transport/mobility, infrastructures, housing and facility management, energy supply, public safety or other areas of urban life.

Our SNB team recommended this research article to help the reader to know about that the focus is on the implementation of smart city approaches in practice, be it through conceptual foundations, pilot implementation projects or a combination of both. All over the world, municipalities are facing the challenges of making urban life safer, healthier and more energy-efficient. Digital technologies offer great opportunities to develop intelligent solutions for the future, especially in the areas of mobility, energy and public administration. Auroville earth institute promotes the art of green buildings and sustainable surroundings using materials that are available locally and have low carbon emission [5]. The strength and lifetime of the building are not compromised by the use of renewable sources of building materials, starting from the use of low carbon steels to polished floors. It is even possible to build a multistorey building with sustainable materials and resources. Green buildings are economical and eco-friendly for a healthy human life.

References

E. Yadegaridehkordi et al., “Assessment of sustainability indicators for green building manufacturing using fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making approach,” J. Clean. Prod., 277, 122905 (2020).
Y. Cai, et al., “Performance evaluation of a thermoelectric ventilation system driven by the concentrated photovoltaic thermoelectric generators for green building operations,” Renew. Energy, 147, 1565 (2020).
https://www.gov.hk/en/residents/environment/sustainable/buildings.htm.
https://www.grihaindia.org/griha-rating.
http://www.earthauroville.com/sustainable_development_en.php.

Blog Written By

Dr. K. Vaithinathan

Department of Materials science and engineering

City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

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Editors

Dr. A. S. Ganeshraja

Dr. K. Rajkumar

Dr. S. Chandrasekar

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Dr. S. Thirumurugan

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