The Second NSF International Workshop on Sustainable Smart Cities - Egypt

University Of Alabama At Birmingham, Birmingham AL

Investigators

Abstract

This proposal will support a workshop on Sustainable Smart Cities that will bring together decision making, research, and practitioner communities from the U.S. and Egypt to discuss the opportunities for developing and implementing sustainable urban development programs. The workshop will include approximately 50 carefully selected participants including 10 from the US, 5 from Europe, 30 from Egypt, and 5 from elsewhere in the Middle East and will take place in ~January 2019. Research on sustainable urban infrastructure and living is urgently needed as the pace of urbanization continues to increase. Some estimates suggest that by 2050 70% of the world's population will live in cities, and already approximately 80% of the US population lives in urban areas. Cities consume a tremendous share of resources like water and energy for which demand globally is only increasing. Urbanization is increasing most rapidly in developing countries, making the topic of sustainable cities particularly valuable for collaboration between US and developing country scientists. Egypt is a particularly valuable location for this meeting, with Cairo facing some of the greatest urban infrastructure challenges of any city in the world and a new Egyptian capital under development east of Cairo. The main goals of the workshop are to: 1) Explore how synergistic relationships between government, researchers, and practitioners can promote sustainable urban development; 2) Bring together the decision making, research, and practitioner communities from the U.S. and Egypt to identify and prioritize sustainability programs that address regional needs; 3) Identify specific objectives, decision criteria, and performance metrics to help decision makers prioritize and evaluate sustainability projects; 4) Identify mutually beneficial research and training initiatives; 5) Identify lessons learned that can help the U.S. to apply similar practices at home and abroad. Specifically, the workshop will offer a platform for sharing experiences and best practices in: 1) Economic transformation of cities; 2) Urban infrastructure; 3) Science, technology, and innovation for sustainable urbanization; 4) Health and well-being of citizens. The overarching topic and selected themes are timely. Research efforts are underway in the US and around the world to find ways for cities to operate and grow that are efficient, attractive and economical while also supporting the needs of residents. This workshop will bring together experts from the US, Egypt, the rest of the Middle East/North Africa (MENA), and Europe to share results, coordinate new collaborative research endeavors, identify criteria for regional projects and priorities for new programs, and identify lessons for the US and developed countries to apply at home. These efforts are likely to be valuable in the US, in Egypt, and around the world. Funding for this project is provided by the Office of International Science and Engineering through the US-Egypt Joint Fund. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.