The NY Times has published a nice piece highlighting investments made in Copenhagen Denmark to create a "smarter, greener" city. New sensors have been installed and they are providing real time data that leads the local residents to make "better choices".
A direct quote:
"On a main artery into the city, truck drivers can see on smartphones when the next light will change. And in a nearby suburb, new LED streetlights brighten only as vehicles approach, dimming once they pass.
Aimed at saving money, cutting the use of fossil fuels and easing mobility, the installations are part of a growing wireless network of streetlamps and sensors that officials hope will help this city of roughly 1.2 million meet its ambitious goal of becoming the world’s first carbon-neutral capital by 2025.
Eventually, the network will serve other functions, like alerting the sanitation department to empty the trash cans and informing bikers of the quietest or fastest route to their destinations. It’s all made possible through an array of sensors embedded in the light fixtures that collect and feed data into software."
While I applaud the quality of life benefits of each of these nudges, I question whether they will add up to create a carbon neutral city. For any city to be carbon neutral, all of its power must come from renewables and all of its transportation must be electric vehicles whose energy comes from renewables. How does the introduction of Cisco sensors help to bring about these first order changes?
The real way that smart meters can decarbonize a city will be through introducing dynamic electricity pricing. Cost minimizing households will compare their total costs of purchasing gasoline and power from conventional sources versus buying it from themselves through solar panels and fueling their own vehicle at home.
While the article celebrates the biking culture of Copenhagen, how do senior citizens manage? How much time is spent shopping for goods each day because people cannot buy in bulk and carry it home on a bike? Is the low carbon city really a transfer to young mobile, healthy people? In an aging society, how can it be low carbon? Will the Mayor of Copenhagen subsidize EV purchases or further tax gasoline? Gasoline currently costs $8 per gallon in Denmark. The NY Times does not mention that fact. Who loses from such a price?
I would also like to know how the pursuit of the zero carbon goal affects housing prices in this city. Will suburban development be discouraged and will this raise rents?