IIITH’s Smart City Living Lab team had a successful pitch in New Delhi on 9 May 2023 on Fostering participatory climate action in Indian cities using technology workshop
The workshop was organised by the National Institute for Urban Affairs (NIUA), in collaboration with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi and the United Nations University Institute of Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), Bonn, Germany, under the aegis of the project T-CAP (Transformative Climate Action using Participatory Data Driven Decision Making Platforms), supported by the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action.
Urban Living Labs have emerged as a promising approach to address multi-tiered challenges faced by cities, including governance, financial, and social obstacles. To explore the potential of Urban Living Labs in the Indian context, a session has been organised to curate insights on India’s approach to city level data-driven planning and governance, especially towards climate action. The objective of the session is to facilitate a collaborative platform where participants can jointly identify, share, and discuss challenges while conceptualising the role of Urban Living Labs to address them. In this session it is valuable in informing and advancing discussions on Urban Living Labs to explore innovative solutions and make progress towards more sustainable and liveable cities.
The Smart City Living Lab architecture and implementation showcased by Anuradha Vattem as part of the panel discussion, provided a path of guidance for the future implementation of living labs for smart city planning and management. The other panellists in the panel discussion were Mr. Sanjay Seth infrastructure Programme, TERI & Vice President & Chief Executive Officer, Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) Council; Dr. Vikrom Mathur, Founding Director, Transitions Research India Goa; Ms. Anitha Kumari Sharma Counsellor in Urban Development Royal Danish Embassy.
Apart from the panel discussion, there was an activity round to understand the present implementation to address various environmental challenges. In that discussion, apart from the team from IIITH consisting of Anuradha Vattem and Ushasri, there were delegates from various sectors who came together to share their knowledge and insights on climate actions for different types of environmental challenges.
The topics of discussion ranged from environment quality, energy to agriculture and intelligent ecosystems, with actors from various sectors such as citizens, farmers, public officials, academics, universities, and energy vendors. The goal of these discussions was to explore and identify innovative solutions to address these challenges while leveraging the strengths of all stakeholders.
The discussion concluded with Anuradha Vattem, who summarised the key takeaways. She emphasised the importance of adopting a holistic approach to urban development, which considers the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainability. She also highlighted the need for greater collaboration between different stakeholders, including governments, private sector entities, civil society organisations, and local communities. By working together, she noted, it is possible to create cities that are liveable, sustainable, and inclusive, and that meet the needs of all their residents. The other points highlighted were about the digital twin technology, a promising tool for modelling and simulating complex ecosystems and identifying potential solutions, inclusive urban development, focus on improving transportation, energy efficiency, and access to basic services such as water and sanitation.
Overall, the round of discussions provided a valuable platform for stakeholders from various sectors to come together, network and identify innovative solutions to address environmental challenges. The insights and ideas generated through these discussions will be critical for developing effective strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change and create sustainable and resilient communities.
May 2023