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Cities are powerful engines of economic growth, yet they face significant challenges due to mass urbanization, aging populations, and the climate crisis—all of which are accelerating. More than half of the world’s population currently lives in cities, and it is estimated that by 2050, 70% of the world’s population will be urban dwellers. A stunning 35% of global urban growth will occur in just three countries: India, China, and Nigeria.
This rapid urbanization brings with it significant challenges, from managing resource consumption and waste to mitigating the effects of climate change. To address these challenges and create sustainable, climate-smart cities, we must harness the power of Green ICT, synthetic biology, and other innovative technologies. These advancements promise not only to make our cities more livable and efficient but also to pave the way for a sustainable future.
Coping with Aging Populations
By 2050, over 25% of the population in East Asia will be over 65 (double the current rate), with Europe at 27% and the U.S. at 22%. Japan will have a population that is 40% elderly by 2050. Many aging urbanites will live on limited pensions or none at all, necessitating massive changes in infrastructure and services.
Combating Urban Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Cities today account for over 70% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 60-80% of global energy consumption. Urbanization’s benefits are offset by significant sustainability challenges, making sustainable urbanization a key policy point worldwide. Cities are also highly exposed to the impacts of climate change, including heat stress, flooding, and health emergencies.
Addressing the Water Crisis
Water is the most precious resource for sustaining life, but we are losing fresh water at an alarming rate. Climate change is causing glaciers to disappear and severe droughts, while groundwater is being depleted faster than it can be naturally replenished. Over 1 billion people today have no access to water, and nearly half of the world population is expected to experience water stress by 2050. Countries in Africa, India, China, and parts of Central Asia will face severe water scarcity, while the U.S. and South America will suffer from extreme water stress.
Feeding Growing Urban Populations
By 2050, 80% of all food is expected to be consumed in cities. With limited space for traditional farming, innovative solutions like hydroponic farming could help. Hydroponics is a water-based farming process that feeds plants nutrient-rich water instead of soil, allowing for vertical farming and increased yield with less resource use.
Building Climate-Smart Cities
To make cities more resilient, sustainable, inclusive, and safe, substantial investment is needed. Climate-smart cities can combat the mounting pressure of climate change through measures like flood defenses, electrified transport, and the creation of green spaces for urban cooling.
Energy-Conscious Construction
Electricity is the second-largest contributor to carbon emissions, and 40 percent of U.S. energy goes towards buildings. From lighting to HVAC systems, buildings use a considerable amount of energy, and cities feature a huge number of buildings. Sustainable cities will have to find a way to accommodate more residents while maintaining low emissions.
With all buildings required to be net-zero carbon by 2050 to meet the goals of the Paris agreement, the demand for smart buildings is only increasing. Government policies, teamed with financial incentives for companies to invest in smart buildings, are crucial to help transition toward accessing major energy savings whilst improving energy services.
The Role of Green ICT in Sustainable Urban Development
Smart sustainable cities use information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve quality of life, efficiency of urban operations, and services. The development of technologies like 5G, AI, cloud, and edge computing is crucial. However, ICT also poses environmental challenges, consuming significant electricity and creating e-waste. Green ICT focuses on sustainably produced equipment that lasts longer, uses less energy, and is disposed of responsibly.
Green Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays a pivotal role in transforming urban centers into smart, sustainable cities. Green ICT involves using technology to optimize energy use, reduce carbon emissions, and improve overall efficiency. Here’s how it contributes to urban sustainability:
- Smart Grids and Energy Management: Smart grids leverage advanced sensors, meters, and communication networks to monitor and manage energy consumption in real-time. By integrating renewable energy sources like solar and wind, smart grids can balance supply and demand, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.
- Efficient Public Transportation: Green ICT enables the development of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) that optimize traffic flow, reduce congestion, and lower emissions. Real-time data from GPS, cameras, and sensors can improve public transit schedules, promote ride-sharing, and encourage the use of electric vehicles.
- Sustainable Building Management: Smart buildings equipped with IoT devices can monitor and control energy usage, lighting, heating, and cooling systems. These buildings use data analytics to optimize resource consumption, reduce waste, and enhance occupant comfort while minimizing their environmental footprint.
Harnessing Synthetic Biology for Urban Sustainability
Synthetic biology, the design and construction of new biological parts, devices, and systems, offers groundbreaking solutions for sustainable urban development. Synthetic biology intersects biology and engineering to modify or create novel biological systems. It offers sustainable manufacturing processes that can reduce costs while producing superior materials, fuels, and chemicals. Synthetic biology can address challenges like bioenergy, environmental conservation, and food production. Applications include plastic-eating enzymes, biofuels from seawater bacteria, and nitrogen-producing microorganisms to replace synthetic fertilizers.
By engineering organisms to perform specific functions, synthetic biology can address various environmental challenges in cities:
- Bioremediation and Waste Management: Engineered microorganisms can break down pollutants and toxins in soil, water, and air, making urban environments cleaner and healthier. These microorganisms can also be used to convert waste into valuable resources, such as biofuels or biodegradable plastics.
- Sustainable Agriculture and Food Production: Urban farming and vertical agriculture can benefit from synthetic biology by creating crops that are more resistant to pests, diseases, and environmental stress. Engineered plants can also produce higher yields and require less water and fertilizer, making urban food production more sustainable and efficient.
- Renewable Energy and Biomaterials: Synthetic biology can produce biofuels and bioplastics from renewable resources, reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and decreasing carbon emissions. Additionally, engineered organisms can create sustainable materials for construction, such as biodegradable concrete or self-healing materials.
Potentially, positive impacts may be realized in a number of ways, including, for example: The development of micro-organisms designed for bioremediation and biosensors resulting in pollution control and remediation of environmental media; Synthesizing products such as chemicals or drug precursors that are currently extracted from plant or animal sources, thereby reducing the pressure on wild species that are currently threatened due to over harvesting or hunting.
Some industrial cities, mainly in Asia, are already taking carbon dioxide and methane waste from factories and using it as a feedstock to manufacture a milieu of commercial products. Bioplastics, including pesky PET, are being degraded by engineered organisms. Microbes that produce nitrogen are even being used as a synthetic fertilizer to reduce our dependence on ammonia, the production of which is energy intensive and wasteful. LanzaTech and TeselaGen Biotechnology have entered a multi-year agreement to advance carbon remediation using biological processes. The collaboration aims to optimize anaerobic microbes for converting greenhouse gases into valuable products, utilizing TeselaGen’s advanced cloud-based solutions and bioinformatics.
Developing organisms designed to generate biofuels which may lead to decreased dependence on non-renewable energy sources; In building on the achievements of modern biotechnology in producing agricultural crops that are tolerant to abiotic stress and pests, synthetic biology techniques that are more bioinformatics and computer assisted may potentially have the capability to further refine expression and environmental persistence of the products in the organism; Restoring genetic diversity through reintroducing extinct alleles, or even “de-extinction” of species.
The potential of Systems and Synthetic Biology (SSB) to modulate the fast carbon cycle and mitigate climate change is substantial. SSB allows for the advanced design and modulation of cellular phenotypes, enhancing a range of land management practices like agriculture and forestry, which help regulate carbon flow between its reservoirs. The application of modern molecular science methods in land management can remove atmospheric carbon and yield numerous scientific and economic opportunities beyond just climate control, akin to the impacts of the Human Genome Project.
SSB offers the possibility of influencing the fast carbon cycle, the continuous exchange of carbon between the atmosphere, land, and sea over a decadal timescale. Annually, approximately 120 gigatons of carbon (GtC) are absorbed from the atmosphere through terrestrial photosynthesis, with a nearly equal amount returned by plant and microbial respiration. Even a slight reduction in the return step can significantly lower atmospheric carbon levels, showcasing the impactful potential of SSB in climate change mitigation.
SSB’s capability to design and control cellular behaviors presents a powerful tool for enhancing land management practices and reducing atmospheric carbon. By influencing the fast carbon cycle, SSB can significantly contribute to climate change mitigation while opening up a wide range of scientific and economic possibilities, emphasizing its far-reaching importance.
Technologies for Climate Smart Cities
Hydroponic Farming
Hydroponic farming is a water-based farming process where plants receive nutrient-rich water instead of being planted in soil. This method allows plants to take up a smaller footprint and be stacked vertically. By carefully controlling the plant’s environment and nutrient intake, hydroponic farming can increase yield by a factor of ten per hectare. Additionally, it makes better use of resources, reducing waste, water usage, pesticides, and fertilizers compared to traditional farming methods. Being indoors, hydroponic farms are less affected by pests and weather events, and crops can be grown close to where they will be consumed, saving on ‘food miles’ and associated emissions. Abu Dhabi, for instance, is funding a vertical farm over 8,200 square meters for research, development, and commercialization, aiming to boost local food production and accelerate the growth of its agricultural technology ecosystem.
Hydroponic farming can increase yield by a factor of ten per hectare and make better use of resources, reducing waste, water usage, pesticides, and fertilizers. Indoor farming is less affected by pests and weather events, and crops can be grown close to where they will be consumed, saving on ‘food miles’ and associated emissions.
Green Transport
Transportation is the largest contributor to carbon emissions, generating nearly two metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2018. Green cities prioritize emissions-free transport, such as electric buses, which do not produce emissions during operation and reduce air pollution and operational costs. Despite higher purchase costs, electric buses cost 70% less to operate and maintain than diesel-powered buses. Cities in South America, like Santiago, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador, have adopted electric buses.
To further reduce emissions, cities are reorganizing road systems to prioritize zero-emissions traffic. Copenhagen, for instance, has encouraged bicycle traffic, with 62% of residents biking daily. Additionally, smart logistics can reduce unnecessary trips, and redesigning trucks can increase fuel efficiency.
Smart Water and Waste Management
Access to clean water and effective waste management are growing concerns for cities. Smart solutions, including leakage and pollution detection and predictive maintenance planning, are crucial for upgrading aging drainage systems. Cities like San Bernardino, California, have initiated waste-to-energy projects that convert organic food waste into electricity. Circular waste management emphasizes reducing waste at the source through improved packaging, strategic collection methods, and waste-to-energy solutions.
Energy-Conscious Construction
Buildings contribute 40% of U.S. energy consumption. Sustainable cities must find ways to accommodate more residents while maintaining low emissions. Net-zero carbon buildings are crucial to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Smart buildings, smart meters, microgrids, and cooperation between companies and governments can drive energy savings and low-carbon energy adoption.
Feeding Organisms for Profit
Synthetic biologists reroute metabolic pathways of microbes to consume carbon waste and produce valuable products. Researchers use engineered microorganisms in bioreactors to convert carbon dioxide and methane waste from factories into commercial products. Companies like LanzaTech and DuPont are developing synthetic biology solutions to reduce emissions and produce renewable fuels and materials. Synthetic biology also offers potential in agriculture, such as nitrogen-producing microorganisms to replace synthetic fertilizers and reduce carbon emissions.
Technological Innovations for a Sustainable Future
Beyond Green ICT and synthetic biology, several other cutting-edge technologies are essential for developing climate-smart, sustainable cities. PwC UK has identified ten breakthrough technologies with substantial potential to drive the world toward a zero net emissions economy. These technologies include advanced materials, cloud technology, autonomous vehicles, synthetic biology, virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain, 3D printing, and the Internet of Things (IoT). The “Innovation for the Earth” study highlights how these technologies could advance clean power, smart transport, sustainable production and consumption, sustainable land use, and smart cities and homes.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning: AI and machine learning algorithms can analyze vast amounts of data to optimize city operations, predict and mitigate environmental impacts, and enhance decision-making processes. These technologies can improve everything from traffic management to waste collection, making urban systems more efficient and sustainable.
- Blockchain for Transparent and Efficient Systems: Blockchain technology can enhance transparency and accountability in urban systems, such as energy distribution, waste management, and supply chains. By providing secure and immutable records, blockchain can ensure that resources are used responsibly and sustainably.
- Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology: Innovations in materials science, such as lightweight and durable nanomaterials, can revolutionize construction and infrastructure. These materials can reduce the environmental impact of building processes, improve energy efficiency, and extend the lifespan of urban structures.
Growing Homes: A Vision for Sustainable Architecture
Modern homes and cities are built using outdated technologies that consume vast amounts of energy and resources without giving anything back. Dr. Rachel Armstrong, a synthetic biologist and experimental architect, highlights that our current buildings are constructed with “Victorian technologies.” To achieve sustainability, we need dynamic structures that interact symbiotically with nature.
Architects like Mitchell Joachim and Javier Arbona, alongside environmental engineer Lara Greden, are pioneering this vision. Their concept, the Fab Tree Hab, involves growing homes from trees. These homes can be shaped using reusable, 3D printed scaffolds, computing, and automation. Such structures would benefit the local environment and include interior and exterior gardens for food production. Growing a full house could take as little as five years, significantly faster than the natural maturity of trees, and these homes could form networks akin to redwood forests, supporting and strengthening the community.
DARPA’s Engineered Living Materials (ELM) program, in collaboration with Ecovative, is developing living biomaterials capable of rapidly growing shelters in various challenging environments. The European Union’s Living Architecture (LIAR) program is working on modular bioreactors that could become integral components of human dwellings.
The potential of synthetic biology extends beyond Earth. NASA is exploring mycotecture habitats for Mars, and the Center for the Utilization of Biological Engineering in Space (CUBES) is developing closed-loop bio-manufacturing systems for space travel.
Humans have utilized microbes for millennia to create foods like bread, wine, beer, and cheese. Now, synthetic biologists are reprogramming these organisms to consume carbon waste, such as carbon dioxide and methane, instead of sugars. This shift reduces waste and costs while still producing valuable products.
Professor Nigel Scrutton’s team at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, supported by the Office of Naval Research Global, is pioneering a more efficient method to produce biofuel using synthetic biology. They discovered that Halomonas bacteria, which thrive in seawater, can be engineered to produce bio-based jet fuel economically, utilizing resources like seawater and sugar in a brewery-like production process.
Engineered microorganisms are grown in bioreactors to produce chemicals from various carbon sources. Some industrial cities, primarily in Asia, are already utilizing carbon waste to manufacture commercial products. These efforts include producing bioplastics, synthetic fertilizers, and even high-nutrient foods, demonstrating the broad applications of synthetic biology in sustainable production.
Synthetic biology’s potential extends to space, with NASA exploring its use for converting carbon dioxide into valuable materials on Mars. The International Space Station is already growing engineered plants to produce specific proteins. These advancements promise sustainable solutions for both Earth and space habitation.
Companies like Ecovative Design and MycoWorks have already commercialized myco-materials such as insulation, leather-like textiles, and sustainable packaging. Ecovative, a leader in myco-materials, aims to revolutionize construction on a massive scale, using mycotecture as a critical step toward creating living houses.
In summary, growing homes represent a revolutionary approach to sustainable architecture, integrating synthetic biology and innovative design to create living, environmentally beneficial structures both on Earth and potentially in space.
Climate-Smart Infrastructure
Climate-smart urban infrastructure represents a $30 trillion investment opportunity, covering renewable energy, public transport, electric vehicles, and green buildings. New funding models, policies, and risk assessments are needed to overcome investment barriers and realize the long-term value of climate-smart infrastructure for growing urban populations.
Conclusion: Paving the Way for Climate-Smart Cities
Future cities must become climate-smart to combat the challenges of changing demographics, rapid population growth, water and food crises, and climate change. By leveraging technologies like hydroponic farming, green transport, green ICT, synthetic biology, and smart water and waste management, cities can enhance their resilience, reduce climate risk, and increase livability and competitiveness. Sustainable urbanization is essential for the future, requiring sustained investment and innovative solutions to ensure cities are equipped to face the challenges ahead
The future of urban development lies in the integration of Green ICT, synthetic biology, and other advanced technologies. By leveraging these innovations, we can create climate-smart and sustainable cities that are resilient, efficient, and capable of meeting the needs of their inhabitants while protecting the environment.
As we move forward, collaboration between governments, businesses, and communities will be crucial in implementing these technologies and ensuring their benefits are accessible to all. By embracing a holistic approach to urban development, we can build cities that are not only sustainable but also vibrant and thriving, paving the way for a better future for generations to come.
References and Resources also include:
https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-smart-cities-2647696490.html?rebelltitem=4#rebelltitem4
