SMACCs

The growth and development of cities in the 21st century presents significant challenges, including sustainable development, the planning and design of urban space and social wellbeing. With thousands of smart-city initiatives around the world, smart urbanism is now one of the dominant models of urban development. Projects for smart cities involve the regeneration of existing urban areas as well as the creation of large new settlements, and have a major positive impact on the many environmental, social and economic systems that underpin the planet. Meanwhile, and with a strong overlap with smart city initiatives, cities around the world are reacting to broader environmental challenges, such as climate change through measures aimed at developing sustainable solutions. The global scale of such challenges has been recognized within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) under the heading of ‘Sustainable Cities and Communities’. Here, the promotion of safe, inclusive and sustainable cities is outlined as a central pillar of creating a sustainable urban future. How can transport systems make our cities prettier, healthier and livable? Which approaches to transport planning and dimensions of sustainable urban mobility exist? To remake cities by democratizing transit, leaders and innovators must have a comprehensive understanding of the three pillars of modern smart mobility – technologies, technicalities, policies – and how they interact with complex, real-world systems.The course is based on a mix of case-studies, tasks and a cross-sectoral project of the urban planning and mobility approaches, among other activities, allowing a comprehensive theoretical and practical knowledge and seeks to generate dialogue between the urban planning and in-depth engineering skills leading edge mobility solutions.