Urban areas get 'smart' at Paris event

(DEDALE_PHOTOS)

Cities throughout Europe are expected to follow Amsterdam's example and invest heavily in 'smart technologies' to improve the quality of the urban environment, according to a recent reports on ThomasNet and Environmental Technology. On Friday, September 23, the latest ideas and technologies in the field of Smart Cities will be discussed at an international conference and cultural festival Smart City hosted by the University of Paris. 

The Smart City event features installations, urban walks, conferences and keynotes from influential personalities including Denis Baupin, founder of French environmental group Agir pour l'Environment and geographer Jacques Lévy.

Through these events, Smart City hopes to explore technological innovations, architectural projects and local, national trends which could shape the future of urban living and address issues of sustainable urban development.

The event takes an international dimension collaborating with artists and influential environmental actors from the Czech Republic, Spain, Romania, Poland and elsewhere in Europe.

Updates from the event can be followed via the Smart City's Facebook and Twitter pages at http://goo.gl/Jx56W and @SmartCityParis.

With the world's population expected to exceed seven billion sometime this October and the majority of that population predicted to live in urban areas, the need to address sustainable urban growth is becoming exceedingly pressing.

In addition to Smart City in Paris on September 23, issues of sustainable urban development, green building techniques and associated environmental problems will also be addressed later in the year at SXSW Eco, October 4-6, USA; and Greenbuild International October 4-7, Canada.

Such issues, and others, will be addressed at the highest level in 2012 when the eye's of the world will turn towards Rio where heads of state from around the globe will, from June 4 to 6, attempt to reach a binding agreement on sustainable development.

Smart City (French only) - http://www.smartcity.fr/europe/ and http://goo.gl/RdbXm

Rio +20  - http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20