Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Smart Futures, Challenges of Urbanisation, and Social Sustainability pp 149–168Cite as

Smart Eco-Cities Are Managing Information Flows in an Integrated Way: The Example of Water, Electricity and Solid Waste

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Abstract

Smart eco-cities are about managing flows of information in an integrated way. The information may concern the traffic, the people, pollution or the number of enterprises moving in and out of the city. We focus on a classification of cities. Resilient cities is a more defensive concept, while the eco-city concept translates an ambition on what a city should be. We will argue that the smart eco-city concept integrates the two approaches.

In this chapter, the examples of water, electricity and solid waste management will be used to show how cities can be smarter by using the available information differently. It is concluded that different stakeholders and several policy instruments are needed to achieve smart eco-cities and that the large-scale processing of data concerning the metabolism of the city also implies ethical issues of how to deal with privacy and possible misuse of all this information.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The European Union (EU) has the Asia Urbs programme which provides digital links to best practice databases on, for example, ecological urban renewal, local European local transport information systems and other best practices. The EU Horizon 2020 programme also offers funding for smart cities’ lighthouse projects (editor@smartcitiesconnect.org).

  2. 2.

    This is my definition; putting it in general terms helps to emphasize the potential: warning and action on pollution, filling your fridge and milking your cows!

  3. 3.

    Other examples of the use of GIS in urban planning have been studied by de Bruijn (1987) and Turkstra (1998).

  4. 4.

    www.thesourcemagazine.org/sponge-cities-can-chinas-model-go-global/?utm_source=IWA-NETWORK&utm_campaign=16a2d396c8-The_Source_newsletter_28_Source_list_30_08_2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c457ab9803-16a2d396c8-158952849

  5. 5.

    BUCEA has a programme to study what 30 Chinese cities are doing in the field of climate change.

  6. 6.

    Water governance has been reformed to achieve more integration and promote experiments to deal with water scarcity.

  7. 7.

    The paper gives some examples of problems in the urban sector in China. Subsequently the hierarchy of Chinese government is explained, before describing the stakeholders in urban governance. A separate section is devoted to changes in the urban water governance structure that have already been implemented in Beijing.

  8. 8.

    These projects are analysed below in terms of their success and governance structures.

  9. 9.

    You can read more detailed papers on these flows by the author and his PhD students on www.researchgate.net or www.academia.edu.

References

You can read more detailed papers on these flows by the author and his PhD students on www.researchgate.net or www.academia.edu.

  • Binnenlands Bestuur (2017a). Van uitnodigings- naar uitdagings planologie. Week 24. Journal of the VNG.

    Google Scholar 

  • Binnenlands Bestuur. (2017b). A special on Green government. July, pp. 38–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Bruijn, C. A. (1987). Monitoring a large squatter area in Dar es Salaam with sequential aerial photography. ITC Journal, 3, 233–238.

    Google Scholar 

  • Florida, R. (2004). The rise of the creative class. New York: Basic books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glaeser, E. L., & Kahn, M. E. (2010). The greenness of cities: Carbon dioxide emissions and urban development. Journal of Urban Economics, 67, 404–418.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hajer, M., & Dassen, T. (2014). Smart -about- Cities, Visualising the challenge for twenty-first century urbanism. The Hague: nai010/PBL publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hou, E. (2000). Briefing Paper on Water Governance Structure in Beijing, PRC. http://www.chs.ubc.ca/china/water%20governance.pdf

  • Jong, M. de. (2016). Delft: Sustainable urban and infrastructure development in China: why intergovernmental relations are the key. Inaugural address at Delft university of technology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kenworthy, J. R. (2006). Dimensions for sustainable city development in the Third World. Environment Urbanization, 18, 67–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kitchin, R. (2015). Making sense of smart cities: Addressing present shortcomings. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 8(1), 131–136. https://doi.org/10.1093/cjres/rsu027

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, H., Gupta, J., & Van Dijk, M. P. (2013). China’s drought strategies in rural areas along the Lancang. Water Policy, 15, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2012.050

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liang, X., & van Dijk, M. P. (2009). Financial and economic feasibility of decentralized waste water reuse systems in Beijing. Water Science and Technology, 61(8), 1965–1974.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liang, X., & van Dijk, M. P. (2011). Economic and financial analysis on rainwater harvesting for agricultural irrigation in the rural areas of Beijing. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 55, 1100–1109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liang, X., & Van Dijk, M. P. (2012). Beijing, managing water for the eco city of the future. International Journal of Water, 6(3/4), 270–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liang, X., & van Dijk, M. P. (2018). Identification of decisive factors determining the continued use of Rainwater Harvesting Systems for agriculture irrigation in Beijing. In: Rahman (Ed.) Rainwater harvesting: quantity, quality, economics and state regulation. Basel: MDPI. Published in 2015 in Water, an open access journal (ISSN 2073-4441), pp. 61–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mohammed, A. A., & van Dijk, M. P. (2017). Practice and determinants of solid waste collection: The case of private collectors in five ethiopian cities. International Journal of Waste Resources, 7, 2. https://doi.org/10.4172/2252-5211.1000280

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oduro-Kwarteng, S., & van Dijk, M. P. (2007). Regulatory environment for private sector involvement in solid waste collection in Ghana. International Journal of Environment and Waste Management, 20(1), 35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paulsson, B. (1992). Urban applications of satellite remote sensing and GIS analysis. Washington: World Bank, Urban Management Programme.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rotterdam. (2008). Rotterdam, climate proof. Rotterdam: Municipality.

    Google Scholar 

  • Qiu, L., & van Dijk, M. P. (2014). Water pollution and environmental governance systems of the Tai and Chao Lake Basins in China in an international perspective. International Journal of Water Resource and Protection, 7, 830–842. https://doi.org/10.4236/jwarp.2015.710067, open access.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The Rockefeller Foundation and ARUP. (2014). City resilience framework. New York: The Rockefeller Foundation and ARUP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shrouf, F., & Miragliotta, G. (2015). Energy management based on Internet of Things: Practices and framework for adoption in production management. Journal of Cleaner Production, 100, 235–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Source Water Magazine. (2017). editor@thesourcemagazine.org, consulted 31-8-2017.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tilaye, M., & van Dijk, M. P. (2014). Private sector participation in solid waste collection in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) by involving micro-enterprises. Waste management & Research, 32(1), 79–87. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734242X13513826

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Townsend, A. M. (2013). Smart cities: Big data, civic hackers and the question for a new utopia. New York, WW Norton and company, 7-10-2013.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turkstra, J. (1998). Urban development and geographical information, spatial and temporal patterns of urban development and land values using integrated geo-data, Villavicencio, Colombia. Enschede: ITC Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • UN Habitat. (2014). Sustainable city. Nairobi: UN Habitat.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van der Steen, P., et al. (2010). Switch final report. Delft: UNESCO-IHE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Dijk, M. P., Edelenbos, J., & van Rooijen, K. (Eds.). (2017). Urban governance in the realm of complexity. Warwickshire: Practical Action.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Dijk, M. P. (2006). Managing cities in developing countries. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar and the Chinese version. Beijing: Renmin university press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Dijk, M. P. (2009). Ecological cities, illustrated by Chinese examples. In M. A. M. Salih (Ed.), Climate change and sustainable development, new challenges for poverty reduction (pp. 214–233). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Dijk, M. P. (2013). Drought policies, the experiences of China and Australia. In: Zhang J. & Voon Phin Keong (Eds.). Climate change and sustainable development in China, policies for mitigation and reactions of farmers in the Yunan province. Enterprise anthropology: applied research and case studies. Beijing: CASS, pp. 237–267.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Dijk, M. P. (2014a). Measuring eco cities, comparing European and Asian experiences: Rotterdam versus Beijing. Asia Europe journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10308-014-0405-7

  • Van Dijk, M. P. (2014b). Formal and informal waste collection in Chinese cities, editorial. International Journal of Waste Resources, 4, 3. https://doi.org/10.4172/2252-5211.1000e107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Dijk, M. P. (2015). Analyzing eco-cities by comparing European and Chinese experiences. In T.-C. Wong, S. S. Han, & H. Zhang (Eds.), Population mobility, urban planning and management in China (pp. 189–206). Berlin: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15,257-8_11

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Van Dijk, M. P. (2016a). Financing the National capital integrated coastal development (NCICD) project in Jakarta (Indonesia) with the private sector. Journal of Coastal Zone Management, 19(4), ISSN: 2473–ISSN: 3350. https://doi.org/10.4172/2473-3350.1000435

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Dijk, M. P. (2016b). Can small countries benefit from the E-waste Global Value Chain? International Journal of Environment and Waste Management, 6(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.4172/2252-5211.1000e110

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Dijk, M. P. (2017). Smart eco cities, managing information flows in an integrated way, the example of solid waste and waste water. Editorial in the Journal of Waste Resources, 7, 2. https://doi.org/10.4172/2252-5211.1000e111

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Maastricht School of Management (MSM), Maastricht, Netherlands

    Meine Pieter van Dijk

  2. International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Hague, Netherlands

    Meine Pieter van Dijk

  3. Beijing University of Civil engineering and Architecture (BUCEA), Beijing, China

    Meine Pieter van Dijk

Authors
  1. Meine Pieter van Dijk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Meine Pieter van Dijk .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Suffolk, Ipswich, United Kingdom

    Mohammad Dastbaz

  2. Maastricht School of Management and Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Wim Naudé

  3. Leicester School of Architecture, De Montfort University Leicester, School of Architecture, Leicester, United Kingdom

    Jamileh Manoochehri

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

van Dijk, M.P. (2018). Smart Eco-Cities Are Managing Information Flows in an Integrated Way: The Example of Water, Electricity and Solid Waste. In: Dastbaz, M., Naudé, W., Manoochehri, J. (eds) Smart Futures, Challenges of Urbanisation, and Social Sustainability. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74549-7_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74549-7_9

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-74548-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-74549-7

  • eBook Packages: EnergyEnergy (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation