What role can Real estate play in 'smart cities' developement?
We will begin by defining 'technology': 'a combination of theories, techniques, instruments and methods for aplying scientific knowledge'. Since the 18th century, non-war discoveries have: increased life expectancy, production, revolutionised transport or construction, generalised electricity, and changed the relationship between Humanity and the space.
In spite of these prodigious advances, technology can be harmful. Internet is an excelent example has been built thank to the transfer of personal information in exchange of: services (instant comunication with the rest of the world, orientation in order of reach a destiny or book a visit with the doctor), information, entertainment or the possibility of open your online business. Personal information is 'the gold of the 21st century'. Therefore it is important to protect our data and privacy. Preserving these rights must be a priority for European courts and legislators. In these areas, social science professionals must help to establish clear ethical limits to technology.
Especially, there must be guarantees that personal data can't be used to: discriminate, track without express and informed consent on what we do and where we go, use our image without authoritzation, etc. Currently, the express and informed consent, presents a problem: to access any website you must confirm that you accept the conditions of use of our data in it... if we don't do it, we cannot interact with Internet services. Therefore, in practice, you accept all the conditions without reaching them.
In spite of the described risks, we believe that having so much information has been the base for the 'smart cities'. What smart cities are? 'interconnected systems that apply technology, knowledge in urban planning or public policy to regulate and optimize systems of: transport, energy use, water supply or health services, etc.'.
Although 'smart cities' are the addition of complex technologies, there is no doubt that real estate must play a key role in the establishment of this inovation. We can help to face the challenge that we as a society have: fight against global warming by reducing the carbon footprint associated with the homes we can do this by:
1. Promoting homes rehabilitation in order to improve thermical insulation with the goal of use less heating and air conditioning
2. Aiming to install renewable energies in the owners' communities of owners and electrical consumers
3. Recycling, reusing, recovering and reducing eveery object that we use.
4. Use less unsustainable materials
5. Recover the 'hygienist' idea in which Ildefons Cerdà took part in nineteenth century. This implies to make our cities healthier by, for example by bet on: vertical or undulating gardens and urban orchards.
6 Introduce home automation dedicated to the processes that we do at home and help people with many different functions
Are you overwhelmed by our tips? Think that in a smart city to make these changes will be much easier because it will not fall solely on your responsibility and the council will have more information than more on waste management, electricity consumption or pollution levels etc.
In Finques Feliu we will always help you.