Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2015 | Page 4

NORDICUM Real Estate Annual Finland How Smart Is Your City? All over the world, cities are leading the way into a better future. An era of accelerated urbanisation has commenced in earnest; the UN estimates that by 2030 cities will be home to 70% of the world’s population. Publisher PubliCo Oy Pälkäneentie 19 A FI-00510 Helsinki Finland Phone [phone] [email protected] www.publico.com Cities are economic powerhouses which account for 80% of global GDP. However, it is clear that the rising numbers of increasingly wealthy city dwellers put a serious strain on natural resources, too. According to Booz & Company, cities accounted for 66% of global energy consumption in 2010. By 2040, that figure is expected to climb to 80%. Furthermore, 80% of human generated carbon emissions come from cities. Editor-in-Chief The only way for the cities to cope with the coming change is by changing themselves. Cities of all sizes must become smarter and greener, to find ways to use technological breakthroughs in order to get the job done. Contributors World Economic Forum put Finland – again – on top of its ranking of the most technologically savvy countries in the word. The survey measured the capacity of 148 economies to leverage ICT for growth and well-being, and featured Singapore, Sweden, the Netherlands and Norway as the runner-ups to Finland. Language Editor Jussi Sinkko Editorial Coordinator Mirkka Lindroos Project Manager Paul Charpentier Merja Kihl Ari Mononen Sami J. Anteroinen Lutz Ehrhardt Dialog Designs Graphic Design Riitta Yli-Öyrä Ad Sales The report focused on the rewards and risks of Big Data which is one of the cornerstones of smart cities. In Helsinki, for instance, public data is being opened up for the people to explore – and, as a consequence, new types of services are being born. One of the fans of Helsinki is Dr. Boyd Cohen, a leading authority on smart cities. NORDICUM had the opportunity to interview Cohen about the makings of a true smart city. Cohen commented that while the technology is necessary to usher in the new age, the hi-tech revolution is moving so rapidly that it is very hard for city adminstrators to keep pace and to separate the hype from reality. Finland Mr. Paul Charpentier Phone [phone] Sweden Mr. Johan Lindberg Phone [phone] Germany Mr. Lutz Ehrhardt Phone [phone] Cover Photo Pablo Figueroa Printed by PunaMusta, January 2015 And then there is the ever-present question of money. Cohen says that financing is a big challenge for local governments, but the EU has really been helpful in supporting, for instance, local smart cities pilot projects. This means that also smaller communities can “go smart”. In Finland, there are 19 pioneering municipalities which are engaged in a serious effort to reduce their CO2 emissions by 80% by 2030. During the last six years, this network of green municipalities has cut their emissions by 20%. Sami J. Anteroinen Editor-at-Large Photographic and advertising material is sent at the owner’s risk. NORDICUM accepts no liability for loss or damage. NORDICUM promotes Baltic Sea area cooperation and free markets. NORDICUM is not affiliated with any political party or financial institution. ISSN-L 1236-3839 ISSN 1236-3839 (Print) ISSN 2242-9603 (Online) www.nordicum.com PubliCo Oy is a member of The Finnish Periodical Publisher’s Association 2 Nordicum