The International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) announced
a new standard last week: ISO 37120:2014 – Sustainable development of communities —
Indicators for city services and quality of life. The new standard is
applicable to any city, municipality or local government desiring to measure
its performance in a comparable and verifiable manner, irrespective of
size, location, or level of development. The standard covers a number of areas, only some of which are: energy, environment, governance,
safety, solid waste, transportation, wastewater, and water and sanitation.
The standard was launched during the Global Cities Summit organized by
the University of Toronto's Global City Indicators Facility, one of the organizations involved in its development. Also launched at the Global Cities Summit was the World Council on City Data, a new entity that will build an international platform for open, comparable, and ISO-standardized data for participating cities from around the world.
The Smart Cities Council, an
industry coalition to improve the livability, workability and sustainability of
the world’s cities, recently announced the Smart Cities Financing Guide.
This new resource helps cities understand the financing options available for
investments in smart technologies. Developed
for the Council by the Center for Urban Innovation at Arizona State University,
the Financing Guide outlines
28 of the most promising financing tools for urban infrastructure enhancements,
including some techniques that do not require any upfront money from a city. It
“Knowledge of financial instruments and
the processes to engage in sustainable financing of technologies is vital, yet
few know how to navigate these complexities”offers criteria for evaluating
financing options and allows city leaders to differentiate which approach is
best for their project and community.
The Financing Guide is part of the Council’s premium resource library,
which also includes the Smart Cities Readiness Guide
that provides 27 best practices for launching a smart city initiative. Both Guides are available on the Smart Cities Council website for free,
following a very brief registration.
Schneider Electric, which acquired Invensys in January 2014, is an Associate Partner of the Smart
Cities Council.
