Notes from the Field:

VERGE DC Conference 2012

John LehnertSustainable Urban Development

Presidio Graduate SchoolApril 22, 2012

Verge DC: Overview

A project of GreenBiz – research, events

Convergence of four key technologies:• Energy• Building• Transportation• Information

All of these are vital for urban sustainabilityRecorded event content available at: http://www.greenbiz.com/microsite/verge

Century of the City

Demographics & Economics:• 50% world population (now) 70% (2050)• Top 100 cities comprise 30% of world GDP• Middle class: 1.8 B (now) 4.8 B (2030)

Upside: larger cities = more efficient / effectiveDownside: look at Nigeria today (NY Times)

Panel discussion: Cities as a Catalyst for Sustainabilityhttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/world/africa/in-nigeria-a-preview-of-an-overcrowded-planet.html

Century of the City

“Citystates” - states of cities define how they matter1) Connected2) Decisive3) Adaptive4) Collaborative5) Visceral6) Personal7) Experimental

http://www.greenbiz.com/sites/default/files/SustainAbility_Citystates_March2012_0.pdf

Energy: The New (resilient) Grid

• Utilities: “dinosaurs”

• Micro-utilities: need price info

• Data in real time• Monitoring

(e.g. Opower)

Interview: Jon Wellinghoff, FERCPanel discussion: Liberating Energy Data

Buildings: Energy Efficiency

Built environment is leading user of electricity

Key Trends:• Measure/monitor• More project data• Behavior > tech• People = sensors

http://www.envisioncharlotte.com/ - targeting/tracking/displaying bldg energy use

Panel Discussion: Revolutionizing the Built EnvironmentAccelerating Green Building Market Transformation (Pyke)

http://cm.asu.edu [campus metabolism] – enlisting students to reduce energy use

Transportation: Electric VehiclesEV (autos, motorcycles)Must address access to power

Convergent benefit:Cars as grid powerstorage

Technology:Lighter materials = lower battery-power needsPanel Discussion: Paving the Way for a National Network of EV’sDaniel Kim (Lit Motors)Interview: Amory Lovins – see also “Reinventing Fire”

Information: Big Data

The “Global Brain”• Humans connected/augmented

The Internet of Things• 50 B devices• Using ambient energy

Urban Datasets• London DataStore

Kent Dickson (Tendril)Tim O’Reilly

Information: Tools

AMEE:Carbon footprint of everything

Tendril: Connecting everything

Citystate: Adaptive/Experimental

Technology – Code for America• IT solutions to urban challenges

Technology – City of San Francisco• SFPark

Policy – City of Philadelphia• Differential stormwater billing

Financial – B of A • CDFI funds for energy efficiencyPanel discussion: Cities as a Catalyst for Sustainability; Jennifer Pahlka (Code for America)

Citystate: Collaboration / Competition

City of Philadelphia• Recycling competition (3x increase)• Dow – white roofs ( + heat tracking by NASA)

Sharing/Access Economy• City as a Service• Car Sharing

Lisa Gansky: “The Mesh”

SocialWeb

Prod& Svcs

Mobile

Robin Chase (Zip Car, Buzzcar)

Data Tools Analysis

My view of Convergence…

Transportation BuildingEnergy

Enables

RelationshipsLearning

Innovation

INFORMATION

CITIES