Urban microgrids are smart and complex energy systems that help integrate renewables into our cities, turning our neighborhoods into partly energy self-sufficient hubs. Moreover, they create the space for electricity transactions between neighbors, transforming the former consumers into prosumers. The following work proposes the implementation of an urban microgrid to a neighborhood in Lisbon, Portugal. This dissertation’s objective is designing and discovering the optimal photovoltaic and storage capacity, optimal electricity dispatch, effects of distributed energy production in grid voltage and economic viability of such a system. With this purpose, a comprehensive model was elaborated, considering specific site weather data, electric loads, grid topology and utility tariffs. The self-sufficiency of Arco do Cego was found to be 66% in this study, reducing its carbon footprint by 61%. A detailed map of where to place each PV system and battery bank was generated, with specific electricity dispatch strategies. Moreover, the system was designed under real grid voltage, current and power flow constraints.

This thesis explores the nexus between 'urban expressionism' and the potentiality of 'Asian urbanism(s)' by exploring ways that different planning paradigms have been located/dislocated in the case of New Songdo City, South Korea. By investigating four expressions of New Songdo City - as an 'Eco-City', a 'Smart City', an 'International City', and as the 'City of the Future' - this thesis argues that urban expressionism can make important contributions to the aims of Asian urbanism(s). Ultimately, this research demonstrates the ways that urban expressionism can be used to destabilize hegemonic Western-centric urban knowledge and city-building practices, and further point to new geographies of theory from which important contributions to urban research can be made. Urban expressions are made evident by various entwined urban rhetorics and worlding practices that operationalize multiple mediums of communication. Consequently, New Songdo City is, first and foremost, a city of simultaneity. To investigate this simultaneity, this research utilizes an exploratory case study approach and multiple qualitative methods that include semi-structured interviewing, focus groups, and surveys to gather insights from residents of Songdo, local experts, public and private sector actors, and other key stakeholder groups. Visual analysis is also used to explore mixed-mediums of data, including promotional videos, images, exhibition displays, magazines, and advertisements. The methods used to undertake this thesis provide a glimpse in to the development of New Songdo City and capture different urban expressions that are articulated by the city through various examples of urban rhetoric and worlding practices. The urban expressions presented in the New Songdo City case are analysed through the lens of Asian urbanism(s) and investigate the ways that hegemonic Western and Euro-centric conceptualizations of 'the urban' and 'the city' have been deployed, articulated, experienced, challenged, and complicated. By extension, this thesis also contributes to a more nuanced conceptualization of Asian urbanism(s) as well as the relevance of New Songdo City for urban theory in South Korean, Asian, and more generalizable contexts.

The main aim of the work was to apply the principles of sustainability and responsibility in the tourist destinations with the concept of Smart cities and Smart Regions and the use of modern methods and trends for the development of tourism in the tourist destination. These targets were applied to the town of Český Krumlov. One part of the thesis is quantitative research, which examines relations between residents of Český Krumlov and its visitors. According to research results, the design part was elaborated. The suggestions are focused on the development of new smart technologies in transport. Smart, modern and sustainable traffic management in the destination is one of the important components of the Smart City concept. The aim of the suggestion part is to create comprehensive traffic management system that could be useful for visitors of the city and for residents too.

Smart Cities are, while hot-and-happening, in the field of urban planning, also a source of confusionand debate. While many argue against the technology-driven and top-down nature of the Smart Citymodel, the bottom-up component is often appointed as the deciding factor in the determinationwhether a Smart City can be successful and contributing to its set goals, or rather resulting in an effortharming the city and its citizens in the long run. This thesis set out to explore the bottom-upcomponent in one of the most revered and most bottom-up Smart Cities of the world, Amsterdam.Remarkably, the research has proven that Amsterdam Smart City, even though it is often seen as oneof the good examples, suffers from the same issues. Its initiatives are an amalgamation of subjectsthat hardly seem to fit under the smart narrative as propagated by Amsterdam Smart City and hardlyany initiatives can be considered truly bottom-up. If one of the prime examples fails to adhere to itsown standards, what does this mean for the concept of smart cities?

Global urbanisation trends and pressing issues around sustainability pose great challenges for cities. The smart city concept has been developed as a strategy for working with cities as they become systematically more complex through interconnected frameworks, and increasingly rely on the use of Information and Communication Technology to meet the needs of their citizens. This thesis explores the concept of smart cities as a potential urban construct that can address the social and ecological sustainability challenges which society faces. Smart cities are defined as cities where investments in human and social capital, and traditional and modern communication infrastructure fuel sustainable economic growth and a high quality of life, with a wise management of natural resources, through participatory governance. Through structured interviews with smart city practitioners and sustainability experts, the strengths and limitations of the smart city concept are identified and organised through the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD). Then, a Strategic Sustainable Development (SSD) approach is applied as a method to maximise the benefits of the concept, and to mitigate any identified limitations. This thesis recommends a planning guide, informed by an SSD approach, to help smart cities move strategically towards their smart city vision and also move society towards sustainability. / Den praktiska tillämpningen av detta projekt riktar sig till stadsplanerare som idag använder sig av the smart city concept men också till stadsplanerare som vill börja arbeta aktivt med att göra sina städer mer hållbara genom att minska resursanvändningen och optimera stadsaktiviteter. Det blir alltmer uppenbart att stora förändringar måste ske i världen idag för att förbättra utsikterna för vår framtid och framtiden för kommande generationer. Ett effektivt sätt att angripa en stor bidragande orsak till både miljöproblem och sociala problem är att rikta fokus mot utvecklingen av städer och försöka bedriva utvecklingen på ett mer långsiktigt hållbart sätt.Detta projekt analyserar the smart city concept, förstärker dess hållbara påverkan genom rekommendationer och tillhandahåller stadsplanerare med en strategisk beslutsprocess för hållbara smarta städer som guidar planerare igenom processen och stödjer dem i deras beslut i syfte att optimera den hållbara utvecklingen av städer. / <p>Sonya Frey: +45 53 35 80 51</p>

The management of Brno has been considering building a new boulevard for several years. Many studies have been prepared on the appearance of the new Brno boulevard, which will be run parallel to Koliště Street. Brno boulevard should alleviate traffic jams on the surrounding roads. The diploma thesis deals with the architectural study of the hotel and the congress hall that would become part of the emerging smart district Spitalka. The urban concept (part of the pre-diploma thesis) is the basis for the architectural study of the hotel. The area responds to the elements that characterize smart cities abroad. The design includes a large variability of public spaces and the buildings themselves. The newly built hotel is adjacent to the newly built Brno boulevard. Across the street, the hotel is connected to a public space around the cooling tower, where the surrounding buildings are used for business, commercial and entertainment functions. The brick building of the Brno heating plants was a colorful inspiration for the architectu-ral form of the design. The building itself is divided into two separate operations, part of the hotel and the congress part, which are interconnected. On the ground floor you can find the en-trance hall, which leads to the congress hall and restaurant. The corner of the building is horizontally divided into floors of different widths. The facade of the hotel on the north and south sides is divided by windows. Thanks to the shift of the top floor, a place was created for terraces that allow a view of the historic city center. The south-western side offers a view of the Svitavsky nahon, the cooling tower and Spilberk Castle. The terraces can be used by wellness visitors, hotel guests during breakfast and to visit the green roof.

Smart cities utilize IoT cameras in a rushing pace. However, these high technological connected devices are back doors to safe systems. Implementation of high technological solutions without concerning other important aspects as information security and the factor of trust violates not only the quality aspect of the solutions, but also breaches the privacy of individuals. Secure solutions that reserve the trust of individuals with the help of high technological solutions is therefore significant. This study is aimed to investigate and find answer to how IoT camera solutions for smart cities can include all three of the important factors, which contributes for a deeper understanding of the whole product development process` possible improvements. Through a qualitative approach the research questions are investigated which resulted in a contribution that support the academic world of information security in presenting the importance of correct communication, collaboration and the including of the three factors during the development process of IoT camera solutions for smart cities. The results are open for further investigation as observed during research, but also key findings and recommendations are offered to the stakeholders of the IoT camera solution development industry.

Against the background of urban transformation processes aggravated by e-commerce, this paper discusses chances and challenges of local online platforms. Three hypotheses are introduced. Firstly, the rapid emergence of numerous local online platforms in various European countries is linked to the urban heritage of the European City. Secondly, the success of these platforms depends on the integration of diverse services. Thirdly it is argued, that platforms need to adapt to future topics of smart retail which is why a more holistic approach is appropriate. A best practice analysis is conducted, which gives an insight into the variety and complexity of local online platforms.

Smart city as a concept or term is the contemporary buzzword which is referred as a means to deliver urban sustainability. In recent years, different smart city initiatives have emerged worldwide, which are advocated increasingly by the private and public sectors. However, there has been a considerable amount of critiques by social and urban scholars who question the current understanding and practice of the smart city, raising doubt if the current smart city is sustainable. The most frequently mentioned critiques indicate that the current smart city which does not have a common definition and theoretical foundation is intensively dominated by technical perspective and the role of private sector. This thesis aims to find out how this current understanding and application of smart city concept affect the urban planning practices and urban policy-making. By taking Malmö as a case study and conducting policy analyses, the research shows that this trend leads to the project-based practices which in the absence of strategic and holistic vision toward the smart city as a concept might not fulfil sustainability criteria, cannot be a beneficiary means for sustainable urban planning, and is a poor concept for social sustainability. It shows that although private sector is an integral part of smart city practices, public sector -municipality -needs to take a leadership position in defining smart city based on the real city’s demand and integrate it into the urban planning strategies.

Yes / Modern early warning system (EWS) requires sophisticated knowledge of the natural hazards, the urban context and underlying risk factors to enable dynamic and timely decision making (e.g., hazard detection, hazard preparedness). Landslides are a common form of natural hazard with a global impact and closely linked to a variety of other hazards. EWS for landslides prediction and detection relies on scientific methods and models which requires input from the time series data, such as the earth observation (EO) and urban environment data. Such data sets are produced by a variety of remote sensing satellites and Internet of things sensors which are deployed in the landslide prone areas. To this end, the automatic discovery of potential time series data sources has become a challenge due to the complexity and high variety of data sources. To solve this hard research problem, in this paper, we propose a novel ontology, namely Landslip Ontology, to provide the knowledge base that establishes relationship between landslide hazard and EO and urban data sources. The purpose of Landslip Ontology is to facilitate time series data source discovery for the verification and prediction of landslide hazards. The ontology is evaluated based on scenarios and competency questions to verify the coverage and consistency. Moreover, the ontology can also be used to realize the implementation of data sources discovery system which is an essential component in EWS that needs to manage (store, search, process) rich information from heterogeneous data sources.