Assessing the Potentials of Digitalization as a Tool for Climate Change Adaptation and Sustainable Development in Urban Centres
Assessing the Potentials of Digitalization as a Tool for Climate Change Adaptation and Sustainable Development in Urban Centres
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DOI：
10.1016/j.scs.2019.101888
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发表时间：
2020-02-01
影响因子：
11.7
通讯作者：
Salehi, Pourya
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Balogun, Abdul-Lateef;Marks, Danny;Salehi, Pourya
数字化是城市社会经济动态可持续发展的一个关键推动因素，具有促进气候友好型城市环境和社会的潜力。随着第四次工业革命的到来，数字化在多个领域和不同层面的应用越来越多。高科技数字设备、平台和环境越来越多地被部署，以提高生产力、效率和可持续性，并改善城市居民的整体福祉。数字化预计将在未来进一步影响城市，改变就业机会，引发生活方式的变化，并产生深远影响，最终影响城市的复原力和适应能力。虽然越来越多的研究强调了数字化对减缓气候变化的重要性，例如减少温室气体和二氧化碳排放，但对数字化作为气候变化适应推动因素的潜力的全面评估仍然很少。本文通过分析与气候变化适应相关的数字革命的当前趋势来解决这一差距，并探讨数字化可能带来的挑战。采用案头研究方法，重点关注推动第四次工业革命（IR 4.0）的核心数字化概念。在各大洲的城市中选择了九个案例研究，以评估数字化在应对气候灾害方面的潜力，并强调实施数字化的好处，同时考虑IR 4.0带来的社会-生态-技术挑战和紧张局势。我们的研究结果揭示了数字化在支持更有效的预警和应急响应系统、加强粮食和水安全、改善电力基础设施性能、促进公民参与和参与性适应措施以及最大限度地减少气候灾害影响方面的能力。最后，我们提出了克服当前风险和挑战的可行途径，以优化数字化提供的众多机会，支持气候变化适应举措。
Digitalization is a key enabler of sustainable development of cities' socio-economic dynamics with the potential to foster climate-friendly urban environments and societies. The advent of the 4th industrial revolution has seen the increased application of digitalization in several fields and at different levels. High-tech digital devices, platforms and environments are increasingly being deployed to enhance productivity, efficiency and sustainability, and improve overall well-being of urban dwellers. Digitalization is projected to further impact cities in future, transform jobs and trigger life-style changes with far-reaching impacts that will ultimately affect cities' resilience and adaptation capacities. While a growing body of research has highlighted the significance of digitalization to climate change mitigation such as reducing GHG and CO2 emissions, comprehensive evaluations of the potentials of digitalization as an enabler of climate change adaptation remain scarce. This paper addresses this gap by analysing the current trend in digital revolution in relation to climate change adaptation and examines the likely challenges of digitalization. A desk research method was adopted, focusing on core digitalization concepts driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0). Nine case studies in cities across various continents were selected to assess the potentials of digitalization in addressing climatic hazards and to highlight benefits from implementing digitalization, while considering the social-ecological-technological challenges and tensions around IR 4.0. Our findings reveal the capabilities of digitalization in supporting more effective early warning and emergency response systems, enhancing food and water security, improving power infrastructure performance, enabling citizen engagement and participatory adaptation measures and minimizing the impacts of climatic hazards. Finally, we recommend feasible pathways to overcome present risks and challenges in order to optimize the numerous opportunities offered by digitalization in support of climate change adaptation initiatives.