The Second NSF International Workshop on Sustainable Smart Cities - Egypt

该提案将支持可持续智慧城市研讨会，该研讨会将汇集来自美国和埃及的决策、研究和实践者社区，讨论制定和实施可持续城市发展计划的机会。该研讨会将包括大约50名精心挑选的参与者，其中10名来自美国，5名来自欧洲，30名来自埃及，5名来自中东其他地区，并将于2019年1月举行。随着城市化步伐的不断加快，迫切需要对可持续的城市基础设施和生活进行研究。据估计，到2050年，世界上70%的人口将居住在城市，而美国已经有大约80%的人口居住在城市地区。城市消耗了大量的资源，如水和能源，而全球对这些资源的需求只会不断增加。发展中国家的城市化发展最为迅速，这使得可持续城市的主题对美国和发展中国家科学家之间的合作特别有价值。对于这次会议来说，埃及是一个特别有价值的地点，开罗面临着世界上任何城市都面临的一些最严重的城市基础设施挑战，开罗东部正在建设一个新的埃及首都。研讨会的主要目标是：1)探讨政府、研究人员和实践者之间的协同关系如何促进可持续城市发展；2)汇集来自美国和埃及的决策、研究和从业者社区，确定并优先考虑满足区域需求的可持续发展项目；3)确定具体的目标、决策标准和绩效指标，以帮助决策者优先考虑和评估可持续发展项目；4)确定互利的研究和培训计划；找出可以帮助美国在国内外采取类似做法的经验教训。具体而言，研讨会将提供一个平台，分享以下方面的经验和最佳实践：1)城市经济转型；2)城市基础设施；3)科学、技术和创新促进可持续城市化；4)国民的健康和福祉。总的主题和选定的主题是及时的。美国和世界各地都在进行研究工作，以寻找城市高效、有吸引力和经济的运营和发展方式，同时满足居民的需求。本次研讨会将汇集来自美国、埃及、中东/北非其他国家和欧洲的专家，分享成果，协调新的合作研究努力，确定区域项目的标准和新项目的优先事项，并确定美国和发达国家在国内应用的经验教训。这些努力可能对美国、埃及和全世界都很有价值。该项目由国际科学与工程办公室通过美国-埃及联合基金提供资金。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This proposal will support a workshop on Sustainable Smart Cities that will bring together decision making, research, and practitioner communities from the U.S. and Egypt to discuss the opportunities for developing and implementing sustainable urban development programs. The workshop will include approximately 50 carefully selected participants including 10 from the US, 5 from Europe, 30 from Egypt, and 5 from elsewhere in the Middle East and will take place in ~January 2019. Research on sustainable urban infrastructure and living is urgently needed as the pace of urbanization continues to increase. Some estimates suggest that by 2050 70% of the world's population will live in cities, and already approximately 80% of the US population lives in urban areas. Cities consume a tremendous share of resources like water and energy for which demand globally is only increasing. Urbanization is increasing most rapidly in developing countries, making the topic of sustainable cities particularly valuable for collaboration between US and developing country scientists. Egypt is a particularly valuable location for this meeting, with Cairo facing some of the greatest urban infrastructure challenges of any city in the world and a new Egyptian capital under development east of Cairo. The main goals of the workshop are to:1) Explore how synergistic relationships between government, researchers, and practitioners can promote sustainable urban development;2) Bring together the decision making, research, and practitioner communities from the U.S. and Egypt to identify and prioritize sustainability programs that address regional needs;3) Identify specific objectives, decision criteria, and performance metrics to help decision makersprioritize and evaluate sustainability projects;4) Identify mutually beneficial research and training initiatives;5) Identify lessons learned that can help the U.S. to apply similar practices at home and abroad.Specifically, the workshop will offer a platform for sharing experiences and best practices in:1) Economic transformation of cities;2) Urban infrastructure;3) Science, technology, and innovation for sustainable urbanization;4) Health and well-being of citizens.The overarching topic and selected themes are timely. Research efforts are underway in the US and around the world to find ways for cities to operate and grow that are efficient, attractive and economical while also supporting the needs of residents. This workshop will bring together experts from the US, Egypt, the rest of the Middle East/North Africa (MENA), and Europe to share results, coordinate new collaborative research endeavors, identify criteria for regional projects and priorities for new programs, and identify lessons for the US and developed countries to apply at home. These efforts are likely to be valuable in the US, in Egypt, and around the world.Funding for this project is provided by the Office of International Science and Engineering through the US-Egypt Joint Fund.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.