What makes our cities so unique?
Every city has its own strengths – from its diverse heritage to its resources to its urban ecosystem. These all bring a sense of local pride and identity. But when it comes to long-term, sustainable development goals, how can this be used to a city’s advantage?
In the last few years, much of how we live, work and play has changed. It’s only natural that the cities around us, particularly with climate change at the forefront, need to evolve too. Many cities, particularly those in Europe, are also facing increased supply chain challenges and political unrest. With all this in mind, we need to look at how we can plan and develop sustainable cities that remain resilient to the future ahead.
The answer lies in capitalizing on what makes a city unique and leveraging its strengths. Below, we analyze two distinct focus areas that help us do just that.
By focusing on interconnecting these dependencies, we can succeed in creating a true sense of place.
“Resilience means being able to adapt to changing conditions, such as those driven by climate change, and grow in the face of disruption or challenges. Often, the impact of extreme weather events can be devastating for homes, businesses and critical assets alike. So we need to develop solutions that reflect the needs of and protect those most impacted. It’s not just about creating physical change, but also making sure we create strong civic and governance systems that support inclusive decision-making so we can equitably adapt to changing conditions.”
Carly Foster
Urban and Community Resilience Practice Lead
“Water is one of our most important natural resources. In addition to water conservation, sustainable cities must challenge how we view ALL water resources including wastewater, stormwater, and urban water runoff as these alternative sources may be a few treatment steps away from creating new, resilient drinking water supplies. Principles like equality, diversity, and inclusivity must extend beyond our social fabric to water systems and the value we can bring through it to the local community.”
David Eberle
Senior Water Engineer and Sustainability Professional
Environmental sustainability is a firmly established strength among European cities. Scandinavia performs extremely well in our Sustainable Cities Index because of their commitment to sound environmental governance and climate action.
US cities, like Miami and New Orleans, which are particularly vulnerable to environmental exposure, ranked in the bottom half of the Planet pillar of the index highlighting an urgent need to increase focus on climate adaptation, greenhouse gas emissions, environmental governance and energy use.
Climate
Adaptation
Water
Optimization
Enviro Socio
Permitting
Sustainability
Advisory
Solutions
READ MORE
Maximizing natural resources and infrastructure like water, waste and energy.
READ MORE
How our approach to sustainable urban masterplanning is helping communities shape the future of flood prevention across New Jersey.
How can ‘One Water’ principles help to secure a sustainable water supply in a city?
Keeping community, culture and heritage in mind.
What makes our cities so unique?
Every city has its own strengths – from its diverse heritage to its resources to its urban ecosystem. These all bring a sense of local pride and identity. But when it comes to long-term, sustainable development goals, how can this be used to a city’s advantage?
In the last few years, much of how we live, work and play has changed. It’s only natural that the cities around us, particularly with climate change at the forefront, need to evolve too. Many cities, particularly those in Europe, are also facing increased supply chain challenges and political unrest. With all this in mind, we need to look at how we can plan and develop sustainable cities that remain resilient to the future ahead.
The answer lies in capitalizing on what makes a city unique and leveraging its strengths. Below, we analyze two distinct focus areas that help us do just that.
By focusing on interconnecting these dependencies, we can succeed in creating a true sense of place.
“Resilience means being able to adapt to changing conditions, such as those driven by climate change, and grow in the face of disruption or challenges. Often, the impact of extreme weather events can be devastating for homes, businesses and critical assets alike. So we need to develop solutions that reflect the needs of and protect those most impacted. It’s not just about creating physical change, but also making sure we create strong civic and governance systems that support inclusive decision-making so we can equitably adapt to changing conditions.”
Carly Foster
Urban and Community Resilience Practice Lead
“Water is one of our most important natural resources. In addition to water conservation, sustainable urban masterplanning must challenge how we view ALL water resources including wastewater, stormwater, and urban water runoff as these alternative sources may be a few treatment steps away from creating new, resilient drinking water supplies. Principles like equality, diversity, and inclusivity must extend beyond our social fabric to water systems and the value we can bring through it to the
local community.”
David Eberle
Senior Water Engineer and
Sustainability Professional
Environmental sustainability is a firmly established strength among European cities. Scandinavia performs extremely well in our Sustainable Cities Index because of their commitment to sound environmental governance and climate action.
US cities, like Miami and New Orleans, which are particularly vulnerable to environmental exposure, ranked in the bottom half of the Planet pillar of the index highlighting an urgent need to increase focus on climate adaptation, greenhouse gas emissions, environmental governance and energy use.
Water
Optimization
Climate
Adaptation
Enviro Socio
Permitting
Sustainability
Advisory
Solutions
FIND OUT MORE
Maximizing natural resources and infrastructure like water, waste and energy.
READ MORE
How our approach to sustainable urban masterplanning is helping communities shape the future of flood prevention across
New Jersey.
How can ‘One Water’ principles help to secure a sustainable water supply in a city?
Keeping community, culture and heritage in mind.
READ MORE
READ MORE
READ MORE
READ MORE
READ MORE
READ MORE
What do people want in the cities and communities in which they live? What makes a great place?
In the 5th edition of our Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index, we examine urban sustainability through the lens of prosperity. To be truly sustainable, cities must look beyond economic development to the health of their natural environment and the quality of life of the people that live there.
The needs of every citizen must be considered as cities redefine themselves, ensuring everyone has access to the resources they need, and the opportunity to thrive. With the acceleration in extreme weather events and acknowledging that the impact of these events is not shared evenly within cities, climate equity needs to be a central part of this decision making.
To truly enact positive change, everyone who has a stake in cities – governments, city districts, municipalities, business districts, city councils, and citizens alike – needs to have a voice at the table and connect with a ‘system thinking’ approach. It’s about recognizing that the sum is greater than the individual parts and acknowledging that we need to work together to take bold steps in shaping cities that are livable, inclusive and affordable
It’s about recognizing that the sum is greater than the individual parts and acknowledging that we need to work together to take bold steps in shaping cities that are livable, inclusive and affordable.
Glasgow’s strong performance in the people pillar (#1) is a product of its focus on the citizen experience. Amongst its strengths are access to services, inclusivity and relative affordability.
Many of the otherwise most people-centric cities such as Zurich and San Francisco struggle with affordability challenges highlighting the ‘affordability conundrum.’ A city is not truly sustainable if some of its citizens are being priced out or left out of consideration in decision-making.
Climate
Adaptation
Energy
Transition
Net Zero Facilities and Sustainable Communities
Solutions
Making communities resilient with intelligent water solutions
With escalating impacts of climate change, we need to find ways to help clients and communities protect one of our most precious resources – water – through periods of drought heavy rainfall, or other extreme events.
HydroNET provides the necessary digital tools to anticipate extreme weather conditions and enable data-driven, transparent and accountable decisions for managing water-safe environments. The professional cloud-based decision support system is used by over 8,000 users across countries all over the world, connecting hundreds of data sets with relevant information from radars, satellites, monitoring stations and other data sources, translating this into reports and dashboards that reduce risks and inform decisions.
HydroNET’s Water Control Room Portal, for example, not only helps municipalities and water authorities by significantly reducing the time and cost burden of generating flood reports, but it also improves accessibility for the public, making communities more resilient. Just in October 2022, amidst the floodings in Victoria, Australia, over 5,000 people accessed the tool in one day. This reduced the load on the municipality, and helped the community see if their house was at risk.
Giving confidence in decision-making
Dublin
“Two considerations are key when thinking about how to develop sustainable urban projects – first, proportionate investment in biodiversity and nature, and second, ensuring circularity of materials and infrastructure is reflected throughout project lifecycles. Repurposing existing or ageing resources and assets in creative ways can create better affordability, improve self-reliance and support healthier, more resilient places for people to live.”
Maximilien Piquant
Project Manager
Arcadis France
“As consultants, planners, designers and developers; being connected to the community and their needs is critical. This means moving beyond the typical ‘consultation’ to ‘participation’. Inclusivity calls for community awareness and education in all projects, ensuring citizens know what options are available and how to benefit from them.”
Aydin Zorlutuna
Director for Landscape, Masterplanning, Urbanism,
Arcadis UK
“Cities today are grappling with how best to respond to the impacts of climate change – like flooding from coastal storms and heavy rainfall, as well as extreme heat. Cities of the future must address these challenges through connected systems that both mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change. This is only possible through sustainable, resilient design that also considers the needs of the community - mobility and movement are key to livability.”
Amina Rahill-Marier
Water Resiliency Engineer and Planner,
Arcadis US
Affordability
Densification of cities and the subsequent reduction in biodiversity, rising energy and utility costs and breakdown of our global supply chain have brought affordability front-and-center in the public conversation.
See the Benefriches project
Affordability
Inclusivity
Every citizen’s needs – taking into account gender, ethnicity, age, neurodiversity and lifestyle – should be considered as we reshape our cities. It’s about having options and access to those options to make consumer choices. Whether that’s different modes of transport, shelter from the elements, access to local food or a range of sensory or heritage spaces that help build a sense of identity.
See Glasgow Liveable Neighborhoods
Inclusivity
As we retrofit and redesign cities to consider rapid urbanization and the impacts of climate change, we need different parties to work together, and for bold precedents to be set at government level to influence action across the board.
Livability
See the Lower Manhattan project
Livability
What do people want in the cities and communities in which they live? What makes a great place?
In the 5th edition of our Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index, we examine urban sustainability through the lens of prosperity. To be truly sustainable, cities must look beyond economic development to the health of their natural environment and the quality of life of the people that live there.
The needs of every citizen must be considered as cities redefine themselves, ensuring everyone has access to the resources they need, and the opportunity to thrive. With the acceleration in extreme weather events and acknowledging that the impact of these events is not shared evenly within cities, climate equity needs to be a central part of this decision making.
To truly enact positive change, everyone who has a stake in cities – governments, city districts, municipalities, business districts, city councils, and citizens alike – needs to have a voice at the table and connect with a ‘system thinking’ approach. It’s about recognizing that the sum is greater than the individual parts and acknowledging that we need to work together to take bold steps in shaping cities that are livable, inclusive and affordable
It’s about recognizing that the sum is greater than the individual parts and acknowledging that we need to work together to take bold steps in shaping cities that are livable, inclusive and affordable.
Glasgow’s strong performance in the people pillar (#1) is a product of its focus on the citizen experience. Amongst its strengths are access to services, inclusivity and relative affordability.
Many of the otherwise most people-centric cities such as Zurich and San Francisco struggle with affordability challenges highlighting the ‘affordability conundrum.’ A city is not truly sustainable if some of its citizens are being priced out or left out of consideration in decision-making.
Climate
Adaptation
Energy
Transition
Net Zero Facilities and Sustainable Communities
Solutions
“Two considerations are key when thinking about how to develop sustainable urban projects – first, proportionate investment in biodiversity and nature, and second, ensuring circularity of materials and infrastructure is reflected throughout project lifecycles. Repurposing existing or ageing resources and assets in creative ways can create better affordability, improve self-reliance and support healthier, more resilient places for people to live.”
Maximilien Piquant
Project Manager
Arcadis France
“As consultants, planners, designers and developers; being connected to the community and their needs is critical. This means moving beyond the typical ‘consultation’ to ‘participation’. Inclusivity calls for community awareness and education in all projects, ensuring citizens know what options are available and how to benefit from them.”
Aydin Zorlutuna
Director for Landscape, Masterplanning, Urbanism,
Arcadis UK
“Cities today are grappling with how best to respond to the impacts of climate change – like flooding from coastal storms and heavy rainfall, as well as extreme heat. Cities of the future must address these challenges through connected systems that both mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change. This is only possible through sustainable, resilient design that also considers the needs of the community - mobility and movement are key to livability.”
Amina Rahill-Marier
Water Resiliency Engineer and Planner,
Arcadis US
LEARN MORE
Affordability
READ MORE
Inclusivity
FIND OUT MORE
Livability
READ MORE
READ MORE
READ MORE
READ MORE
As we retrofit and redesign cities to consider rapid urbanization and the impacts of climate change, we need different parties to work together, and for bold precedents to be set at government level to influence action across the board.
See the Lower Manhattan project
Livability
READ MORE
READ MORE
Every citizen’s needs – taking into account gender, ethnicity, age, neurodiversity and lifestyle – should be considered as we reshape our cities. It’s about having options and access to those options to make consumer choices. Whether that’s different modes of transport, shelter from the elements, access to local food or a range of sensory or heritage spaces that help build a sense of identity.
Inclusivity
See Glassgow Liveable Neighborhoods
Densification of cities and the subsequent reduction in biodiversity, rising energy and utility costs and breakdown of our global supply chain have brought affordability front-and-center in the public conversation.
Affordability
See Benefriches Project
“The City of Rotterdam has committed to a 55% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030, in line with national and international ambitions. To achieve this, we’ve developed the Rotterdam Sustainability Compass – giving direction to the city’s sustainability goals and mapping out crucial pathways to success. This living document helps bring together different players and stakeholders, from residents and businesses to governments and utility providers, to see the contribution they can make and how they can benefit through specific programs, such as those that address energy transition, circularity, climate resilience and creating a healthy living environment. It’s only when we adopt this connected, systems thinking approach that we can truly make a difference, creating sustainable urban spaces.”
“Pressure exerted through governance, policy and legislation can help drive progress and innovation in energy transition. But the lead time to realize the benefits of these are often slower than the pace of technological advancements. Here, public-private partnerships (PPPs) play a key role. Technology startups and the private sector can be faster to respond to evolving megatrends. The value they bring through innovative solutions, such as curb side vehicle charging, can be piloted and tested together with public sector backing to get the ball rolling. Such agile, partnership models give confidence in identifying and driving investment in new technologies.”
Jee Mee Kim
New York City Executive
Arcadis US
“Investment plans, partnerships and programs need to have a level of flexibility built into them to help create comfort with ‘unknowns’ that come with technological advancements. Public and private sector partnerships provide efficient ways of testing and driving adoption of new technologies that unlock immense societal benefit. Equally, initial public sector investment provides incentive for private sector innovation. Arcadis has had success partnering with clients to identify where these funding opportunities lie and advising on innovative pilots and projects that can drive a return, giving confidence in making these decisions.”
Mark Mutter
Product Manager,
Arcadis US
“There are many opportunities to focus on cities when addressing challenges. Cities are hubs where everything starts and happens – including innovation. However, the perceived cost of investment, size of governments and complexity of stakeholders can be blockers and cause a lag in funding. Moving processes along can be challenging and change often happens incrementally. Governance – like legislation, funding, subsidies and minimum requirements – plays an important role in pushing the changes needed forward. We all have a role in influencing this.”
Tjakko Dijk
Director Sustainability and Business Development,
Arcadis Australia
US cities overwhelmingly dominate the profit pillar but many perform fairly poorly on the overall index themselves as the strong economic performance is not being channeled towards addressing climate and urbanization challenges as a priority.
Solutions
Solutions that keep at pace with innovation
Looking at the planning of cities in an integral way, newer concepts like the impact on resources, health and social equity, are all key for the present and future livability of our city. While there are many challenges to overcome, like the impact of urban development on sustainability and how this translates into specific measures - at scale - there are solutions too.
With greater push from policy makers, as well as support from government investment and infrastructure bills, both municipalities and developers alike are looking to move to more sustainable, low carbon energy sources. But the pace at which innovation and digitalization is occurring can make it challenging to feel confident in large investments – ensuring smart decisions are made today while also planning for innovations in the future.
Adding to this, rapid urbanization and escalating climate change trends mean that cities need to make immediate big, bold strides.
The complexity and pace at which these trends are accelerating, makes it difficult for policy makers, governments, and private enterprises to assess the right time to get involved, and where and how to best manage investment. This can result in decision and analysis paralysis.
The need of the hour is no or low regret opportunities that give cities confidence in their investment decisions. Governance, public-private sector partnerships, and small-scale pilots to test innovations are key to driving movement in sustainable urban master planning.
Giving confidence in
decision-making
Bigger data insights for
informed solutions
Improving EV charging
demand predictability
GeoPossibilities for informed energy decisions
GeoPossibilities was first developed to provide an initial geothermal feasibility screening tool for all buildings in Westchester County in New York State. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) sponsored and developed the tool in partnership with a consortium of organizations, including OverMorgen (an Arcadis company), with the aim to help New Yorkers make confident, informed energy decisions.
The tool gives users the ability to navigate an interactive map of, for example, Westchester County to interact with and view initial screening results for the feasibility of implementing a geothermal heating/cooling system on their building or property. Users can choose to either start from an existing property, or an existing parcel of land on which they plan to construct a new property.
Based on subsurface conditions like presence of aquifers, we are now looking into possibilities for the application of aquifer thermal energy storage to store heat and cold.
GeoPossibilities helps real estate owners get insights into the applicability of a ground source heat pump for their building, and make informed, valuable decisions on investments and returns.
Giving confidence in decision-making
Making communities resilient with intelligent water solutions
With escalating impacts of climate change, we need to find ways to help clients and communities protect one of our most precious resources – water – through periods of drought heavy rainfall, or other extreme events.
HydroNET provides the necessary digital tools to anticipate extreme weather conditions and enable data-driven, transparent and accountable decisions for managing water-safe environments. The professional cloud-based decision support system is used by over 8,000 users across countries all over the world, connecting hundreds of data sets with relevant information from radars, satellites, monitoring stations and other data sources, translating this into reports and dashboards that reduce risks and inform decisions.
HydroNET’s Water Control Room Portal, for example, not only helps municipalities and water authorities by significantly reducing the time and cost burden of generating flood reports, but it also improves accessibility for the public, making communities more resilient. Just in October 2022, amidst the floodings in Victoria, Australia, over 5,000 people accessed the tool in one day. This reduced the load on the municipality, and helped the community see if their house was at risk.
Giving confidence in decision-making
Preserving a scarce resource with digital twins
Non-revenue water (NRW) refers to water that has been treated but lost through leakage before it reaches customers. Each year around 126 billion cubic meters (as of 2018) of water is lost to leakage in water distribution networks globally. With the escalating effects of climate change, how can water utilities preserve this increasingly scarce resource?
As most of the water distribution network is underground, finding leaks is incredibly difficult. Pipe burst models require a large amount of sample data, and existing leak detection measures such as acoustic monitors rely on trial and error and still give a snapshot in time. Arcadis’ technical experts have worked in partnership with Microsoft to develop a cloud-based tool to solve this challenge.
The NRW Digital Twin, is a platform that uses IoT sensor data with existing SCADA and third-party data to feed a series of Arcadis algorithms developed by our hydraulic modeling experts. This result is a live model that shows any leakages (even leaks as small as 3gpm) in the target area, and changes such as minimum nightly flows that indicate the presence and location of a leak.
This live data can also be tested with existing hydraulic models.
We are already starting to see promising results in proof-of-concept tests in partnership with a client in Ohio, USA.
Bigger data insights for informed solutions
Flood Risk Calculator to support funding
The Flood Risk Calculator (FRC) is a python-based tool that evaluates the site-specific and collective impacts of individual flood events on buildings within the floodplain as well as bigger-picture sea level rise impacts within project areas ranging from small neighborhoods to huge metropolitan regions.
This tool builds on standard FEMA and USACE methodologies to estimate damages at the building scale f.e., direct physical damages, human impacts and business exposure. The FRC takes input data – like census population counts and building replacement values – and either distributes or assigns them to each building. Once one or many flood events are layered onto this, it’s used to estimate damage metrics. The tool can also help model indirect business interruptions and assess the impacts of loss of service of certain public assets such as police stations.
Arcadis has used the FRC at the neighborhood scale with just a few hundred buildings for quick-turnaround grant applications including Huntsville, Alabama and Tarpon Springs, Florida. The tool has also been used to evaluate the risk across all five boroughs of New York City, which had an inventory of about a million buildings.
Quantifying damages to an area with the FRC speeds up and expands the evaluation of risk reduction measures that are implemented through flood mitigation projects, empowering clients to make informed decisions and allowing Arcadis to support with more applications for federal funding sources.
Bigger data insights for informed solutions
A lot of the fast-charging demand takes place on highways. To plan demand across these transport corridors, three things need to be considered: the number of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in that corridor, the chance that those EVs want fast charging, and the length of the corridor.
The Charging Demand Per Corridor tool developed by Over Morgen (an Arcadis company) considers how many EVs are in the neighborhood using the EV Forecast Atlas. Using the National Model System (LMS), this data is then considered to visualize journeys being made. As a result of this knowledge – the number of cars in each corridor, their origin, destination and distance – an estimate of the amount of kWh used can be made, together with calculation of the associated fast charging opportunity.
The prediction of logistics needs and consumer fast-charging demand with the help of the tool can greatly help improve the consumer travel experience and improve adoption of EVs, aligned with national ambitions. It’s used by authorities responsible for transport planning, like NAL West in the Netherlands, and utilities responsible for the large electrical connections these stations need.
Improving EV charging demand predictability
“The City of Rotterdam has committed to a 55% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030, in line with national and international ambitions. To achieve this, we’ve developed the Rotterdam Sustainability Compass – giving direction to the city’s sustainability goals and mapping out crucial pathways to success. This living document helps bring together different players and stakeholders, from residents and businesses to governments and utility providers, to see the contribution they can make and how they can benefit through specific programs, such as those that address energy transition, circularity, climate resilience and creating a healthy living environment. It’s only when we adopt this connected, systems thinking approach that we can truly make a difference, creating sustainable urban spaces.”
Tom van Haaren
Sustainability Consultant, Municipality of Rotterdam (Gemeente Rotterdam)
US cities overwhelmingly dominate the profit pillar but many perform fairly poorly on the overall index themselves as the strong economic performance is not being channeled towards addressing climate and urbanization challenges as a priority.
“Pressure exerted through governance, policy and legislation can help drive progress and innovation in energy transition. But the lead time to realize the benefits of these are often slower than the pace of technological advancements. Here, public-private partnerships (PPPs) play a key role. Technology startups and the private sector can be faster to respond to evolving megatrends. The value they bring through innovative solutions, such as curb side vehicle charging, can be piloted and tested together with public sector backing to get the ball rolling. Such agile, partnership models give confidence in identifying and driving investment in new technologies.”
Jee Mee Kim
New York City Executive
Arcadis US
“Investment plans, partnerships and programs need to have a level of flexibility built into them to help create comfort with ‘unknowns’ that come with technological advancements. Public and private sector partnerships provide efficient ways of testing and driving adoption of new technologies that unlock immense societal benefit. Equally, initial public sector investment provides incentive for private sector innovation. Arcadis has had success partnering with clients to identify where these funding opportunities lie and advising on innovative pilots and projects that can drive a return, giving confidence in making these decisions.”
Mark Mutter
Product Manager,
Arcadis US
“There are many opportunities to focus on cities when addressing challenges. Cities are hubs where everything starts and happens – including innovation. However, the perceived cost of investment, size of governments and complexity of stakeholders can be blockers and cause a lag in funding. Moving processes along can be challenging and change often happens incrementally. Governance – like legislation, funding, subsidies and minimum requirements – plays an important role in pushing the changes needed forward. We all have a role in influencing this.”
Tjakko Dijk
Director Sustainability and Business Development,
Arcadis Australia
Solutions
Staying ahead with “How”: Solutions that keep at pace with innovation
Looking at the planning of cities in an integral way, newer concepts like the impact on resources, health and social equity, are all key for the present and future livability of our city. While there are many challenges to overcome, like the impact of urban development on sustainability and how this translates into specific measures - at scale - there are solutions too.
With greater push from policy makers, as well as support from government investment and infrastructure bills, both municipalities and developers alike are looking to move to more sustainable, low carbon energy sources. But the pace at which innovation and digitalization is occurring can make it challenging to feel confident in large investments – ensuring smart decisions are made today while also planning for innovations in the future.
Adding to this, rapid urbanization and escalating climate change trends mean that cities need to make immediate big, bold strides.
The complexity and pace at which these trends are accelerating, makes it difficult for policy makers, governments, and private enterprises to assess the right time to get involved, and where and how to best manage investment. This can result in decision and analysis paralysis.
Giving confidence in
decision-making
Bigger data insights for
informed solutions
Improving EV charging
demand predictability
Tom van Haaren
Sustainability Consultant, Municipality of Rotterdam (Gemeente Rotterdam)
Tom van Haaren
Sustainability Consultant, Municipality of Rotterdam (Gemeente Rotterdam)
A lot of the fast-charging demand takes place on highways. To plan demand across these transport corridors, three things need to be considered: the number of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in that corridor, the chance that those EVs want fast charging, and the length of the corridor.
The Charging Demand Per Corridor tool developed by Over Morgen (an Arcadis company) considers how many EVs are in the neighborhood using the EV Forecast Atlas. Using the National Model System (LMS), this data is then considered to visualize journeys being made. As a result of this knowledge – the number of cars in each corridor, their origin, destination and distance – an estimate of the amount of kWh used can be made, together with calculation of the associated fast charging opportunity.
The prediction of logistics needs and consumer fast-charging demand with the help of the tool can greatly help improve the consumer travel experience and improve adoption of EVs, aligned with national ambitions. It’s used by authorities responsible for transport planning, like NAL West in the Netherlands, and utilities responsible for the large electrical connections these stations need.
Improving EV charging demand predictability
Preserving a scarce resource with digital twins
Non-revenue water (NRW) refers to water that has been treated but lost through leakage before it reaches customers. Each year around 126 billion cubic meters (as of 2018) of water is lost to leakage in water distribution networks globally. With the escalating effects of climate change, how can water utilities preserve this increasingly scarce resource?
As most of the water distribution network is underground, finding leaks is incredibly difficult. Pipe burst models require a large amount of sample data, and existing leak detection measures such as acoustic monitors rely on trial and error and still give a snapshot in time. Arcadis’ technical experts have worked in partnership with Microsoft to develop a cloud-based tool to solve this challenge.
The NRW Digital Twin, is a platform that uses IoT sensor data with existing SCADA and third-party data to feed a series of Arcadis algorithms developed by our hydraulic modeling experts. This result is a live model that shows any leakages (even leaks as small as 3gpm) in the target area, and changes such as minimum nightly flows that indicate the presence and location of a leak.
This live data can also be tested with existing hydraulic models.
We are already starting to see promising results in proof-of-concept tests in partnership with a client in Ohio, USA.
Bigger data insights for informed solutions
Flood Risk Calculator to support funding
The Flood Risk Calculator (FRC) is a python-based tool that evaluates the site-specific and collective impacts of individual flood events on buildings within the floodplain as well as bigger-picture sea level rise impacts within project areas ranging from small neighborhoods to huge metropolitan regions.
This tool builds on standard FEMA and USACE methodologies to estimate damages at the building scale f.e., direct physical damages, human impacts and business exposure. The FRC takes input data – like census population counts and building replacement values – and either distributes or assigns them to each building. Once one or many flood events are layered onto this, it’s used to estimate damage metrics. The tool can also help model indirect business interruptions and assess the impacts of loss of service of certain public assets such as police stations.
Arcadis has used the FRC at the neighborhood scale with just a few hundred buildings for quick-turnaround grant applications including Huntsville, Alabama and Tarpon Springs, Florida. The tool has also been used to evaluate the risk across all five boroughs of New York City, which had an inventory of about a million buildings.
Quantifying damages to an area with the FRC speeds up and expands the evaluation of risk reduction measures that are implemented through flood mitigation projects, empowering clients to make informed decisions and allowing Arcadis to support with more applications for federal funding sources.
Bigger data insights for informed solutions
GeoPossibilities for informed energy decisions
GeoPossibilities was first developed to provide an initial geothermal feasibility screening tool for all buildings in Westchester County in New York State. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) sponsored and developed the tool in partnership with a consortium of organizations, including OverMorgen (an Arcadis company), with the aim to help New Yorkers make confident, informed energy decisions.
The tool gives users the ability to navigate an interactive map of, for example, Westchester County to interact with and view initial screening results for the feasibility of implementing a geothermal heating/cooling system on their building or property. Users can choose to either start from an existing property, or an existing parcel of land on which they plan to construct a new property.
Based on subsurface conditions like presence of aquifers, we are now looking into possibilities for the application of aquifer thermal energy storage to store heat and cold.
GeoPossibilities helps real estate owners get insights into the applicability of a ground source heat pump for their building, and make informed, valuable decisions on investments and returns.
Giving confidence in decision-making
Making communities resilient with intelligent water solutions
With escalating impacts of climate change, we need to find ways to help clients and communities protect one of our most precious resources – water – through periods of drought heavy rainfall, or other extreme events.
HydroNET provides the necessary digital tools to anticipate extreme weather conditions and enable data-driven, transparent and accountable decisions for managing water-safe environments. The professional cloud-based decision support system is used by over 8,000 users across countries all over the world, connecting hundreds of data sets with relevant information from radars, satellites, monitoring stations and other data sources, translating this into reports and dashboards that reduce risks and inform decisions.
HydroNET’s Water Control Room Portal, for example, not only helps municipalities and water authorities by significantly reducing the time and cost burden of generating flood reports, but it also improves accessibility for the public, making communities more resilient. Just in October 2022, amidst the floodings in Victoria, Australia, over 5,000 people accessed the tool in one day. This reduced the load on the municipality, and helped the community see if their house was at risk.
Giving confidence in decision-making
Tom van Haaren
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READ MORE
READ MORE