Manu Fernandez

Local and regional governments are key implementers of public policy, endowed with important place-based knowledge. They are pivotal for the successful delivery of Europe’s green transition. Good coordination across and between tiers of government and an enabling environment are important prerequisites to achieve our 2030 Agenda ambitions. Join us for this conversation on the role of Europe’s local and regional leaders to unleash opportunities for sustainable green transition that leaves no place and no-one behind.

NASA Langley is actively developing and piloting technologies to enable smart cities and connected communities, including through the airspace above them. We are implementing a smart horizontal infrastructure as well, where sensing and data fusion will enable efficient and effective operations. We are compelled to develop, implement, and pilot these technologies because they will be necessary for future human exploration of deep space, including Smart Outposts that will enable sustained lunar presence and human exploration of Mars. We are also generating significant scientific data to better understand our home planet, Earth, and that data is available to enable smart cities.

Cities have the power to drive change in the fight against the climate crisis. Tackling interconnected urban challenges, including the energy transition or food insecurity, calls for comprehensive solutions. Through curbing emissions, leading scalable projects, and fostering collaboration, cities can enact effective climate action. However, the question remains: which strategies will yield time and cost-effective results in achieving these crucial objectives?