SIEMENS

Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), summed up a crucial trend of our time when she said, “2007 was the year in which Homo sapiens became Homo urbanus.” That year marked the first time in history that the number of city dwellers surpassed the number of people living in rural regions - and the urbanization process is far from over. In Asia alone, the population of major cities is expected to grow by 80 percent by 2030, from 1.6 billion today to almost 2.7 billion. China already has 175 cities with over a million inhabitants, and every year settlements accommodating an additional 13 million are literally shooting out of the ground.

The slogan of the EXPO 2010 world fair in Shanghai - “Better City, Better Life” - is thus very appropriate. Only sustainable urban development can ensure that tomorrow’s cities will remain decent places to live. From May to October 2010, 240 countries, cities, and international organizations will demonstrate energy-efficient and environmentally friendly urban solutions to EXPO’s expected 70 million visitors. No other company can offer as broad a spectrum of such solutions as Siemens.

Siemens has received orders worth over €1 billion in connection with EXPO 2010. Around 90 percent of this sum is based on environmental technology. The orders include 50,000 energy-saving light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on the EXPO grounds, new metro lines and parking guidance systems, plus intelligent building technology for buildings inside and outside the exhibition grounds. Siemens also helped to build the Waigaoqiao power plant, which covers almost one third of Shanghai’s electricity requirements and is one of the world’s most efficient power plants (see article "China's Cities Come of Age").

This issue of Pictures of the Future documents how ultramodern solutions for sustainable urban development are being implemented all over the world (see chapter "Green Cities"). For example, in conjunction with Tongji University in Shanghai, Siemens develops “eco-city models” (see article "China’s Model Future") that will enable urban growth and environmental protection to go hand in hand in China. In Europe, the company has created the European Green City Index (see article "What Makes a City a Winner?"), which compares environmental friendliness and associated measures in the continent’s 30 most important cities. The Scandinavian cities of Copenhagen (see article "Wind, Wood & Two Wheels"), Stockholm, and Oslo (see article "Green Milestones") top the list, while the eastern European city of Vilnius (see article "Baroque Pearl in a Green Ring") got very good marks for its air quality and buildings.

But conurbations outside Europe and China are also doing pioneering work to create sustainable cities for their citizens - in many cases with help from Siemens. For example, for many years we have been supporting the city-state of Singapore’s efforts to become a world-class “green” city Our input includes help with a center of expertise for urban development and efficient solutions for treating wastewater and drinking water. Here, we also plan to inaugurate a pilot plant that uses electrical fields to desalinate saltwater in a highly efficient process - and consumes less than half the energy required by the best conventional methods.

In South Africa, Siemens is playing a key role in modernizing the infrastructure in time for the soccer World Cup (see article "Preparing for Kickoff"). The projects in which we are participating include communication technology for traffic and safety systems, turbines for the power supply, and thousands of LEDs for the 350-meter-long arch that rises high above the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. The latter example demonstrates that “enhanced energy efficiency does not conflict with a beautiful form of architecture,” as star architect Daniel Libeskind reminds us (see article "Returning to a Sense of Irreplaceability").

His claim is also supported by many of the outstanding pavilions at EXPO 2010 in Shanghai. The Theme Pavilion, the EXPO Center, the Culture Center, as well as the gigantic China Pavilion, all have one thing in common: Thanks to ultramodern building technology from Siemens, they consume up to 25 percent less energy than conventional buildings, while their operating costs are cut by up to 50 percent. After the world fair is over, these buildings will remain a hallmark of sustainability that will symbolize the significance of Shanghai and China.