Technologies and interventions in the field of energy form a core part of the smart and sustainable cities. Aimed at improving energy efficiency, generating low carbon energy, modernizing the infrastructure and creating high quality living environment for citizens, these measures are introduced into different spatial contexts – on a building, district and city level. As a result, they can be divided in two types:

• Energy efficiency in buildings, which covers retrofitting of old buildings as well as construction of new buildings, the use of renewable energy sources, smart building services, etc.
• Energy system integration, which provides solutions on a larger scale such as district heating and cooling, photovoltaics, geothermal energy, waste management, etc.

ICT plays a significant role in helping cities reduce their carbon footprint and making them a better place to live by enabling a better use of energy in buildings and districts, transport and smart services for citizens.

Considered as an integral part of the smart city concept, ICT allows for integration of different urban systems and their operational processes, as well as citizen engagement. Some of the most wide-spread ICT solutions are energy management systems, traffic control systems, smart grids, urban data platforms, mobile applications, etc.

Good mobility for citizens and businesses greatly increases the attractiveness and competitiveness of cities. Meeting Europe’s 2020 targets, tackling congestion, improving air quality, accessibility and sustainability in cities requires substantial changes in the transport system and its operations, and in the mobility behaviour of people and businesses.

Promoting the use of electric vehicles and clean fuels and raising the attractiveness of public transport, collective transport, and cycling comes hand-in-hand with improving infrastructures and increasing intermodality between different transport types.