by Brianna Crandall — October 9, 2015—As part of the recent Smart Cities Week in Washington, DC, Siemens Corporation, a U.S. subsidiary of global technology powerhouse Siemens AG, formally launched its City Performance Tool (CyPT), a data-driven modeling tool that helps cities calculate the environmental and economic impacts of building, transport, and energy technologies.
“We see the need for smarter use of data to help inform cities as they make sustained and targeted investments in order to improve city infrastructure,” said Siemens USA President and CEO Eric Spiegel. “Our City Performance Tool allows city managers and planners a unique view of their city’s impact and helps identify the areas of greatest need and effectiveness for better resource allocation.”
The tool is designed to reduce the environmental impact of everyday activities, covering greenhouse gas emissions from buildings and transport, and to evaluate the creation of new jobs to install, operate and maintain city solutions.
The tool offers city managers and planners a unique look at their city infrastructure and can be used in a variety of different decision-making scenarios. It can measure and compare technologies that provide win-win solutions for unique urban challenges, and works on pre-existing infrastructure.
Other cities
Already, a growing number of North American cities are implementing the City Performance Tool to develop data-driven infrastructure decision-making, plans, and programs as part of their broader sustainability initiatives.
Other cities besides DC that are currently testing or using the tool include New Bedford, MA; Riverside, CA; Minneapolis, MN; San Francisco, CA; and Mexico City, Mexico.
For example, the City of Riverside, CA, has begun implementing the City Performance Tool, analyzing infrastructure investments based on growth and sustainability targets. The software provides extensive insight into what improvements can have the greatest impact on a city’s goals. Rusty Bailey, the mayor of Riverside, says the performance tool “helps us make better decisions.”
Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance
Siemens has also signed on to support the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA), an effort launched earlier this year by mayors of 17 international cities across nine nations. CNCA is a collaboration of global cities committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 80 percent by 2050 or sooner—said to be the most ambitious GHG emission reduction targets undertaken by any cities across the globe.
By making the Siemens’ City Performance Tool available to CNCA, alliance members will be able to leverage the software model to evaluate how specific building, transport, and energy technologies can help them achieve their environmental goals.
