Cities and counties: Take the time to design and fund sustainable community programs

Local governments can score sustainability triumphs in several areas, says Matthew Britt, general manager, smart and sustainable cities at Honeywell, the advanced-technology company that makes a variety of products and solutions, including building and energy control systems.

“Focusing on reducing water and energy consumption can be achievable in the short term and should be top of mind for city and county officials looking to quickly make their communities more sustainable,” Britt says. He offers two examples:

• Implement sensor-enabled dynamic LED lighting. He says this technology can sense when and where people are walking. The lights automatically turn on only when it’s needed, so they help conserve energy and costs.
• Invest in smart metering systems that can detect water leaks. These setups can help a city combat any anticipated water shortages, challenges and costs in the future.

Britt urges local governments to look at the big picture: “While smart meters and dynamic lighting are great options for quick sustainability wins, taking the time to design and fund community resilience programs can be a major driver to reducing carbon emissions and creating more sustainable communities. A sustainable community program can promote urban development, enhance citizen mobility and create safer, more resilient communities.”

Britt predicts we’ll see more public investments for community resiliency in 2024. He says many of those dollars will come from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The law is commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. “I expect to see movement in public investments for community resiliency, which can largely be attributed to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The IIJA provides funding to communities across the country that hope to invest in new sustainable infrastructure projects.”

And yes, the IIJA is providing needed dollars for community resiliency projects, says the Georgetown Climate Center(GCC). That group is researching the IIJA to locate funding for various opportunities and activities, including resilience-building programs.

Honeywell is working with cities, counties and communities of various sizes across the United States to use and implement these IIJA funds. Britt explains: “One example is Hudson County, located in New Jersey. The project aims to improve resident engagement, strengthen community resilience, reduce energy consumption and improve public safety. The Hudson County project is one of the first smart county initiatives in the country aimed at helping to modernize the county’s infrastructure to enable a more efficient, more sustainable and resilient community for residents and visitors. The smart city community program includes the development of a strategic plan and support for a federal grant application to help fund projects defined during the process.”

Other goals that Hudson County hopes to achieve through its smart community work with Honeywell:

• Reduce manual processes that Hudson County staffers perform. This includes implementing solutions that integrate systems across the county to automate and streamline processes to better serve citizens.
• Enable proactive building maintenance to reduce operating costs and improve occupant comfort.
• Support fleet electrification.
• Help ease traffic congestion and improve mobility.

Britt believes we will likely see more public investments in community resiliency projects aimed at helping cities and counties through climate change disasters and extreme weather events. “These events could cause damage to microgrids, which can in turn lead to power outages. Investing money toward a city’s microgrid would not only help it sustain electrical power during a natural disaster, but also create a more sustainable community by incorporating renewable energy sources to help lower peak demand for traditional power sources.”

Britt says creating a more sustainable community can start with looking at the buildings that make up a city. “A city of any size typically contains a fair number of commercial buildings, which account for more than 34 percent of energy demand and around 37 percent of energy- and process-related carbon dioxide emissions.”

He offers the following advice to local government administrators to help them reduce energy consumption and meet sustainability goals: “City and county officials should leverage technology and infrastructure improvements to track and optimize their municipal building stock’s energy performance. This can include solutions that enable facility managers to support occupant well-being and comfort, while also helping to measurably reduce energy use.”

Britt says local governments share one particular challenge in 2024: “Today’s cities might be facing issues such as siloed data, which means that the data gathered by the city’s technology isn’t being leveraged to the best of its ability. City officials should consider data-gathering technologies to help it operate in more efficient and environmentally friendly ways.”

He offers the following solution: “Investing in data-gathering software can enhance and improve efficiencies in city operations like streetlights, emergency services, public safety and security and utilities, to create a safer, more resilient and sustainable environment that improves quality of life for residents, visitors, and employees.”

OMNIA Partners offers a robust portfolio of cooperative contracts in the public procurement space. The firm has a cooperative contract with Honeywell that covers technology and energy solutions.

Michael Keating is senior editor for American City & County. Contact him at [email protected].