HOW THE cities of the future will look like and what its features would be no one really knows. But one thing for sure, it is going to need the basic utilities that are necessary to sustain life, and these are gas, electricity, mobility and safe water.
For us to easily remember these four utilities, I have come up with GEMS as a mnemonic device for it.
Depending on our backgrounds and perspectives, we would either agree or disagree that gas is part of energy or not, but as for me, I would favor gas as a separate category by itself, because it could be a renewable resource if it is produced as biogas. Besides, there are still many cities around the world wherein the providers of gas and electricity are one and the same utility companies.
In a manner of speaking, it could be said that using biogas should be mandatory, because it is a natural byproduct of solid wastes that are also a problem on its own. In other words, there is a need to create a demand for biogas so that its available supply could go somewhere, lest it becomes a risk to human life and property.
As of now, there is no data available that would show how much damage the methane in the air is doing to human health, but it is already known that the methane escaping from landfills is already causing a lot of respiratory diseases that is also probably contributing to the high mortality rate in the metropolis. Now and in the future, a city would definitely be dumb if the air is harmful, even if is complete with all the smart features.
It goes without saying that a city could not be considered smart if its sources of electrical power are not renewable. Some might say that a city could be considered smart if its power is stable and affordable, but these positive attributes would be negated if its carbon footprint is very high.
All these would go back to the quality of the air in a city, because again, a city could not be considered smart if the air becomes polluted as power is being produced. One thing for sure, solid waste management is a separate challenge by itself, but there are now technologies that would not just solve the garbage problem, it would also produce the gas and electricity that a city needs.
It was a smart idea to have electric railway cars (trams) in Manila many years ago, and it was a dumb move to do away with them.
It was also a smart idea to combine a power company and a tram operator into one, which has what the Manila Electric Railroad and Light Company (MERALCO) was many years ago.
It could be said that it was a dumb move to do away with the tram service, but we seem to have rediscovered the extent of the dumbness many years later when the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) was established many years later, which was really nothing more than a network of elevated railway cars. (To be continued)/PN
