The metropolitan area of Nice in the South of France has deployed and tested a network of 3 000 sensors and network devices which provide real-time information about a range of environmental factors that impact people’s lives and the delivery of public services. Data is collected through a wireless network on subjects such as air and water quality, noise, waste services, energy use and emissions. The region’s local authorities can use this information to help manage and plan their services more efficiently and sustainably.
- 12 November 2019
By implementing long-term cooperation agreements with the Nice Côte d'Azur Metropolis, very large global industrial groups such as EDF, IBM, Orange, Veolia, Schneider Electric and Cisco have confirmed their belief that our metropolis is now a reference territory for sustainability and interconnectivity. Our projects are concrete operations, whether in terms of saving energy or renewable energies, in terms of smart mobility, or environmental urban monitoring. The Smart City that we set up aims to create new services for residents and optimise the day-to-day management of the city by saving money and creating jobs.
The Monitoring Urbain Environnemental (MUE) project provides information and infrastructure for Nice to develop around 20 monitoring services. MUE allows the city to optimise its services by anticipating changes in the environment. The system harnesses technology that is cost-effective and requires a low amount of energy to run.
Making savings
Public service delivery can be changed in the short, medium or long-term, depending on the data received. Decision-makers can therefore use the real-time information to make savings in energy, cut operating costs and reduce the use of resources as well as the output of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, information about noise can inform changes that make public spaces more appealing. The availability of good-quality data to inform local authority decision-making is also expected make citizens feel more involved in issues that affect their lives and the services they use.
Comprehensive monitoring
MUE split monitoring into a number of categories. One focused on improving urban living conditions, quality of life and health through the monitoring of noise from construction sites, schools, railways, road traffic and nightlife. Air quality, including pollen counts, also fell under this category as did regular checking of UV levels.
To optimise public services, a number of activities were also monitored, including: watering of green spaces; heat, water and energy usage; the frequency of waste collection services; and the energy consumption of street lighting.
External data, such as CCTV, can be integrated into the system to improve things like traffic flows and solve parking problems. Information obtained through the monitoring network can inform 2D and 3D urban space models. These models can then simulate changes in air quality, noise and other environmental parameters. They can also be used to assess the impact of changes in certain variables such as traffic and weather.
The project acted as a demonstration of the ‘Smart City’ concept and was one of the biggest in Europe in terms of scale.
Link
http://www.nicecotedazur.org/Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “MUE – Urban environment monitoring” is EUR 1 750 000, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 717 500 through the “Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period.