Impact of Urban Displacement on Smart Cities.

In the past there was a more restricted definition of the Displacement Management (or in a way, a “decarbonisation of the transport area”), linked only to products: More broadly,Urban Displacement refers to absolute or relative reduction in quantity needed to serve economic functions.

The Urban Displacement Management, could represent a decrease in consumption in the economy in relation to GDP in relation to energy or goods, and offer a way to reduce emissions even with development.

The need for displacement matters tremendously to the human environment. Lower material intensity of the economy could reduce the amount of litter produced, limit human exposure to hazardous substances, and conserve landscapes.

Sometimes fears arise that humanity will exhaust its resources soon, both its material and energy resources.

Historically, such fears have not proved so drastic for so-called non-renewable resources, such as metals and petroleum. However, if the human economy were neglected by metabolising large amounts of carbon from Earth, or cadmium, the health and environmental consequences could be terrible. Meanwhile, so-called renewable resources, such as rainforests, are suffering in terms of renewal when demand is high. Thus, the need for increasing displacement would certainly sustain the human economy in the long run.

Is reduction in the need for displacement occurring? Certain products, such as personal computers and beverage cans, have become smaller and lighter over the years. However, the edge effects are still happening. A troubling case is that total paper consumption has increased despite claims that the electronic information revolution would create a paperless office.

For centuries paper books, newspapers, pamphlets and magazines have been the main means of legible documents. Technological development has already opened up totally new opportunities for how text documents can be provided.

The digital revolution has already impacted Music, Movies and TV, and now the printing is undergoing a rapid transformation and a first wave is driven by forms of digital media and a second wave of e-paper ie digital media. This transformation is not happening without resistance. Technological development often clashes with old business models and political frameworks that support the old ways of delivering services.

Smart reading, for example, is a paradigm shift from the physical to the digital, which is linked not only with direct emissions reductions but also with the indirect effects that allow society to become more efficient in using resources.

Remote work allows employers to build smaller offices that require less energy to build and maintain. However, the impact is much lower if it is less than three days a week as it would still be necessary to keep office space. In addition, in efficient countries such as Japan, the impact of remote labor can be reduced.

Tele and videoconferencing could also reduce emissions. Earlier conservative estimates suggest that tele- and videoconferencing can replace between 5 and 20% of overall business travel. Advanced videoconferencing applications in the early deployment phase could have a very significant impact on well-distributed environments such as industry services in the public and private sectors.

An interesting report from Australian telecom operator Telstra brings interesting numbers:

The study showed that remote work provides the greatest environmental benefits when an office employee is typically based on switching a total daily return distance greater than 34 km. The employee earns an additional per change, given the increased environmental benefit of remote labor.

Remote work can save an average of up to 0.25 t of greenhouse gas emissions per employee per year. For example, if 10% of a company of 5,000 employees joined remote work; according to the report, they would save 121 t of greenhouse gas emissions per year.

The main factors influencing the savings results obtained include:

• The energy efficiency of buildings: The less energy used in the company’s office is efficient, the greater the environmental benefits of remote labor (in the workplace migration from the company). Even if the company’s office reduces its energy consumption by 75%, there may still be an environmental benefit from remote labor;
• Energy efficiency at home: The more efficient the energy in the home office used, the greater the benefits of remote work. Only when the energy consumed in the home office.
• Clean energy: The more the home office relies on cleaner energy sources, the greater the environmental benefits of remote labor;
• Gain space: The more space that can be saved inside the office, the fewer workers will require office accommodation on any given day, and the non-permanent location becoming the norm, the greater the environmental benefits of remote labor. If 50% of the original space occupied by remote workers is consolidated immediately, global warming increases would benefit around 0.25t of greenhouse gas emissions per worker.

                         

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