Maps can help cities design and deliver their net zero initiatives. This blog looks at three examples of maps that highlight how cities can approach reducing emissions and the policies that can help them do this.
From local government devolution to the geography of charitable giving, 911±¬ÁÏÍø regularly uses maps to help understand how policy interventions play out spatially and what the data tells us about different places. 911±¬ÁÏÍø most recent report, Accelerating net zero delivery: What can UK cities learn from around the world?, looked at policies cities around the world are using to reduce their emissions and featured some of the maps that are helping them design and deliver these policies.ÌýÌý
These maps aren’t just about making the data more visually appealing (although they do a great job of this), they’re also important tools. Across policy areas, the maps featured in the report help cities to prioritise where to deliver net zero infrastructure, better use existing assets, match policy interventions to appropriate sites and help guide investor and consumer choices.ÌýÌý
This blog looks at maps from London, Tokyo and Greater Manchester, what they tell us about how cities can reduce their emissions, and how maps can help support net zero initiatives.ÌýÌýÌýÌý
Accelerating net zero delivery: What can UK cities learn from around the world? argues that the higher density of cities contributes to their lower per capita emissions and makes them well-placed to help the UK meet its target of net zero by 2050. This is because the higher density of cities supports naturally lower carbon choices, for example using public transport and living in a flat or semi-detached property.ÌýÌý
The Greater London Authority’s shows another example of this relationship between higher density and the potential for emissions reductions. Then map aims to help public and private sector developers and potential investors prioritise the most cost-effective areas for heat network development.ÌýÌý
As shown by the clustering of heat demand over central London in Figure 1 and potential project areas with high savings (darker red colours) in Figure 2, heat networks work best where there is the concentrated energy demand needed for them to be viable.ÌýÌý
While heat networks aren’t inherently low-emission, they can make use of waste heat sources like commercial facilities and data centres which are more common in urban areas. London’s Heat Map highlights where waste heat ‘assets’ are available and their proximity to centres of demand. Where these waste heat sources already belong to or are controlled by the city, like the Transport for London waste heat sites outlined in the screenshot below, the public sector can more easily take advantage of them for decarbonisation initiatives.ÌýÌý
Note: Potential waste heat supply sites marked by circles, Transport for London sites shown by semi-opaque areas outlined in dark blue.ÌýÌý
Cities, like almost everywhere, need private sector investment to meet the upfront cost of decarbonisation infrastructure like renewable energy generation and public transport. And, without the information to compare to current technologies, individual consumers may be hesitant about switching to lower carbon technologies like solar panels, connecting to a heat network or using an EV. From EV chargepoints to solar generation potential, open data and maps can help guide and give confidence to potential investors and consumers.ÌýÌý
Tokyo’s ‘solar potential map’ is one tool with this aim. On the interactive map, building owners and residents can see whether any given rooftop in Tokyo’s 23 wards is suitable for solar panel installation, energy generation potential (kWh/year) and tCO2 reduction potential. The map also links to list of available subsidies and incentives in the relevant ward for each building.ÌýÌý
Note: Suitable buildings outlined highlighted in red and generation and emissions reduction potential listed in the pop-up box for each property.Ìý
Not every net zero policy intervention is suitable everywhere. For example, it’s much easier to provide and operate public transport in central Glasgow while EVs offer a better route to decarbonisation for areas like Argyll & Bute. The reality of local finances and capacity also means cities simply can’t invest in reducing emissions everywhere all at once. This is where plans and maps like Greater Manchester’s Local Area Energy Plan (LAEP) come in.ÌýÌýÌý
The ‘simple’ area map used in the LAEP illustrates how the city-region has matched potential policy interventions to areas within the city based on challenges and opportunities. For example, demand for EV chargers in the Central 1 area is likely to be high, making this a priority, while the higher share of inter-war dwellings makes retrofitting for energy efficiency a priority for the Central 3 and North 1 areas. The LAEP also identifies the scale of decarbonisation required in each constituent local authority in the city-region, providing a comprehensive overview of how progress and priorities vary within the urban area.ÌýÌý
Maps alone won’t help London, Tokyo, Greater Manchester (or any other city) to turn net zero plans into target-meeting reality, but they do form an important step in the process. Maps can help policymakers understand the role that density plays in reducing emissions in cities and match different strands of net zero policy with assets and opportunities within the city. And, perhaps unlike written strategies and guidance, maps are much more accessible to investors and end consumers, without whom net zero policy won’t succeed. Ìý
After all, would you have clicked on this blog if it was about why policy strategy documents matter?ÌýÌý
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