Bucharest has stagnated for a period of several years in terms of digitization and efficiency of energy consumption, but the sector municipalities are trying to move forward now. “Although Bucharest is the capital of the country, we have had several years of stagnation. We are working now in order to make up for lost time”, declared Paul Moldovan, the public administrator of Sector 6 of Bucharest, at the “Smart Cities” conference, organized by Energynomics.

The institution plans to include 50 residential buildings in the energy efficiency program in 2023, a project that also involves the installation of photovoltaic panels and charging stations for electric cars.

Also, the Town Hall of Sector 6 is trying to somehow “translate” the responsibility of energy efficiency to the beneficiaries and is looking for solutions to implement the thermal rehabilitation programs of private residential buildings.

From a different angle, the town hall of sector 6 wants to eliminate part of the car traffic and encourages non-motorized transportation. “It is a policy that we apply incrementally and more discreetly, trying to introduce non-motorized transit in the areas we are modernizing, to free up public spaces and reintegrate them into the urban circuit as spaces that people can use without using cars”, Moldovan added.

However, the public resistance is “extremely high”, because half of the inhabitants of Sector 6 want more parks, and the other half want more parking areas.

At the same time, the biggest obstacles are related to the relationship with the other institutions that must approve and authorize a city hall project, due to their lack of digitization. “We started smart city projects, although it would have been normal to have had such a strategy already. Now we are also making the strategy because it hasn’t existed”, said Moldovan.

Moldovan also said that at each new parking lot, the institution tries to place a bicycle parking lot equipped with surveillance systems and “all needed sensors”.

The City Hall of Sector 6 is trying to get closer to the community by “shortening some processes” that will allow it better and faster communication with the population.

Moreover, the pathway to a smart city cannot be avoided considering that all funds from external sources condition access to financing to the achieving digitalization and pollution reduction components. “There is no way not to develop the smart city. Even where there is no will from the local authority, there is a will outside of it, and here we are talking about European funds that condition any project on digitalization or greater care for the environment. We are aware that it is the only way we can be more efficient. Somehow, it is a natural policy, too”, said Moldovan.

The “Smart Cities” conference was organized by Energynomics, with the support of our partners, among them ABB, ENGIE Romania, Finder, Flash Lighting Services, Photomate, REI Group, SIXT.