scope:

Energy efficiency is a crucial issue for the sustainability of cities, today and in the future, especially due to the emerging appearance of smart cities (SC) and of cutting-edge technologies. Some emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data, edge computing and cryptocurrency may not take sustainability into consideration during their development. These technologies often require a huge amount of energy, resulting in significant environmental footprints. It is important to understand how to enhance the energy efficiency of these technologies in the urban space, and to think of means to reduce the environmental footprint of these technologies. In this regard, the definition of an appropriate model that can evaluate the energy efficiency of these emerging technologies is crucial, especially within the urban space and under the lens of standardization requirements. More specifically, these technologies have to comply with the requirements of a city's energy system and with the planning for the city's sustainable future. Thus, this Supplement aims to investigate appropriate models to evaluate urban energy efficiency with a special focus on the emerging adoption of AI and big data.