A smart new tool is helping cities cut pollution and waste while making streets safer for everyone.
It's called the Climate Action Navigator, and it does something simple but powerful: It shows where cities are wasting energy and how to fix it, block by block.
As the Heidelberg Institute for Geoinformation Technology detailed, the tool acts like an energy label, but instead of rating dishwashers or light bulbs, it grades entire neighborhoods.
It spots streets that are tough to walk or bike, buildings that leak heat, and areas where green space is shrinking. Then it lays out what to do about it.
Here's why that matters: Most people now live in cities, and that number's growing. But it's hard to improve something if you don't know what's broken. That's where this dashboard comes in.
In Berlin, the hiWalk feature of the dashboard has been utilized, and it revealed something planners suspected but couldn't prove: Areas with safer pedestrian routes saw way more people out walking. That means better health, less traffic, and fewer cars clogging the air.
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The Navigator pulls open data from maps, sensors, and census records. Cities can use it to spot pollution hotspots and low-effort ways to fix them, like swapping out outdated heating systems or adding safer bike lanes. That's good news for neighborhoods, and it's great news for the planet — less air pollution, lower heating bills, fewer cars on the road.
"As a cycling advocacy group, we need reliable data and clear assessments to develop and back up targeted demands — it's the only way the mobility transition can succeed," said Roland Romano, a spokesperson from Radlobby Austria, per the Heidelberg Institute.
Romano noted that another dashboard feature, hiBike, "opens up many new possibilities for us."
Tools like this make climate action easier to start and easier to stick with. It's the same kind of win you get from Walmart's EV chargers or Palmetto's rooftop solar panels. Tools like these represent real help that's available right where people live.
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"To build climate-resilient cities, we need shared perspectives, reliable data, and real-world experience," said Kirsten von Elverfeldt, community engagement manager for climate action at the Heidelberg Institute.
"With the Climate Action Navigator, we want to bring together technical expertise and local knowledge to help cities rethink infrastructure and make it fit for the future."
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