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Background

DEVELOPING THE NEXT GENERATION OF SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS AND RENEWABLE TECHNOLOGIES (SMART) SOLUTIONS FOR ENERGY AND CLIMATE.

For the first time in the history of our planet will have more people residing in urban areas than rural. Our planet will transition from 3 billion to 7 billion people living in cities. Urban areas are projected to grow from 45% to 60% in one generation and potentially up to 80% in two generations.

This growth equals 80 million new urban dwellers a year every year. During the transition that will take place over the next 2 generations, the equivalent of 1,000 great cities (>5M) will be built – an average of about 20 each year.1 Rapid urbanization is quickly transitioning areas of native vegetation, to regions of man-made materials, altering urban climate and requiring increased consumption of energy. It is at this nexus that the National Center of Excellence on SMART Innovations serves to develop use-inspired fundamental and applied research solutions for an urbanizing planet. The NCE serves to:

• Become the premier national laboratory for developing the next generation of SMART and cool pavements and building materials.
• Be a national clearinghouse of information for thermally and environmentally beneficial pavement and building materials including cool roof technologies. The NCE will also provide key urban forestry and vegetation mitigation strategies in conjunction with the USDA Forest Service. There currently exists a gap of mitigation strategies using urban forestry in areas of high pavement volumes.
• Identify the opportunities, constraints, and issues posed by the use of cool materials, renewable energy strategies, and spatial urban designs.
• Address the existing gap of having a central location of highly trained professionals focused in hands-on education and training of state and local officials. This includes providing technical assistance to communities based on specific needs.
• Develop technical tools, web resources, and case studies to document the potential for sustainable mitigation strategies.
• Exchange information with the US EPA and other federal agencies.
• Raise awareness through promotion of cool pavements and building materials.
• Partner with national/international laboratories to seek out innovative opportunities to reduce energy and improve environmental quality.
• Offer meetings, conferences, and outdoor demonstration projects.