Smart cities promise a bold new future, but many may be missing what matters most. Across the globe, urban centers are adopting AI, deploying autonomous transport, and embedding sensors into everything from power grids to parking meters. These innovations aim to increase efficiency, lower emissions, and better the quality of life. However, amongst the rush to digitize, many cities are overlooking a foundational risk: the physical environment.
Floods, extreme heat, fires, and biodiversity loss are no longer distant threats. They are increasingly becoming a reality. These disruptions are now hitting urban centers head-on. Transit systems stall during heat waves, neighborhoods flood after hours of heavy rain, and infrastructure faces pressure from increasingly unpredictable natural events. Despite this, most urban planning still relies on general regional models or outdated risk assessments that don’t reflect the real exposure cities face today (Source: Bridging the gap between smart cities and sustainability: Current practices and future trends).
Smart vs. Sustainable (Cities)
Smart cities prioritize technological advancements and optimization, while sustainable cities focus on long-term environmental health and achieving a balance of resources. The problem is that many urban centers are pursuing the first without fully addressing the second.
The United Nations emphasizes that climate-smart cities must do more than go digital. Cities need to build resilience into their physical systems. Infrastructure planning must reflect local climate risks and rely on data-driven choices about land use, water, energy, and development. Without these steps, progress in smart cities can be undone by floods, wildfires, and extreme heat (Source: Climate Smart Cities in Emerging Economies).
How RS Metrics Can Help With City Planning
Many urban planning tools still rely on regional models or outdated averages that fail to capture what is happening on the ground. They can’t always measure street-level climate exposure, where a single development near a floodplain or a site bordering a biodiversity buffer can introduce risks that general data does not reveal.
RS Metrics offers a clear solution to the major gap in smart city planning. AssetTracker maps and monitors millions of commercial, industrial, and infrastructure sites across cities. It gives planners, developers, and investors a detailed view of where growth is happening and how fast it is spreading. ESGSignals® adds another layer by providing site-level environmental data. With over 250 indicators, it measures flood and fire risk, water stress, air pollution, emissions, and proximity to protected areas. The platform is updated regularly through satellite imagery and public data. These insights help decision-makers spot environmental risks early and take action before new projects begin.
Real-World Example: Singapore
Singapore is widely known as the benchmark for smart urban development. With real-time transit systems, automated utility management, and vertical greenery, the nation offers a vision of how tech can improve city life. However, despite these innovations, Singapore still faces regular flash floods, rising nighttime temperatures, and water management challenges (Source: Singapore: The World’s Smartest City).
By integrating RS Metrics tools, planners could pinpoint exactly areas where temperatures are rising fastest, identify developments overlapping with wetlands, or monitor industrial activity near vulnerable ecosystems. These insights would allow smarter zoning, more resilient infrastructure, and better long-term planning.
That level of precision is exactly what city leaders need, as Libby Bernick, Senior Advisor for ESG at RS Metrics, points out: “Objective, location-specific environmental data helps city planners, credit rating agencies, and infrastructure investors uncover areas that are better suited for long-term economic growth. Without this data, we risk building in places vulnerable to climate pressures that could undermine a community’s long-term resilience and value.”
Moving Forward
Cities are investing heavily in digital transformation, but lasting progress requires more than connectivity. Without environmental visibility, even the smartest infrastructure can fall short. By delivering site-specific data on where and how environmental risks are building, RS Metrics empowers cities to plan with greater precision, avoid costly oversights, and align growth with long-term sustainability.
Smart cities need smarter data, and RS Metrics provides the tools to make that possible.
This piece was written by Divya Sharma, a Product Marketing Intern at RS Metrics. She is currently pursuing a degree in International Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, with a focus on International Business and Sustainability. Her interests include ESG strategy, social impact, and advancing responsible business practices.
