Sustainable, Educating, and Smart Cities

What does a sustainable city mean to you?

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) address this topic, particularly in SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities. The indicators for this goal encompass actions related to environmental conservation, inclusion, participation, climate change mitigation, and more.

Indeed, sustainability is a broad and complex topic that integrates environmental, social, and economic issues. Urban living also involves various factors that can either provide or hinder quality of life. A good summary of what sustainable cities are could be cities that provide a high quality of life for both people and the other beings that inhabit them.

For us, it's impossible to think of a sustainable city without it being educating. Educating cities are intentionally designed to promote new knowledge, values, and attitudes towards sustainable societies. You might be wondering: how is this possible?

Audio description: Photo of a woman riding a bicycle seen from behind in a square. She is white and wearing a floral dress. The bicycle is on a cobblestone surface. On the right side, there are grassy flower beds with trees, benches, and streetlights. Sunlight illuminates the left side of the photo. In the background, there is a low wall and lamp posts.

Learning occurs through interactions between people and with other living and non-living beings we coexist with. Therefore, a good starting point to create an educating city is to value public spaces and the interactions they enable.

For example, taking care of these spaces, interacting with urban biodiversity, meeting people and exchanging experiences, enjoying artistic productions, exercising, or simply relaxing in pleasant places are activities that an educating city can provide to its population.

We believe that these experiences can become even more interesting when combined with digital technology. This is because technology is present in our daily lives, piques people's interest, and has the potential for scalability, allowing us to reach many more people, understand their profiles, needs, and assess educational work efficiently.

Audio description: Photo of a woman, a girl, and a man sitting, looking at a cellphone screen. All three are Black. The woman is sitting in a wheelchair, holding the cellphone. Next to her is the girl, and the man is beside the girl, with his arm reaching behind her back, almost touching the woman's shoulder. In the background, green vegetation is visible.

Imagine walking through the squares and parks of your city, learning more about the trees and animals there, receiving suggestions on how to experience these spaces using all your senses, and reflecting on how you could contribute to taking care of these places. Now imagine many people doing this simultaneously and gathering in these spaces, exchanging ideas, and creating movements to make the city better for everyone. We've imagined it, and we love what we envision!

It was by imagining and combining these three ideas: sustainable, educating, and smart cities, that we created BoRa Cities. BoRa Cities integrates green areas and urban public spaces by offering environmental educating experiences to people. BoRa is also an inclusive app, accessible to people with different disabilities.

To help you better understand this proposal, we've created a virtual sample of what BoRa Cities can be. The idea is for you to make your favorite tea and embark on this physical and digital (=figital) experience about the City of the Future.

Ready for it? https://bora.fubaea.com.br/BoRa-cidades

And if you want to discuss how to bring BoRa to your city, we're here. Just send an email to contato@fubaea.com.br.