Background The explosion of urbanisation has been a feature of the 20th and 21st centuries. In 1900, just 13% of the world population lived in urban areas. Now it is around 50% and likely to rise to 60% by 2030 according to United Nations predictions. These urban areas present a considerable environmental challenge in terms of energy and water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and waste production. The pressure on space for housing in these areas has led, since the 1960s, to the widespread use of social housing schemes. In social housing, heating accounts for some 28% of the consumed energy and water resources - mainly collective heating systems – with a further 22% resulting from the use of lifts. Urban residents also cause environmental problems through commuting from home to other locations, such as workplaces, universities and city centres. Objectives The 'SUSTAIN-ICT' project aims at providing energy-saving solutions to landlords and residents of urban areas using ICT systems that are designed to reduce use of energy, decrease water consumption and reduce the carbon footprint from urban commuting. The project will aim to create a large, overall broadband IT system that allows deployment of a range of ICT services through a portal called “the kiosk”. In the interests of reducing energy and water use in public housing, a number of flats will be equipped with the project’s systems. These will include heating-regulation systems and sensors for measuring electricity and water consumption, temperature and humidity. By providing information that allows landlords and tenants to optimise their use of energy, the project aims to reduce energy consumption by 20%. On water-use, the project objective will be to increase landlord and tenant awareness and positively influence their behaviour. The objective is to reduce water consumption by 20%. Reduction of the carbon footprint will be achieved both by the optimisation of heating systems and implementation of a 'social mobility network” that provides car-sharing solutions and greater efficiency of travel using public transport networks. The specific objective of the mobility network is to convince 10% of the inhabitants targeted (2 200 people in Pierrelatte and 1 100 in Annonay) to use the system. The project is seen by the beneficiary as a pilot that can be deployed on a larger-scale, thereby contributing to the development of “smart green cities”. Expected results The project expects to achieve the following quantified savings: A total of 1 674 GWh/yr of energy – 1.1 MWh/inhabitant/yr – consisting of 1 581 GWh/yr saved by equipping 674 flats with ICT systems - heating regulation or sensors measuring electricity and water consumption, temperature and humidity; and 93 MWh/yr saved in communal parts of the 20 buildings concerned; A total saving of 11 321 m3/yr of water – 7.6 m3/inhabitant/yr – consisting of a saving of 11 000 m3/yr in the 674 project flats; a saving of 321 m3/yr in the communal parts of targeted buildings; and A total CO2 reduction of some 343 tonnes/yr – 150 tonnes/yr saved from reduced energy consumption in the flats/communal buildings (based on the French environment and energy management agency – ADEME - figures showing that the CO2 equivalence in France averages 90g CO2/kWh); and 193 tonnes of CO2/yr from car-sharing and increased use of public transport.