Space for urban planning: Team project conclusions from the space studies program

During the summer of 2019, a team of thirty professionals and students with different backgrounds and nationalities worked on this project at the International Space University (ISU). The project aimed to study, identify, and analyze the feasibility of introducing space technologies and related spin-offs to support local or national authorities in defining new strategies and processes for urban planning and development. This is a multidimensional topic that involves multiple actors, from policy makers to engineers and citizens. Urban planning and development is becoming an issue worldwide as projections estimate that more than 70 percent of the world's population will live in cities by 2050, and to date there are already more than 40 megacities. This not only impacts the pollution and congestion within cities, but also affects the surrounding areas. For example, agricultural land will need to increase production to meet the rising demands of cities. This can cause the degradation of land, pristine environments, and ecosystems, and a depletion of natural resources. A broad range of solutions are explored that could help local and national leaders to prepare cities for the challenges of the future by employing space applications and technologies to address the problems caused by urbanization. Due to the high complexity of the problems identified, a few specific challenge areas are focused on that are central to the United Nations' (UN) 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the 2030 agenda. These include the utilization of land and its resources, energy consumption, effective transportation networks, and access to clean water. 19 realistic as well as visionary space technology and space application solutions are proposed and are considered against social, economic, and environmental factors in addition to the SDGs. From these solutions, 12 recommendations are set out for urban planners to achieve a more sustainable future for our global cities and society.