Tools for Network Smart City Management—The Case Study of Potential Possibility of Managing Energy and Associated Emissions in Metropolitan Areas

Abstract

The article uses the case study of a polycentric metropolitan area as a starting point for a debate about the available tools for managing the network aspects of intelligent cities. We show that the construction of talents, the development of knowledge among officials and inhabitants, and technological tools such as Hubgrade (which allows for heat delivery process control, supervision, inspection, and results in emission reduction) are prerequisites for the sustainable development of cities. It is critical to understand that technological solutions are insufficient to accomplish such a task. Relevant stakeholders need to consciously take advantage of technological tools and build and utilise 4T potential and the self-learning capabilities of the organisations. An inherent feature of an organisation, such as a city, is cooperation between the people who build it. The main challenges of cities includes the reduction of pollutants resulting from the use of transport, heat sources, or energy production. In many cities, an efficient manner of reducing carbon dioxide emissions is to limit the consumption of thermal energy. In order to simultaneously maintain thermal comfort, in this situation, it is necessary to use intelligent technologies. The paper includes research related to the knowledge and development of 4T potentials (technology, trust, talent, tolerance) and to networking expansion by introducing the automated Hubgrade system, used in Warsaw district heating, into a similar metropolitan area. Along with an increase in the significance of relations, information, and knowledge as a key organisational resource, cities, as organisations, have become an important element of contemporary communities and organisations. They have the possibility of a positive climate change. The possibility of cooperation and networking between people forming an organisation is its inherent feature, such as in the Hubgrade project. Conclusions and recommendations are drawn for the analysed case—linking 4T potentials and the Hubgrade system—with the potential for future generalisations and extrapolations. The authors performed a simulation of possible energy savings and the reduction of harmful emissions in Metropolis GZM.

1. Introduction

The subject of a smart city is the focus of interest of numerous fields of science, especially urban planning, managing the development of cities, and regional science. Implementing intelligent solutions requires equal treatment of aspects related to technology, organisation, and competencies [1,2]. This paper aims to show the importance of managing technologies, organisations, and competencies in achieving goals relevant to citizens of metropolitan areas. The structuring of research can be accomplished using the 4T concept of developing communities in cities and by analysing the manifestations of cooperation between cities with regard to its implementation [3]. Smart city instruments include not just advanced technologies, such as the automation of control, the prediction of traffic and events, or the digitalisation of contacts with the client or digitalisation of public administration services [4]; actions in a completely different field are also becoming extremely important. They are actions related to cooperation with the inhabitants, social participation in decision-making processes implemented in the city, and support for the social capital [5]. Such cooperation is a precondition for the implementation of technological tools, noticeably improving the functioning of inhabitants in their place of residence; it favours the acceptance of changes in the city and helps bridge the gap between the planning of new solutions and their implementation and integration with the realities of a specific city. The empirical value provided by the completed research is primarily the evaluation of key factors of implementing the Smart City concept and 4T capital, as well as the identification of problems related to the intelligent management of cities in the Metropolis GZM (GZM—the metropolitan area in southern Poland, introduced in more detail in the next paragraphs).

The increase in demand for intelligent technologies is determined by aiming to reduce the cities’ maintenance costs and increase their inhabitants’ comfort. Building intelligent cities is a partnership process requiring the adjustment of decision-making instruments used for the needs and competencies of local communities [6]. Advanced technologies cooperating with social actions support the cooperation of local authorities with the inhabitants, and contribute to creating a social capital development mechanism. Apart from the importance of advanced technologies, emphasis is also placed on the soft competencies that complete the bundle of 4T capitals: identity, talent, and tolerance [7]. The 4T potential constitutes a foundation for implementing intelligent solutions, the development of entrepreneurship, and innovations used in the cities [8]. The presence of 4T in managing a smart city is a qualitative measure of the inhabitants’ quality of life, and is a factor influencing an increase in the competitiveness of cities and metropolitan areas. Metropolis GZM has already experienced a similar process during the modernisation of its transport network; a noticeable improvement in the user service level has been achieved due to the integration of carriers and intelligent technologies [9]. District heating is another area of network management in which valorising the potential of soft competencies, especially the building of trust between stakeholders, can result in increased energy efficiency and contribute to the implementation of the assumptions of the European Green Deal [10].

Rapidly progressing industrialisation in Poland leaves a considerable mark on the natural environment [11]. Despite the constant economic growth in recent years, and especially now, during the coronavirus pandemic [4], the Polish economy must find a new way to consider the promise of digital transformation and the stakeholders’ expectations [12,13]. The energy sector is the focal point of these processes since it reflects both the challenges and the possibilities that await economic development [14]. In the past, energy was acquired variously and without paying attention to the natural environment. The European Union has introduced three directives intended to solve the problem of air pollution: Directive 2001/80/WE of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2001 on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants (the so-called LCP Directive); Directive 2015/2193 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from medium combustion plants (the so-called MCP Directive); and Directive 2010/75/UE of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (the so-called IED Directive). These documents focus primarily on reducing the relative values of emission. The policy of the UE has led to considerable limitations of the emission of total suspended particulates (TSP) from 1156 kt in 1990 to 343 kt in 2019. In 1990, the emission of greenhouse gases was 382 Mt, and in 2019 it was 322 Mt. The following paper presents the contribution of solutions based on the Hubgrade system to the reduction of harmful emissions from the district heating network in Warsaw and simulations of its application in heating systems used in the Metropolis GZM.

Metropolis GZM is a term related to an association of 41 municipalities and cities in the southern part of Poland. It was established to accomplish regional tasks aimed at building a highly industrially developed area at a national and international level and at creating an image of an attractive place to live, invest in, and sightsee. Five strategic objectives were established in 2018–2022 [15]:

• Preparation of the so-called metropolitan study. It is a planning document supporting the development of green areas, integrated waste management, rational management of water resources, and electrical energy;
• Integration of public transport organisers. It includes integrating the fare and ticket system, the creation of new connections between cities, and the purchase of zero-emission buses;
• Supporting the accomplishment of tasks by member municipalities through subsidies from the Solidarity Fund, and actions related to policy towards the elderly;
• Promoting the metropolitan association and its area. It considers constructing the metropolis brand and the feeling of identity among the GZM inhabitants;
• Development of a Metropolitan Social-Economic Observatory, a platform of good practices, and an internal management system.

All the indicated objectives can be fulfilled using various means, provided that such means will meet the ambitious standards established under the European Green Deal. However, there is a reason why climate neutrality has been made the first strategic goal of the GZM. The history of Silesia concentrates on mineral extraction and the metallurgical industry, which have led to the considerable degradation of the natural environment in the region. Mining activity resulted from large coal seams existing in the area of today’s Metropolis GZM and the adjacent areas. Access to a seemingly affordable, albeit unsustainable energy source is why the local and national production of thermal and electrical energy is strongly based on coal [16]. Moreover, the objective in question complies with the idea of the European Green Deal [17,18], according to which energy efficiency must become the focus of attention, and the supply of energy in the countries of the European Union must be safe and affordable for individual and business clients [19].

The presented assumption can be fulfilled in various ways. The idea of a sharing economy may be a partial solution to minimising energy consumption [20]. However, meeting the increased requirements of the European Green Deal requires the fulfilment of all the presented goals at the same time. One of them is to increase energy efficiency [16,21]. Due to the relatively high population density and the developed network of district heating systems in Metropolis GZM, there is a high potential for savings due to the use of intelligent technologies in city heating systems.

Therefore, the choice of the GZM provides the possibility of a thorough understanding of the approach to the smart city concept in numerous cities functioning simultaneously, jointly as part of the Metropolis GZM. In this context, it becomes particularly important to study the GZM and its members and to look for new, efficient forms of cooperation [22].

To take full advantage of the favourable geospatial conditions, it is necessary to have a high level of coordination for actions between the stakeholders. Metropolis GZM may play a key part in this process, which may translate into the practical implementation of the smart city concept [23].

Results of the implementation of intelligent technologies in district heating networks have not been fully discussed in the subject literature, although this item has appeared in various publications [24,25]. The presented material summarises the application of intelligent solutions to the Warsaw district heating system, in which heat consumption is comparable to Metropolis GZM. Based on this summary, the authors simulated possible energy savings and reductions of harmful emissions in Metropolis GZM. It should be noted that, contrary to electrical energy markets, the monopolistic nature of the sector of district heating systems is a natural phenomenon, albeit causing its stagnation [20,26]. It was assumed that these actions, which will be deemed adhering to the smart city concept using 4T potentials, will directly or indirectly contribute to lowering the functioning costs of cities. They will also support optimal use of city resources (including energy), improving the quality of life in the city, making the city more tolerant, comfortable, and friendly for science, school development, and the willingness to learn, creating also a city friendly to all inhabitants and stakeholders—a city being an organism in which relations between organisations are based on trust.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Review of the Literature Regarding Network Management of a City

Along with increasing the significance of information and knowledge as the key organisational resource, networks have become an important element of modern communities and organisations. An inherent feature of an organisation involves the possibility of cooperation between the people who build it [27,28]. It is due to cooperation, based, among other things, on talent, tolerance, and trust, with the support of technologies, that the achievement of organisational objectives is possible in a more effective and efficient manner, as is the accomplishment of goals whose achievement would not be possible by individual entities. Along with the development of technologies, and an increase in the complexity of the business surroundings, it is becoming a more pronounced trend to create bonds between organisations—managing relations with entities from the surroundings of an organisation. The term “network cooperation” allows for the description of these relations. An inter-organisational network consists of points (also called network nodes) connected by variable, complex, and redundant links. An existing network of relations between entities should be characterised by permanence, dependence, and interpersonal skills. Researcher A.J. Filip [29], starting from the city model presented by another scientist [30], draws the conclusion [31] that the latest work on the processes of managing and modelling social and spatial relations cast doubt on the hierarchical approach, demanding more attention to the spatial extent of various networks which interconnect in urban areas. While describing the conditions of network cooperation in the management of public organisations, other researchers [32] claim that there are seven main problem areas in managing public networks. These include the essence of network management tasks and functions, the group cooperation process, the flexibility of networks, responsibility for oneself and network partners, network cohesion factors, authority and its impact on problem solving in the network, and network management results. They also note that most controversy is related to the process of exercising authority as well as making decisions and implementing changes. One of the researchers [33] pays attention to the fact that market entities act in agreement not just because of the prices, contracts, or official orders, but also due to social ties, prestige, or behavioural standards. Originally, there were attempts to place these phenomena between the market and hierarchy, followed by an attempt to understand a network as a temporary hybrid; however, appreciation was quickly found for the role of trust in coordination between cooperating enterprises, e.g., from the energy subsector or other industrial subsectors of the economy [34,35,36,37]. Relational or social coordination of cooperation is based on the trust of parties and the behavioural standards effective in a given community, supported by an intense exchange of information.

Another researcher [38], in turn, analyses the important issue of answering the question about the role of information and communication technologies in the process of the social construction of certain narrations of sustainable development, paying attention to the fact that a network community is defined as an example of a new social and economic formation, based on the combination of the two most important civilisational pillars: technologies and values. This constitutes a good starting point for discussing the relationships between the network and emissions in an urban context.

2.2. Review of the Literature Regarding Conditions for Energy Transformation in Municipalities

Technological revolution and changes resulting from the evolution of the urban environment caused modern district heating networks to be nothing like those constructed two hundred years ago [39]. In order to distinguish between the types of existing networks, separate nomenclature was created for district heating systems, which evolved along with them.

The history of district heating systems started with their ”first generation”, which emerged near the end of the 19th century in the United States and western Europe, and it used steam as a heat carrier—its temperature reaching up to 150 °C.

The feature of the “second generation” of heating systems was the replacement of the heat carrier with highly pressurised water, the temperature of which exceeded 130 °C. It was distributed by utilising a network of steel pipes lacking good insulation, extending in concrete ducts. This technology was used in the 1930s, and it remained popular until the 1970s, especially in socialist countries, including Poland. Both generations were characterised by high heat losses at the distribution stage.

The most common technology in district heating systems is the “third generation” system [25]. The main difference between this generation and the previous ones is the prefabrication technology used to construct the pipes. Prefabrication means that the pipes are manufactured with integrated insulation. Third-generation systems are powered by pressurised water, but their temperature rarely exceeds 100 °C.

The “fourth generation” of district heating systems is difficult to characterise, and it is still not a very popular group of solutions. Ever since increasing energy efficiency became a global trend, it became impossible to stop the evolution of district heating technology. Future district heating systems will have to overcome such challenges as the ability to supply heat to existing buildings and, at the same time, to new structures with low heat demand, to reduce heat losses in network circulation, or the ability to integrate previous heat sources with renewable energy sources (RES) [40,41,42]. That is why, under the fourth generation, it is to be expected that devices will be powered by water with a low temperature, falling within a range of 30–70 °C [43]. To improve thermal efficiency and fulfil the above-mentioned standards, there is a need for coordination between the properties of buildings and district heating systems. Intelligent control of efficiency, monitoring network operation, and precise weather forecasts may play a key role in optimising heat consumption [25]. Intelligent algorithms and remote-controlled valves allow for predicting the required amount of heat and supplying it to a building with no surplus, leading, therefore, to the maximisation of energy efficiency. According to Li and Nord [24,43], intelligent district heating systems, and thus, also their fourth generation, consist of three general parts: the physical installation, the Internet of Things, and intelligent decision-making systems. The assembly and integration of these elements may be beneficial in terms of flexibility of the needs of buildings since their concrete structures are used as short-term heat accumulation systems [44,45].

The idea of the “fifth generation” systems (district heating and cooling systems) has not yet been popularised. Its core is the combination of district systems for heating and cooling. The thermal carrier used as part of it has a very low temperature. Following the rule of closing circuits, it is expected to make maximum use of renewable energy sources [34,35]. The difference between the third and the fifth generation of district heating systems is so huge that the return temperature in the third generation could constitute supply temperature in the fifth generation. Such a solution has been proposed in the urban renovation plan for the Hertogensite district in Leuven (Belgium) [45,46,47].

2.3. Selected Implemented Projects of the Smart City Intelligent Control Systems

Building energy services—Hubgrade (BES-Hubgrade) is a service offered by the Polish Veolia Energy Warszawa S.A. Company [48]. Using technological solutions based on intelligent remote management systems, the service optimises thermal energy consumption in buildings. Constant monitoring of network parameters, a weather forecast analysis, multi-point temperature measurement, and a remote-control system guarantee thermal comfort with a simultaneous reduction in the consumption of energy in the building, which also translates into leaving a smaller carbon footprint during the generation of heat, and lower bills for the inhabitants. Moreover, the system increases the reliability and efficiency of the installed substations. Optimum energy consumption reduces the emission of gases harmful to the natural environment. That is why the BES-Hubgrade service is offered primarily in the region where approximately 90% of the produced heat originates from the combustion of coal [49].

Smart Heat Grid Solutions™ from Poland and Smart Heat Building Solutions™ from Poland are business offers of intelligent management systems from the NODA Intelligent Systems Company [50]. The NODA Smart Heat Building is a solution that uses self-learning and adapting mathematical models, allowing for various scenarios of actions. It has sensors enabling the system to constantly monitor the temperature, calculate the property’s energy balance, and adjust the heating management system installed in a substation. This solution is similar to the BES-Hubgrade service in terms of the assumed objectives and implemented mechanisms. The NODA Smart Heat Grid is a tool that reduces consumption or eliminates the operation of peak heat sources during peak load periods. Due to the control of interactions between the conditions of production and the demand of consumers, the NODA Smart Heat Grid is also capable better cooling return water, which translates into an increase in the efficiency of producing electrical energy in cogeneration systems with a steam turbine, and as a result in general energy efficiency. Furthermore, the tool in question allows using combined units as virtual hot water tanks.

2.4. Research Methods

The multiple threads of the research required the utilisation of various research tools. Questionnaires were used along with studies based on public statistics, quantitative methods aimed at calculating thermal energy savings, and a case study. The plan for the research is shown in Figure 1.

Starting with a preliminary understanding of research areas related to network management, environmental aspects, and energy transformation stemming from a literature review and case studies of heating systems, primary data has been collected and analysed. The next step was to refine and revise findings from previously gathered data using insights from the workshop conducted with GZM employees. Eventually, closing conclusions and recommendations have been drawn.

Survey study as a tool for determining priorities for actions during the development of the Smart City concept in municipalities

The choice of the survey method—Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI)—results from the fact that questionnaires enable a quantitative description of specific aspects of the intelligent management of cities in the GZM, in a selected research group of cities located in the GZM [51,52]. Computer software chooses the respondents’ numbers; it generates questions, records conversations, and generates reports in real-time. The questionnaire method also improves research performance and information acquisition, which would otherwise be difficult to measure using observation techniques. The purpose of the statistical research (survey) was to learn the inhabitants’ opinions on the rating of air quality in the cities in which they live. The number of inhabitants who participated in the survey was N = 600. The sample used for the study had a quota-random nature. The population’s features considered while creating the sample include respondents’ location, gender, age, and education.

Indicator analysis methodology for sub-indicator “Environment”

Micro-data at the municipality level were collected to determine a synthetic indicator. The data were grouped; on their basis, branch sub-indicators were determined:

Micro-data underwent unitarisation. This is a normalisation method leading to a permanent, unitary range of variability of the normalised features. The value of a variable or its distance from one of the limits of variability is divided by the size of the interval and takes on values from a range of (0; 1). Unitarisation was performed according to the following formulas:

Stimulants:

$$y_{ij}=\frac{x_{ij}-\min \left\{x_{ij}\right\}}{\max \left\{x_{ij}\right\}-\min \left\{x_{ij}\right\}}$$

(1)

Destimulants:

$$y_{ij}=\frac{\max \left\{x_{ij}\right\}-x_{ij}}{\max \left\{x_{ij}\right\}-\min \left\{x_{ij}\right\} }$$

(2)

x_ij—value for the j-th feature and the i-th object;

min {x_ij}—minimum value;

max {x_ij}—maximum value;

y_ij—standardised value of the j-th feature for the i-th object.

After unitarisation, sub-indicators were calculated and subsequently weighed, resulting in a single main synthetic indicator.

The analysis was based on the publicly available data originating from public statistics—the GUS Base of Local Data for 2020. Basing the constructed indicators on public data allows for building and analysing trends of changes in these indicators over time.

Methodology of calculating thermal energy savings

Since the weather conditions are different every year, a special thermal energy consumption index has been constructed to guarantee a precise and reliable measurement method. It is calculated according to the formula:

$$KPI\left(n\right)=\frac{Q\left(n\right)}{HDD\left(n\right)}$$

(3)

where KPI(n) is the thermal energy consumption index in a period of (n), Q(n) is the readout of heat consumption a period of (n), and HDD (n) stands for the sum of daily differences in a period of (n) between the reference temperature of 18 °C and the average outdoor temperature during the day, expressed in °C, calculated for average daily temperatures, lower or equal to 14 °C. When the average daily outdoor temperature exceeds 14 °C, and in June, July, and August, the value of heating degree-days (HDD) equals zero.

The heat consumption index in the consecutive years is calculated according to the following formula (Formula (4)):

$$KPI\left(n+1\right)=\frac{Q\left(n+1\right)}{HDD\left(n+1\right)}$$

(4)

Because precise invoicing readings in numerous cases are not performed on the first or the last day of the month, a special formula has been created to calculate consumption in a given month, based on readings usually performed in the middle of the month. In such cases, heat consumption in a given month Q(M) is calculated as the sum of the product of the heat consumption index for the first period KPI(n) and the heating degree-days (from the beginning of the month until the moment of performing the measurement) HDD(Ma), and the analogical product of the heat consumption index for the second period of the month KPI(n + 1) and the number of heating degree-days (from the moment of reading until the end of the month) HDD(Mb):

$$\left(M\right)=KPI\left(n\right)*HDD\left(Ma\right)+KPI\left(n+1\right)*HDD\left(Mb\right)$$

(5)

The theoretical base of heat consumption (Q)base is calculated monthly from the quotient of the heat consumption index in the base year KPI(M)base and the number of heating degree-days HDD in the corresponding month. KPI(M)base is the quotient of heat consumption Qave(M) and the heating degree-days HDDave(M) from the last five years:

$$KPI{(M)}_{base}=\frac{Q_{ave}\left(M\right)}{HD{D}_{ave}\left(M\right)}$$

(6)

$$Q{(M)}_{base}=KPI{(M)}_{base}*HDD\left(M\right)$$

(7)

Ultimately, the heat savings obtained due to intelligent control in the heating subsystem are calculated by subtracting the values of actual monthly heat consumption readings from the theoretical basis of heat consumption:

$$\Delta Q=Q{(M)}_{base}-Q\left(M\right)$$

(8)

Table 1. Comparison of Warsaw district heating system with cumulative data from district heating systems functioning in Metropolis GZM. Source: the authors’ research, based on [28,29,30].

Unit Name	Length of the Heating Network	Cubage of the Heated Buildings	Amount of Heat Energy Sold
Warsaw district heating system	1847 km (2019)	341,270 dam3 (2018)	26,443 TJ (2019)
District heating systems of the GZM (sum)	2168 km (2019)	213,340 dam3 (2018)	19,731 TJ (2019)

shows that the choice of the Warsaw district heating system as a point of reference is justified due to the comparable length of the network (shorter by only 17%), the cubage of the heated buildings (37% larger in Warsaw than in Metropolis GZM), as well as the amount of sold thermal energy, which was larger by 25% in Warsaw, albeit with a value lower by 19% per 1 decametre.

The purpose of the statistical research (survey) was to learn the inhabitants’ opinions on entrepreneurship in the city in which they live. The survey was performed using the CATI method. The number of inhabitants who participated in the survey was N = 600. The sample used for the study had a quota-random nature. The population’s features considered while creating the sample include respondents’ location, gender, age, and education (Figure 2).

The second utilised research tool involved workshops based on the visual moderation method, completed with the participation of employees from the GZM. Apart from becoming acquainted with the 4T concept, during the workshops, the participants answered 3 structured questions:

• What are the most important preconditions determining the development of the GZM as a network of intelligent cities?
• What actions should be initiated for the intensification and networking of smart solutions and the development of 4T creative capitals in the cities of the GZM?
• Which most important changes in the cities of the GZM should be the result of creating, implementing and utilising smart-type solutions?

The answers were formulated using two methods: consultations based on in-depth interviews among the management of the GZM and the representatives of municipalities, and the acquisition of solutions in a “brainstorm” method moderated by the hosts during thematic workshops organised especially for this purpose. Almost 30 representatives of municipalities from the GZM and the Metropolitan Office participated in all the consulting work and workshops.

3. Results

Number of degree-days in the investigated period

As mentioned, the following numbers of heating degree-days were considered baselines for the given years to compare the real impact of the applied solutions. Figure 3 presents the number of heating degree-days in 2018–2020.

Based on Figure 3, it is apparent that the number of heating degree-days in 2018 is lower by almost 20% than the baseline. In 2019, the number of heating degree-days was higher by 1.7% than the baseline, and in 2020—by 2.9%. This shows the necessity of considering the number of heating degree-days during the evaluation of the achieved level of savings.

3.1. Research Results—Assessing the Performance of the Hubgrade System

Assessment of the level of obtained savings began with a rejection of incomplete data and the selection of complete datasets related to consumption and savings in 2018–2020. Its results are presented in Figure 4.

This was followed by another question: did the Hubgrade system’s use contribute to reaching the level of savings? The calculated correlation coefficient of using the Hubgrade system for obtaining savings is close to 1, which suggests a close relationship between using it and saving thermal energy.

The average level of saved thermal energy in 2018–2020 was 13.8%. It should be noted that a vast majority of buildings in Warsaw that were subjected to the evaluation had undergone thermal upgrading.

Based on the produced comparative results for district heating systems in Warsaw and Metropolis GZM, the following assumption has been proposed: both Warsaw and Metropolis GZM are characterised by a similar potential for using the Hubgrade system, and because they are in the same climate zone, it is possible to achieve similar results. Figure 5 presents a simulation of implementing the Hubgrade system in district heating systems in Warsaw and the entire Metropolis GZM.

Overall, the thermal energy savings in Metropolis GZM and Warsaw may reach up to 7044 TJ, meaning as much as would be enough to provide heat to all of Chorzów city or Tarnowskie Góry County.

Comparison of local sources used to produce energy for the needs of estimating the amounts of harmful emissions

Figure 6 presents the mixture of gases emitted in metropolis GZM and Warsaw.

Data for the figure were acquired from official reports of local heat producers, and they are as follows:

The presented values would translate into emission reduction according to the data presented in

Table 2. Absolute values of emission reduction potential in Metropolis GZM. Source: The authors’ own research, based on data from the research of Hubgrade Warsaw related to the emissions of the GZM.

Emitted Substance	Unit of Emission	Energy Savings in 2019	Emission Reduction
CO2	84.13 Mg/TJ	3273.8 TJ	275,424.8 Mg
SO2	0.11 Mg/TJ		360.1 Mg
NOx	0.07 Mg/TJ		229.2 Mg
TSP	0.01 Mg/TJ		32.7 Mg

:

The calculated values of reduction of harmful emissions show potential for reduction by using an intelligent control system in a local substation. Moreover, they also indicate that the emission of suspended particulates by central heating sources is at a low level compared to local unsupervised thermal energy sources.

3.2. Research Results—Subindicator: Environment

Under the performed research, called “Smart City indicator analysis for the needs of implementing the Smart City concept and 4T potentials project—intelligent management of cities in the GZM”, a sub-indicator has been created in order to describe the environmental aspect, constituting a component of a synthetic element, also taking into account social and economic aspects. This sub-indicator consists of the following parameters:

• the total emission of particulate pollutants per 1 km²;
• the total emission of gaseous pollutants per km²;
• pollutants trapped or neutralised in devices for reducing particulate pollutants (t/year);
• treatment stations with enhanced removal of nutrients;
• the share of parks, lawns, and district greenery in the surface area;
• the surface area of woody lands in the total surface area;
• selectively collected waste concerning overall waste;
• the number of planted trees/1000 inhabitants.

Values of the sub-indicator for specific municipalities in the GZM are presented on Figure 7.

The completed surveys showed that the inhabitants of the GZM have varying opinions about the condition of air in the municipalities in which they live. Half of them believe the air to be definitely or rather clean; the other half believe otherwise, as presented in Figure 8.

While the results are characterised by certain restraint, a confrontation with the assessment of other aspects of living in the city indicates that inhabitants of the GZM have a low opinion of air quality in the cities in which they live. Average ratings (assigned on a scale of 1–4) are presented in

Table 3. Rating of air purity against other aspects of living in a city. Source: the authors’ own research, based on the smart city project research data.

Question	Average Rating
Q12. Does the city have efficient public transport?	3.37
Q9. Does it have access to areas of recreation and leisure?	3.36
Q13. Does it have access to bicycle paths?	3.29
Q7. Does it have contact with science?	3.22
Q8. Does it offer the possibility to enhance qualifications?	3.18
Q16. Is there easy electronic/telephone communication with the City Hall?	3.14
Q2. Does the city have access to modern infrastructure?	3.14
Q3. Does it have access to new technologies?	3.06
Q18. In your opinion, is there tolerance in the City Hall?	3.00
Q15. In your opinion, is the City Hall friendly to residents?	2.98
Q19. Do you have confidence in the competences of the City Hall?	2.92
Q1. In your opinion, is the city in which you live a prestigious one?	2.87
Q14. Do the residents have the possibility to participate in city management?	2.85
Q5. Does it offer appealing job opportunities?	2.85
Q4. Does it have the ability to purchase pioneer products?	2.84
Q11. According to you, is the degree of waste disposal satisfactory?	2.56
Q6. Does it offer high salaries and rewards?	2.53
Q10. In your opinion, is the air in the city clean?	2.47

.

The good mood of the inhabitants would also probably decline upon reading the report called “#Breathe, Poland” [53] prepared by Airly, a producer of air quality sensors, and the words of the company chairman, Wiktor Warchałowski: “In Poland, almost 50 thousand people die every year due to disastrous air quality. These are 50 thousand premature deaths we could avoid. Compared, e.g., to car accidents, it turns out that more people in Poland die due to abysmal air quality. These figures are disturbing, and considering the air quality condition in Poland, a conclusion can be drawn that we all breathe terrible air.” The annual PM10 indicator averaged for all Polish cities for the last three years exceeds, by 100%, the yearly standard recommended by the WHO (2021 AQG), which is 15 µg/m3. Concerning PM2.5, the worst pollution among Polish cities was in Rybnik, and in terms of NOx, the shameful top position goes to Katowice.

4. Discussion

The conducted literature review showed that although each of the research areas is relatively well covered, there is a research gap at the intersection of 4T potentials and socio-technological aspects of city management. Delimitation to a single metropolitan area allowed encapsulating novel and relevant research gaps, creating a foothold for further studies. Even though not innovative per se, the triangulation of methods to the extent exhibited in this research has not been identified in the body of literature considered while working on this publication.

The performance of workshops with the participation of local managers allowed for confronting the smart city concept and the 4T concept with the realities of the functioning of cities in the GZM. Particular attention should be paid to the participants’ remarks about creating relationships between cities aspiring to become intelligent. The GZM is an area whose coherence has already been built to a large extent, while metropolisation processes still take place on a varying scale. However, this case can be called a functional area, with strong relationships in terms of a joint labour market, the market of public services, infrastructural networks, and transport connections [54,55]. The completed workshops indicated that local managers also look at the emerging metropolis in terms of relationships developed based on the generation and transfer of broadly understood knowledge [56,57]. The GZM has varying potentials that enable its development towards the networking of intelligent cities. Among the results of workshops in this regard, entities functioning in the GZM tend to stand out. The carriers of intelligence include both the business entities (companies of global significance, local companies active in innovative fields, businesses surrounding entities), public sector entities (local governments, increasingly open to the implementation of strategic changes), as well as scientific and academic entities [58,59]. Their functioning entails strengthening human capital in the form of creative employees and students, including people who arrive in the cities of the metropolis from abroad. The participants in the workshops stressed the importance of structural transformations occurring in cities, particularly the shaping of new economic specialisations, including in IT-based areas. The processes of transformation and digitisation also affect companies operating in traditional sectors.

Among deficiencies, they also listed knowledge about the smart city concept [7,60,61,62], the narrow understanding of this term, and the low level of knowledge of inhabitants about smart technology. It is necessary to extend the set of credible data enabling the implementation of decision-making and supporting local entities’ participation in creating the innovative future of cities.

During the workshops, the participants were allowed to create ideas for actions that should be initiated for the intensification and networking of smart solutions, as well as the development of 4T creative capitals in the cities of the GZM. An analysis of the formulated answers indicates considerable consistency with the answers obtained in the first step of the workshops.

According to the participants in the workshops, the most important group in shaping smart city competencies is the employees of local government administrations. A metropolis is a good place to exchange experiences between local governments; it is also an area where it is possible to undertake large joint enterprises implementing smart city solutions. It is important to make the officials and creators of local politics sensitive to the needs of various city users, and as a consequence, to shape smart city solutions addressing specific expectations.

A separate way of thinking was related to specific infrastructural projects. These included proposals related to sustainable mobility (including the development of public transport and bicycle transport), the use of drones to collect information and provide public services, the establishment of linear parks along rivers, and the development of linear infrastructure integrating metropolitan centres.

A considerable portion of the postulates focused on strengthening cooperation, especially in an inter-sectoral approach. This can be supported by urban labs with the participation of various local stakeholders, multifunctional platforms for dialogue among entities representing various sectors, events, meetings, and workshops enabling the creation of new ideas, and innovative partnership projects.

The general proposals included those related to improving the quality of life and the ecological situation in the area.

The final stage of meetings and workshops involved discussing the desired effects of creating, implementing, and utilising smart-type solutions. The participants pointed out the significance of the discussed solutions for building relational capital in a metropolis: the sharing of experience, the participation of various entities in the creation and implementation of local policies and the policy of the GZM, integrating and coordinating the development of municipalities in the metropolis by agreeing on common priorities and goals, as well as using coherent information about the area. The expected effect also includes improving the quality of life, particularly due to the increased efficiency of offering public services.

4.1. Conclusions—Network Aspects of Mobility Management Versus Emission Reduction

When adopting the “European Green Deal”, the European Commission paid attention to the fact that the transport sector is responsible for as much as a fourth of greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union, and this value keeps growing. Detailed information in that regard was provided by the report of the European Environment Agency, prepared in 2018. According to the contents of this document, the transport sector was responsible for more than half of all nitrogen oxides (NOx) and a fifth of carbon oxides (CO) emitted into the environment in the European Union. Transport also emitted a noticeable percentage of suspended particulates, constituting mixtures of atmospheric aerosols detrimental to health: 13.11% in the case of suspended particulates with particle diameters not larger than PM10, and 19.85% in the case of even more toxic PM2.5 suspended particulates [63,64].

Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMP) promoted by the European Commission in the White Paper on Transport (2011) and the Urban Mobility Package (2013) are one of the main tools available at the EU level, used to solve the problem of transport and mobility in urban and suburban areas. The plans are intended to create a city transport system by fulfilling—at the very least—the following objectives:

Provide all citizens with such transport options that would enable access to key travel destinations and services;

• Improve the security situation;
• Contribute to reducing air pollution and noise, reducing the emission of greenhouse gases and the consumption of energy;
• Improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of transporting people and goods;
• Have a positive impact on the attractiveness and quality of the urban environment with benefits for the inhabitants, economy, and community as a whole.

Various departments usually manage energy, transport, and mobility under local authorities. These areas rarely fall within the scope of responsibility of the same policymaker, which makes internal horizontal integration a difficult process.

The very processes of planning energy, transport, and mobility often constitute challenges to local authorities because these processes are related to the participation of stakeholders and the local community, to vertical integration with other levels of management, and to a long-term vision, trying to balance out the costs and benefits and to reach and maintain a consensus. As a result, local authorities often propose separate individual policies and sectoral measures (urban planning, parking, bicycle transport, public transport, production from renewable sources, energy efficiency in buildings, etc.) [65,66,67,68], which lack a common strategic vision, and which are poorly coordinated. Sector planning tools make each plan seem to follow its separate path. This constitutes a considerable obstacle in achieving emission reduction in urban mobility. The use of network management, adequate to the growing complexity of urban mobility and the growing expectations of inhabitants, may prove to be potentially supportive.

4.2. Research Conclusions and Summary of Project Hubgrade

The considerations included in the article extend the understanding of smart cities by a social and cultural component, feeling the quality of life, citizen awareness, and networking of relationships between stakeholders in an intelligent city. All of this allows for looking at the smart city concept multidimensionally and more broadly than indicated by the reductionist approach of technological and computer innovations, focusing mainly on knowledge and intelligence [69,70,71,72,73].

The considerations indicate that a smart city should implement objectives resulting from the concept of sustainable development while caring for the resources of the natural environment and increasing the resources of green areas. Cities compete to acquire talents for the most creative individuals; this is a precondition for accelerated social development (trust, tolerance, resourcefulness, caution) and economic development (innovativeness, inventiveness, progress, development).

Smart cities are competitive due to the quality of life, they adjust and change their living environment, and they offer many useful amenities, including safety and the freedom to enjoy life and self-develop in an urban environment. A smart city is well managed, and city authorities use the knowledge and opinions of inhabitants, including them in participatory management of the city, treating citizens as equal partners.

Undoubtedly, there is a possibility of implementing intelligent control systems in the cities of Metropolis GZM—implementation with measurable, positive effects for air purity in the cities and their surroundings. All over Poland, there is high potential for applying innovative [7,57,72,73], intelligent technologies in district heating systems in order to reduce the level of harmful emissions, which may, in turn, translate into considerable improvements in the attractiveness and competitiveness of municipalities [74]. The presented simulation of reducing emission by 275 kt CO₂ proves that reduction in the order of 16% is possible. The cost of using the Hubgrade system is lower than the cost of replacing the heat-generation technology, and it also contributes to considerable achievements for the protection of the natural environment without lowering the thermal comfort of end receivers, translating into sustainable growth of functional urban centres as well [75].

A comparison of two similar district heating systems shows that there is still large diversity of the means for producing thermal energy, due to which the total emission values in one region of Poland may differ from others. Results of the performed analysis prove that total emission values in Metropolis GZM are lower than for the district heating system in Warsaw, and at the same time, the reduction potential for harmful emissions in this area is still very high.

In more dispersed systems, the extent of the reduction of harmful emissions may still be greater. Moreover, there is also an increasing number of methods for reducing emissions, e.g., the combined use of centrally controlled heat pumps with the existing district heating systems. The reduction of emissions originating from the district heating sector or related to mobility [76] translates into improving the quality of life, and, as a consequence, it constitutes a stimulus for the development of 4T potentials. This type of problem will be a subject of further scientific studies.

5. Recommendations

• GZM is an area whose features fit the term “conurbation”, rather than metropolis; it is a space whose cohesion is still under construction, and the metropolisation processes occur on a varying scale. However, in this case, one can undoubtedly consider it a polycentric functional area, with strong relationships in terms of a joint labour market, public service market, infrastructural networks, transport connections, or renewable energy sources [77,78]. The completed workshops proved that local managers also look at the emerging metropolis from the point of view of building relationships based on the generation and transfer of broadly understood knowledge. GZM has various potentials, enabling its development towards the networking of intelligent cities. The carriers of intelligence include both the business entities (companies of global significance, local companies active in innovative fields, business surroundings entities), public sector entities (local governments, increasingly open to implementing strategic changes), and scientific and academic entities. Their functioning entails strengthening human capital in the form of creative employees and students, including people who arrive in the cities of the metropolis from abroad. In this context, fundamental significance is attributed to structural transformations occurring in the cities, particularly the shaping of new urban specialisations in fields based on IT. The demographic potential of the metropolis deciding about the possibilities of implementing solutions should be used as a force supporting change, including in the field of infrastructure, based on innovations and digital solutions. The investigated metropolis is characterised by a high level of urbanization, which can be considered a factor favouring the creation of networks of intelligent cities. The GZM is a set of numerous centres of varying importance and functions; in recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in the interest of local governments for initiating various forms of cooperation under the GZM. On the one hand, they are joint projects (among municipalities) of a highly innovative value; on the other hand, there is a visible desire to build structures for lasting integration. Developing network infrastructure (a district heating network, a road network, public transport, international connections, a network of charging stations for electrical cars, etc.) requires institutional coordination. It is also necessary to constantly improve the competencies and awareness of local governments about the essence of a smart city, and to shift the interest from typically infrastructural solutions to initiatives creating cooperation. It is worth developing the application of various tools extending the scope and forms of dialogue with the inhabitants, and introducing modern tools for managing local development, including the participation of the inhabitants. Very high significance can be attributed to actions for creating and implementing tools for the “automated” collection and distribution of data about cities. High usefulness should be attributed to solutions related to the open exchange of data which support decisions related to cities/metropolises as a whole and limit the decision risk of economic entities and inhabitants.
• Although local governments have considerable autonomy in their transport policy and use it when preparing strategic documents such as SUMP, these documents are often not implemented, or/and the organisational and investment decisions remain contradictory to the strategic documents’ assumptions. The authors seek a reason behind such a state of things in the growing complexity of the urban mobility ecosystem and the siloisation of organisational structures. They recommend introducing network management tools and revising organisational architecture, respectively, to increase the level of creative capital of local government employees.
• Emission reduction levels in the area of transport/mobility will depend on the mix of selected tools. The most efficient solutions—active mobility, public transport, and modern forms of shared mobility—require substantial changes in the inhabitants’ awareness and cooperation between participants in the mobility ecosystem, to prepare an attractive proposal of a value constituting an alternative to using private cars. Therefore, it is a necessary step to understand the structure and relationships between participants in a mobility network.
• Improvement in air quality to a considerable extent, especially in the heating season, is possible by reducing low-altitude emissions. The network approach to the management of district heating systems reduces total emissions and increases the attractiveness of system heat, relative to more emission-heavy alternatives, by increasing the technological efficiency and cost-effectiveness using the smart city solutions. Due to its unique position, the GZM can take on the role of an orchestrator, and lead to the partial or complete technological integration of the district heating systems functioning in its territory, providing added value for the inhabitants and heating companies.