Sfax
Sfax is Tunisia’s second-largest city after Tunis, and its commercial epicentre. For decades, its thriving manufacturing industry and large Mediterranean port made Sfax an attractive investment destination. In 2003, elected officials of the seven municipalities that make up the Greater Sfax metropolitan area. This city has seen an impressive dynamic urban expansion by the rhythm of the evolution giving rise to a continuous urban fabric (in suburban dominant) in the Greater Sfax sheltering a half million inhabitants, or around 87% of the urban population of the governorate giving rise to loose densities. The “surprising” urban boost, even beyond the limits prescribed by the planning documents and town planning took a speed the effort in transport infrastructure explaining, hence the mismatch between the supply of the transport services and the transport demand, giving rise to a dislocated market unable to meet actual and potential needs of the economic agents. Indeed, this very rich terrain makes the management of the city of Sfax, especially in transportation, is a tedious task.
The city of Sfax, like many cities, is facing many problems, such as aging infrastructure, populations, increasing congestion and climate change. To solve the problems, we must turn to smart technology.
Indeed, the issues regarding the future of a truly smart city can be concentrated on two points. Number one is that the city of Sfax still working in silos, is isolated projects where duplication of efforts. The second is that the city of Sfax does not know what she wants becoming-she does not know how to apply chip technology and innovation, as it does not know where she is trying to go.
One of the challenges, In the future Sfax smart city, is to integrate different modes of transport rail, automobile, cycle and walking in a single system that is both efficient, easily accessible, affordable, safe and environmentally friendly. Another challenge is to create an intelligent environment in which buildings need to be smarter in order to facilitate and improve the energy management or to reduce consumption. So, we need to control meet green building standards, construction of passive houses or even positive energy, installation of photovoltaic panels on roofs, installation of a biomass based cogeneration plant supplies the heating network. Combined with solar power to cover nearly two thirds of the electricity consumption of a neighborhood. In addition to the challenge of reducing consumption of drinking water by collecting rainwater and use for daily use (toilet, washing machine, watering, etc.)
Plan of activities in the following aspects:
- Transportation
- Environment
In Transportation, a team is working to develop smart bus in Sfax equipped by WiFi Internet.
Coordinator: Professor Adel M. Alimi <[email protected]>, REGIM-Lab., Univ. Sfax, Tunisia