How is Google Leveraging AI to Make Cities More Sustainable?

It’s no secret Google plays a big part in environmental sustainability.

In its third decade of climate action, Google is working to ensure sustainability across all areas of its business while also helping individuals, companies, governments and countries on their own green journeys.

AI technology is a major enabler of Google’s efforts.

The technology giant says there are eight key ways that AI when it comes to making cities more sustainable.

Sims Witherspoon, Climate Action Lead at Google DeepMind, says: “AI is not a ‘silver bullet’ for the climate crisis.

“As one tool among the many required, we do need its speed and scale to help us understand climate change, to optimise current infrastructure and to accelerate breakthrough science.”

Google AI is accelerating city sustainability

Why is Google focusing on city sustainability specifically? 

The United Nations (UN) says that by mid-century, two thirds of the world’s population will live in or around cities. This statistic means that more than 2.5 billion more people will move into cities and their suburbs by 2050.

This means an influx of people and a massive population change.

A problem in the eyes of some, Google Research says this trajectory presents “a unique opportunity to accelerate scientific progress using AI”. 

Solving the traffic pollution problem with Google AI

In cities, pollution levels are 29 times higher at intersections compared to open roads.

Almost half of these emissions are caused by cars accelerating from a stop.

Google’s Project Green Light aims to tackle stop-go traffic. While some is inevitable and unavoidable, much of it can be reduced by tweaking the timing of traffic lights. 

A simple yet effective project, Project Green Light technology makes recommendations that can be implemented using existing infrastructure in just a few minutes — meaning there’s no need to implement expensive new software or hardware.

Alon Harris, Senior Climate AI Program Manager at Google, says: “In order to achieve a positive climate impact, we want to be able to deploy high-quality Green Light recommendations to many cities globally and scale fast. 

“We purposely set up everything to be simple and lightweight — cities don’t need to invest in any dedicated software or hardware integrations. We just share our recommendations with the city, and then they evaluate them and take action.”

Google’s CSO Kate Brandt adds: “While we recognise that digital technology alone will not solve the climate crisis, we can already see the tremendous potential that it holds to help accelerate action on sustainability and climate while simultaneously empowering economic growth.”

About Google’s wildfire tracking capabilities

Adam Elman, Sustainability Lead for EMEA at Google, says: “As wildfires continue to impact communities around the world, Google is expanding our AI-enabled wildfire tracking to 15 countries across Europe and Africa.

“We know that people turn to Google when they need timely information – this is just the latest example of the many ways we're using AI to help them find the information they need as our climate changes.”

Google’s wildfire boundary tracking uses AI and satellite imagery to map the boundaries of large wildfires.

This data is then displayed on Google Maps and Google Search alongside information from local authorities to help people stay informed of potential dangers.

From this data, Google Maps then updates users with road closures and provides directions that help avoid roadblocks and danger — ensuring safe evacuations when needed. 

James Manyika, SVP for Research, Technology and Society at Google says: “We believe our approach to AI must be both bold and responsible. 

“To us that means developing AI in a way that maximises the positive benefits to society while addressing the challenges, guided by our AI Principles.”

Planting trees with the help of Google AI

Google's Tree Canopy tool — now available in nearly 350 cities worldwide — is helping urban areas map and manage their tree cover. 

This free tool uses AI and aerial imagery to provide valuable data on urban forestry, aiding cities in planning and implementing tree planting initiatives.

The tool has proven particularly useful in US cities like Austin and Chicago. In Austin, officials found the data to be largely accurate and aligned with their own collected information. The city has used the tool to prioritise tree planting in vulnerable areas and even to strategically place bus shelters for increased shade.

Chicago has leveraged the tool to empower community ‘tree ambassadors’, helping them focus their outreach efforts and identify areas where tree requests would be most impactful. 

The tool’s underlying technology is also part of Google’s Environmental Insights Explorer. This has been used by American Forests to expand its Tree Equity score tool across major urban areas in the US, as well as in the UK.

Feeling the positive impact in Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti — speaking during his tenure at the city’s mayor – says: “Google’s technology will help us bring the power of trees to families and households across Los Angeles — adding greenery to our public spaces, injecting beauty into our city and bringing cooler temperatures to our neighbourhoods.”

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