1. Health This section is based on a broad definition of health. In it, Through smart water meters installed in each newly built home, we discuss sanitation, recycling services, public safety, air Waternet can charge households for precisely the volume of pollution, and, finally, medical services, all of which are areas water they use. Additionally, Dutch homeowners are charged that shape the well-being of a city’s population. a maintenance fee for the upkeep of dykes and the water level. Moreover, Amsterdam’s residents are charged a tax to pay for The Amsterdam Economic Board is entrusted with “foster[ing] the purification of the city’s water. Amsterdam also has a smart sustainable economic growth in the Amsterdam Metropolitan warning system for floods. Through smart sensors, the city can Area by focusing on five urban challenges: health, mobility, detect leakages of water and water vapor quickly (Sakunenko, digital connectivity, circular economy and jobs of the future” (I 2019). amsterdam website, 2020). The Economic Board’s activities in the area of health focus on the following specific goal: “Extend Waternet’s garbage boats collect around 3,400 kilograms of the average healthy lifespan of citizens by two years, using big waste from Amsterdam’s water, including the city’s canals, data and AI” (I amsterdam website, 2020). each year. On an annual basis, forty-two tons of plastics are removed from Amsterdam’s canals (Waternet Website, 2020). 1.1 Basic sanitation 1.2 Recycling services Given that Amsterdam sits nearly entirely below sea level, it is unsurprising that the city knows how to manage its water. Amsterdam’s waste and recycling collection system centers The Netherlands has one of the most advanced administrative on smart underground bins that are located in every couple systems for water management, holding national elections of streets (Preeker, 2019). Fitted with sensors that measure for its water authority. The MRA’s basic sanitation needs and track how full they are, the smart bins have a very high are satisfied via a local approach that involves collaboration capacity, and they are used by citizens to recycle glass, paper, between the area’s different districts. cardboard, and plastic. Information on available capacity collected by the bins’ sensors is combined with location data Waternet, the organization that manages Amsterdam’s water and used to improve the collection system. New smart bins for supply, is leading the water management dimension of ASC. general waste have been added in recent years. As an efficiency The organization aims to reclaim energy and raw materials measure, different neighborhoods in Amsterdam now have from the water cycle and minimize waste through reuse different refuse collection frequencies. The bins have increased (Waternet Website, 2020). In addition, Waternet is preparing flexibility for residents, as they can deposit their waste any day Amsterdam for the effects of climate change by introducing of the week. The reduced number of garbage trucks on streets, measures to prevent and mitigate floods, the consequences of meanwhile, means a reduction in carbon emissions. flooding (including water damage), heat waves, and drought. The Dutch startup the Great Bubble Barrier is using existing In Amsterdam, Waternet is responsible for the following duties technology, namely an underwater device that blows bubbles (Waternet Website, 2020): toward the surface and is commonly used to contain oil spills •Treating tap water to ensure the city has a clean supply of and reduce underwater noise levels, for the completely new drinking water; purpose of waste collection (Hutt, 2019). Bubbles are blown •Treating and managing sewage water; to the surface of a canal so that waste floats up toward one •Ensuring groundwater is kept at the right level; area and can easily be collected. Bubble Barrier is aiding in the •Keeping canals clean. global waste challenge by using this technology to collect trash from Amsterdam’s canals before it reaches the open sea (Hutt, 2019). The barrier is located in the Westerdok, where water flows from Amsterdam’s canals to the North Sea, making it an ideal spot at which to catch plastic from Amsterdam’s canals (The Great Bubble Barrier Website, 2020). 62 Quélin and Smadja | HEC PARIS | SMART CITIES | The sustainable program of six leading cities | 2021