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Planet Smart City is launching its second smart city in the world: Smart City Natal. The 170-hectare development will home more than 15,000 people just 20km from the capital of Rio Grande do Norte, in São Gonçalo do Amarante, Brazil. The launch event will take part this Saturday, the 20th, from 8am to 5pm.
Planet Smart City has invested £27 million (R $140 million) to design and develop the city in partnership with Habitax, a city planning company, with a strong presence in Northeast Brazil. Planet began construction of the first phase of the development in March 2019 and by the end of the year is expecting to receive its first inhabitants.
Planet Smart City transforms the way affordable housing is delivered worldwide by integrating smart solutions and social innovation practices on large scale projects. The city is designed and developed with know-how developed by Planet, which integrates architectural, digital, environmental and social innovation solutions to deliver high-quality low-cost homes.
It is social because it focuses on people’s wellbeing and at the heart of every project is the vision to develop inclusive, harmonious and collaborative neighbourhoods. The city is constructed by optimising every element of the supply chain and applying smart solutions developed by Planet to ensure the homes are affordable.
Susanna Marchionni, CEO of Planet Smart City in Brazil commented: “Smart City Natal offers a mix of green spaces, residential, commercial and business hubs. Following on from the success of Smart City Laguna in Brazil, we are delighted to be increasing our global presence and developing further smart affordable neighbourhoods. Our cities are designed to be inclusive, autonomous and vibrant, so in addition to building affordable homes we have implemented a range of services including a library, cinema, free courses and other social activities which will encourage shared economics and a new way of living in a community.”
Natal residents will have access to the Planet App, best described as the ‘control panel’ of the smart city. Locals can download the application for free on Android or iOS versions. After registering, users have access to all city services, as well as contact with other residents, participation in projects and social activities.
Smart City Natal is located 8 kilometres from Governador Aluízio Alves International Airport, recently awarded Brazil’s best airport for up to five million passengers by the Ministry of Transport. Natal is the closest point in Brazil to Europe and one of the closest to North America.
Visit our Brazilian project website for more information.
