British expert: Shusha smarter than some European cities

Shusha is one of the smartest cities, perhaps even smarter than some European cities, Marcelina Zielinska, director of the UK Board of Directors at Chapman Taylor, said at the panel discussion "Promoting an Inclusive, Green, and Sustainable Future for Karabakh" at the 3rd National Urban Development Forum of Azerbaijan (NUFA3), Report informs.

"Shusha has electric buses, and it's safe to say that 100% of public transportation runs on electricity. There's an underground waste collection system, so there are no unpleasant odors, and all of this is accompanied by waste recycling. The city has four types of waste sorting containers, and these aren't ordinary bins-waste is disposed of downstream," she said.

Zielinska noted that Shusha is also a "green city."

"It's a walkable city, a '15-minute city,' which is a very smart approach. Not just smart, but the most sensible approach, given that there are many definitions of a 'smart city.' For example, the EU identifies six dimensions of a smart city, and for us planners, the most important are the environment, smart ecology, smart mobility, and smart living. Regarding smart mobility, it's crucial to have an integrated transportation system, and Shusha already has the 'Shusha card,' which integrates transportation with entry to museums and various leisure facilities. It's even smarter than what we have in London. We can go on and on about how smart Shusha is, but one thing is clear: there's nothing random or unreasonable about it. The city is very well planned and genuinely invests in modern technology," she added.