Mayor of London Sadiq Khan wants to make the capital a world leading smart city

London mayor Sadiq Khan has revealed ambitious plans to tackle climate change in the city with the help of tech startups and make the capital a world leading “smart city”.

A new incubator, Better Futures, will help 100 small businesses in the capital with funding and other support to create low-carbon and climate friendly technology.

The venture is the first step in the mayor’s vision to make London a so-called smart city.

“My ambition now is to harness the new technologies that are being pioneered right here to transform London into the world’s leading smart city,” said Khan at the opening of London Tech Week.

“The potential for cutting-edge technology to tackle a host of social, economic and environmental challenges is immeasurable. From air pollution and climate change to housing and transport, new technologies and data science will be at the heart of the long-term solutions to urban challenges.”

And Ford will locate a new European smart cities research centre in the capital, based at Here East, the new tech hub in Stratford’s Olympic park.

Separately, a new accelerator has been launched for startups using technology to help people with disabilities, including areas such as: accessible and affordable housing, transportation and how big data and analytics can be used to improve lives.

The programme will be run with University College London and Plexal. The Global Disability Hub will be chaired by former paralympian Lord Chris Holmes.

“I have personally benefited from assistive technology and believe truly inclusive design not only removes barriers to disabled people but also, essentially, benefits everyone by leading to ground breaking technological solutions or applications and truly excellent design,” he said.