On the higher end of the technology spectrum is a growing interest in using sidewalks — and the people who walk on them — as energy generators. A U.K. company called Pavegen has created a recycled rubber paving tile that converts the pressure of pedestrian footsteps into kinetic electricity. The tiles have been installed in train stations, playgrounds, and offices throughout the U.K. and France, and are used as an off-grid power source for street lamps, harvesting the energy of thousands of footsteps.
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