Featured Content

New!
The Connected Urban Development program

An overview of the Connected Urban Development program, with quotes from keynote speakers at the global conferences in San Francisco and Amsterdam.

> Watch Video 

Connected Urban Development (CUD) is a partnership between Cisco and cities around the world to create urban communications infrastructures that demonstrate how network connectivity can reduce carbon emissions in urban environments. By using network connectivity for communication, collaboration, urban planning, and other activities, CUD will help change the way in which cities do the following:

• Deliver services to residents
• Manage the flow of traffic
• Operate public transportation
• Use and manage real estate resources

Changing the way cities operate has a positive impact on the ways in which citizens work, live, and play.

Launched in 2006, CUD is a 5-year program, in which Cisco has invested US$15 million in people, research, and equipment to help create a global community of cities committed to addressing environmental sustainability.

Connected Urban Development is one of two Cisco initiatives that were born from Cisco's participation in the Clinton Global Initiative, an endeavor of the William J. Clinton Foundation to develop innovative solutions for some of the world's most pressing challenges.

The second initiative, Carbon to Collaboration, is an internal program that focuses on reducing the overall carbon footprint of Cisco employees. In 2008, the overall footprint was reduced by 10 percent To achieve this, Cisco encouraged employees to replace air travel with communications tools that allow meetings to be conducted in a virtual collaboration space over the network.

In the first phase of CUD, partnerships were established with the cities of Amsterdam, San Francisco, and Seoul to support their innovative use of technology in reducing carbon emissions, while fostering economic growth at the same time.

During this phase, three Connected Urban Development conferences took place. The first conference, "Connecting Cities: Innovation for Sustainability," was cohosted by Cisco and the city and county of San Francisco February 20—21, 2008. The event brought together city business leaders and planners, researchers, and academics from around the world to share best practices in sustainability and develop innovative environmental solutions. (Learn more about Connected Urban Development Global Conference 2008 in San Francisco)

Following the success of the San Francisco event, Cisco and the city of Amsterdam cohosted the second CUD conference in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, September 23—24, 2008. The conference theme was "Connectivity for Sustainability," a main topic of the CUD initiative. The conference provided a platform for attendees, world-class thought leaders, and public officials to participate in interactive sessions and workshops designed to explore new and innovative ways to develop information and communications technology solutions for urban sustainability. (Learn more about Connected Urban Development Global Conference 2008 in Amsterdam)

The most recent Connected Urban Development Global Conference was held in Seoul, South Korea May 21—22, 2008. Cohosted by Cisco and the city of Seoul, the topic of the Seoul conference was "Connecting Cities for Sustainable Living: An Urban Revolution."

Now in its second phase, CUD welcomes four additional cities—Madrid, Spain; Lisbon, Portugal; Hamburg, Germany; and Birmingham, England—to this collaborative community. Each will focus on developing information and communications technology solutions to meet their own, specific environmental and transportation challenges. (Learn more about Connected Urban Development)

Visit the Connected Urban Development collaboration website
Download presentation materials from Connected Urban Development Global Conference Seoul
Download presentation materials from Connected Urban Development Global Conference San Francisco
Download presentation materials from Connected Urban Development Global Conference Amsterdam