Cisco, cities work on being green

Cisco this week said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Metropolis, an association of 106 of the world's largest cities, to develop its plan for greener cities.

Podcast: Cisco-NASA team on green

Cisco will advise Metropolis on how to build a collaborative operating model between Metropolis member cities and establish an Urban Leadership Academy to demonstrate how future cities can use technology to foster cleaner public transportation, decrease pollution, offer access to citizen-centric services and support sustainable economic growth.

Cisco will collaborate with Metropolis over an initial two year period to develop new practices and enhance existing models in urban development and sustainability. The collaboration with Metropolis is part of Cisco’s recently launched global "Intelligent Urbanization" initiative, an effort to promote networks as a utility for integrated city management, quality of life and sustained economic development.

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Cisco this week said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Metropolis, an association of 106 of the world's largest cities, to develop its plan for greener cities.

Podcast: Cisco-NASA team on green

Cisco will advise Metropolis on how to build a collaborative operating model between Metropolis member cities and establish an Urban Leadership Academy to demonstrate how future cities can use technology to foster cleaner public transportation, decrease pollution, offer access to citizen-centric services and support sustainable economic growth.

Cisco will collaborate with Metropolis over an initial two year period to develop new practices and enhance existing models in urban development and sustainability. The collaboration with Metropolis is part of Cisco’s recently launched global "Intelligent Urbanization" initiative, an effort to promote networks as a utility for integrated city management, quality of life and sustained economic development.

Under the agreement, Cisco and Metropolis will develop 'Vision 2030,' a long-term plan for sustainable cities enabled by networked technologies. They will also explore establishing regional Innovation Centers where selected cities and Cisco will develop new urban service management tools.

Cisco and Metropolis also plan to develop training and skills programs on how cities can use technology to drive sustainability. Training modules will target city leaders, urban planners and practitioners.

Cisco says it will also create a digital collaboration platform for Metropolis members, consisting of its WebEx, TelePresence and other Web 2.0 technologies.

This week’s announcement builds on Cisco's involvement with Connected Urban Development, a public-private partnership that includes cities such as San Francisco, Amsterdam, and Seoul to help promote sustainable urban development practices.

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