March 20, 2009

CISCO has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with METROPOLIS—an association comprising 106 cities from around the world—to develop its “Vision 2030” for sustainable cities around the world. As part of this MoU, Cisco will advise Metropolis on how to build a collaborative operating model between member cities and establish an Urban Leadership Academy to demonstrate how future cities can effectively use technology to advance clean public transportation, decrease pollution through intelligent urban development, offer pervasive access to citizen-centric services and support sustainable economic growth.

“The
21st Century will be the century of metropolises,” said Jean Paul
Huchon, president of Metropolis. “Today, more than half the world’s
population lives in urban areas, and this phenomenon is set to rapidly
increase. The main priority of Metropolis today is to offer the best to
these metropolises and their populations. Signing with Cisco is very
important for our network to develop the best way to build sustainable
cities and to strengthen our goal, which is the exchange of information
and experience.”



Under the terms of the MoU, Cisco and Metropolis agreed to collaborate on the following main areas:



•
Develop the “Vision 2030” for Sustainable Cities: Cisco and Metropolis
will develop a long-term vision for sustainable cities enabled by
networked technologies.



•
Collaboration for Urban Innovation: they will explore the possibility
of establishing regional Innovation Centres. These centres will anchor
implementation actions on different policy areas, associating the
selected cities and Cisco to develop new platforms and tools to manage
urban services.



• Cisco
will provide strategic advice on the program and support the
development of a partnership approach in urban innovation for
Metropolis and its business associates, with a specific focus on
technology and business partnerships.



• Create
a digital collaboration platform for Metropolis members: Cisco will use
its collaborative solutions to facilitate the creation of a
collaborative operating model between Metropolis and its member cities.



•
Establish an Urban Leadership “Academy”: Cisco and Metropolis aim to
jointly develop a framework, with training and skills programs, that
demonstrates how cities can use technology more effectively to drive
sustainability. Training modules will also help city leaders, urban
planners and practitioners better understand the potential role and
impact of networked technologies on the performance of their cities.