Building Smart and Sustainable Cities and Regions: Current Trends Globally, Nationally, and Locally

On October 16-18, Penn IUR co-hosted “Swedish-U.S. Exchange of Views on Smart and Sustainable Cities.” The two-day event brought together a Swedish delegation of urban experts with urbanists from the U.S., and included presentations and roundtable discussions, site visits, and a public event. The exchange was organized by a host committee consisting of Global Futures Inc, NYC Economic Development Corporation, Regional Plan Association, and Penn IUR.

The delegation presentations and roundtable focused on innovation in cities, and site visits included: Swedish Residence; HUB at GCT; Kings County Hospital/Clarkson Avenue; New Lab, Brooklyn Navy Yard; Center for Architecture; Mastercard Tech Hub; and Cornell Tech/Roosevelt Island. The public event, held on October 18, was titled “Building Smart and Sustainable Cities and Regions: Current Trends Globally, Nationally and Locally.” The event focused on how cities across the world are discovering unique ways to become smarter and more sustainable.

Members of the Swedish Delegation included: Allan Larsson, Chair, Viable Cities; Olga Kordas, Director, KTH Energy Platform, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Director Viable Cities; Jonas Kamleh, Deputy Head, Urban Development and Climate, City of Malmö; Johan Gammelgård, Director, Sustainable Development, City of Umeå; Mikael Anneroth, Expert Position, Ericsson Research; Ann-Sofi Gaverstedt, Teknikföretagen, also Senior Advisor, Swedish Energy Agency; Jennie Cato, Head of Unit Products and MarketsTeknikföretagen; Micael Hagman, Senior Advisor, Swedish Energy Agency; Sofia Hedstrom de Leo, Head of Trade and Business Promotion, Consulate of Sweden; and Sibia Will, Head, International Business and Strategy, SWECO.

Members of the U.S. Delegation included: Jerry Hultin, Chairman and Co-Founder of the Global Futures Group and the founder of Smart Cities New York; Richard Voith, President, Econsult and ESI Thought Lab; Sander Dolder, Director, Associate VP, NYC Economic Development Corporation; Tom Wright, President, Regional Plan Association; John Paul Farmer, Director, Technology and Civic Innovation, Microsoft; Andre Correa D’Almeida, Adjunct Associate Professor, SIPA, Columbia University; Frances Resheske, Sr. VP Corporate Affairs, Con Edison; Gregory Elcock, Director, State Regulatory Affairs, Con Edison; Maddie Callis, Director, City Possible Project, Mastercard; Antonia Stroeh, SVP of Government and Development and Strategic Growth, Mastercard; David Roll, Portfolio Manager, Norges Bank; Allison Lassiter, Assistant Professor, Smart Cities Program, University of Pennsylvania; Eugénie Birch, Nussdorf Professor, University of Pennsylvania; Amy Montgomery, Managing Director, Penn IUR; and Arnaud Sahuguet, Director, The Foundry, Cornell Tech.