Rich Knox

UCF

"A smart sustainable city is an innovative city that uses information and communication technologies (ICTs) and other means to improve quality of life, efficien...cy of urban operation and services, and competitiveness, while ensuring that it meets the needs of present and future generations with respect to economic, social, environmental as well as cultural aspects". The vision of United Smart Cities is to galvanize innovative partners to collaborate with local/regional governments and the United Nations to build leverageable, transformational and scalable solutions for cities. The program represents one of the most extensive global initiatives in the field of Smart Cities, serving as a multi-stakeholder platform for an active collaboration of the private and public sector, as well as cities, civil society and finance sector to jointly force and implement innovative smart urban solutions. • Support cities to set up Smart City structures, strategies and develop Smart City plans; • Introduce and integrate new technology and private sector partners; • Introduce investments and financing options for city projects, both public and private funds; • Serve a an interlocutor between the private sector and the Untied Nations programs establishing innovative and scalable city solutions; • Communication platform for exchange and learning between cities. • Global Marketplace: Global marketplace for cities, the private sector and finance, for project matchmaking and service offerings