Compact Discussed at World Symposium on Sustainable Development at Universities

Posted on by clhanson

The City of Cambridge spoke about the Compact during the third annual World Symposium on Sustainable Development at Universities (WSSD-U). The three day event allowed participants to share ideas and innovative approaches to further universities’ sustainability efforts through work displays and presentations. This year the event took place September 14-16 on the campus of fellow Compact member MIT with the theme of “Designing Tomorrow’s Campus: Resiliency, Vulnerability, and Adaptation.” Collaborative community partnerships and engagement was one of five topics and where the City of Cambridge Director of Environmental and Transportation Planning, Susanne Rasmussen, highlighted the Compact’s framework, three-year work plan, and it’s unique business-city government-university partnership.

The full program of the WSSD-U can be seen here.

Compact Attends Envision America Midyear Check-In

Posted on by clhanson

In June we traveled to Austin, Texas for our Envision America 2016 midyear check-in! The weather was hot, the BBQ delicious, and the check-in a success. Cambridge, along with the other nine cities, spent the two days sharing progress on our smart city initiatives and the challenges we still face. Initiatives ranged from innovation labs to smart trees to smart transportation corridors and more. This check-in was a time for us to receive fresh outside perspectives and valuable feedback from other cities and Envision America’s partners.

Even though we may all have similar or different projects, we find value in conversing with each other because many challenges have transferrable solutions. It’s an idea similar to what Jeff Stepakoff wrote, “An apple tree is just like a person. In order to thrive, it needs companionship that’s similar to it in some ways, but quite different than others,” except applied to cities. We look forward to continuing conversations with our partners and future Envision America cities!

Envision America’s 2016 cities:

  • Cambridge, MA
  • Dallas, TX
  • Greenville, SC
  • Los Angeles, CA
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • New York City, NY
  • Pittsburgh, PA
  • Portland, OR
  • San Diego, CA
  • Spokane, WA