—Fernando Echavarria, U.S. Department of State
More than half of the world's population is now defined as urban and future population growth will predominately occur in cities in the developing world. The sustainability of urban areas is severely challenged by lack of access to basic infrastructure. The presentation will discuss how geospatial technology and information can help decision-makers better address urban infrastructure and management issues improving both urban livability and sustainability. It will also describe a public-private partnership that is harnessing the power of geospatial technologies and information to address these challenges. The U.S. Department of State, the Association of American Geographers (AAG) and other public and private partners have launched a program to increase the capacity of urban administrators and planners to use geospatial technologies to more effectively deliver services to their urban populations. The first phase focuses on the Middle East North Africa region but the partners plan to apply this framework to other developing regions.