Connected Places Catapult is developing an exciting new programme working with our strategic global partner ICLEI South America and the governments of Guadalajara (Mexico), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Campinas (Brazil) and Monterrey (Mexico). The programme will develop long-term business-led research and innovation collaborations between these cities and the UK to address city-level challenges related to climate change and resilience utilising UK expertise.
Funded by the UK Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) via the Science and Innovation Network, this programme will identify local net-zero and resilience weaknesses and form challenge calls with local partners to create collaborations merging local and UK expertise. The programme will then seek to test these solutions in a real-world environment and create a platform to expand these solutions with funding from local development banks and the private sector.
More specifically, the programme will:
- Work with four Latin American partner cities, to further refine their current sustainability challenges. With Monterrey, the focus will be on water resilience.
- Select UK and local companies with solutions that can support the cities in tackling identified challenges
- Support UK and local businesses in exploring synergies between their solutions and incentivise them to explore internationalisation opportunities.
- Create the foundations for co-development and testing of the solutions in a real-world environment in the four selected geographies.
- Work with three observer cities to develop or expand on their existing net zero , which analyse the urban innovation response of each city to climate issues.
The vision is to support the cities in their journey towards net zero, create more opportunities for bilateral trade, investment, and equitable and inclusive economic growth.
Challenges:
- Buenos Aires – Last-mile logistics
Optimise last mile logistics to meet increasing demand for deliveries and reduce the number of freight vehicles in the city centre. - Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara – Mobility
Improve the public transport service by enabling data-driven solutions to provide real time information. - Campinas – Mobility / Last-mile logistics
Enable data-driven transport planning and services to encourage a transition to sustainable transport modes. - Monterrey – Water resilience
Implement changes and solutions that improve the city’s water resilience.
To find out more about the programme, register for the webinar.
