San Francisco, US : Earlier this year Urban Integrated Inc, part of the urban institute group, joined the business council of the US Conference of Mayors (www.usmayors.org). During its recent general meeting, Erwin Rezelman, President and CEO for Urban Integrated, was invited to speak at the Energy Independence and Climate Protection Task Force, chaired by Mayor Bill Finch of Bridgeport and Mayor James Brainard of Carmel. Mayor Finch has championed the topic of sustainability and took Bridgeport through some remarkable changes on the road to create a more sustainable city. [ui!] and Bridgeport have been discussing the opportunities of smart city solutions in the sustainability plan. This was closely aligned to the topic of the presentation which showed how smart city initiatives go hand in hand with sustainability and can drive new revenue opportunities. In particular, how evidence management helps a city make better decisions enabled through [ui!] UrbanPulse as the platform to integrate the city sensor data streams.

The mayors conference provided a great opportunity to interact with over 300 mayors and their staff to share best practices and discuss ideas. This is integral to the concept of USCM. Besides the mayors, President Obama, the Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, presidential candidates Hilary Clinton and Martin O’Malley, Carlos Santana, MC Hammer and many other notable speakers provided key notes or joined the specialist’s panels.