Access cities – a Global Alliance for Sustainable Urban Development

Access Cities is an international, public-private project, which aims to strengthen the sustainable urban development in five cities, i.e. New York, Singapore, Munich, and Denmark’s Aarhus and Copenhagen.

The project is funded by The Danish Industry Foundation which has allocated EUR 1.2 million over the coming two and a half years to establish a cooperation between local forces in the involved cities. Moreover, it has been co-funded by the project partners, EIT Climate-KIC, Danish Cleantech Hub, Quercus Group, Confederation of Danish Industry, The Danish Trade Council, The Danish Cities of Copenhagen and Aarhus, and State of Green, which acts as a Project Manager.

One of the key objectives is to explore the possibilities of building long-term relationships with big cities that are experiencing growth. This will be done through increased efforts to connect foreign stakeholders with Danish solutions. Denmark is internationally renowned for its greentech solutions, and it is paramount that these competencies are put into play through the new initiative. Access Cities will create concrete cooperation opportunities within areas such as water, waste, energy, mobility, climate adaptation, lighting, buildings and data management. The project partners have different backgrounds and competencies, and will, among other things, ensure matchmaking so that Danish solutions come into play through relevant local partners.

“Urban areas grow everywhere in the world. The urbanisation creates a demand for sustainable products and solutions – something that Danish companies are able to deliver. But market access can be difficult to achieve. With the Access Cities project, a locally-based approach is established. This will identify new business opportunities and build a bridge for relevant stakeholders who seek solutions to specific challenges. In addition, a global alliance is created by organisations and players within innovation and urban development. It can gather new knowledge and innovative ideas to support Danish companies’ efforts to create even better products and collaborations in the long term”

Mads Lebech, CEO of the Danish Industry Foundation

The most pressing sustainability challenges we are facing today demand for innovative, viable and scalable solutions that the project aims to foster.

International partner group ensures local presence

The project’s partner group also includes international collaborators and local project staff in Singapore, Munich and New York. The international partners in the alliance will be door-openers to local stakeholders and funding opportunities. In Singapore, it is Nanyang Technological University, one of the world’s leading technical universities. In Munich, the local anchoring happens at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Innovation Centre and the prominent Technische Universität München, while Urban Future Lab, the city’s leading cluster for smart urban solutions, is the focal point in New York.

“With Access Cities, Danish business opportunities are strengthened in cities with a very interesting export potential. Not least, small and medium-sized enterprises will be able to strengthen their contact with decision-makers in the cities and thereby cultivate future business, but also help bring new knowledge to Denmark”

Finn Mortensen, CEO of State of Green

Read more about the project, its partners and the markets on the Access Cities website.