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The mission of the Center for Sustainable Urban Development (CSUD) is to engage in and foster education and research for the advancement of physically and socially sustainable cities. CSUD concentrates on understanding, articulating and disseminating information about the unique and important challenges and opportunities of urban development in low- and middle-income countries, as well as in its home community of Metropolitan New York.
To fulfill its mission, CSUD engages in interdisciplinary analyses of the linkages between urban transport and land use to economic development, demographic shifts, population health and climate change. It collaborates with faculty, students and researchers across Columbia University, but its work stretches far beyond the university setting. Affiliates work on the ground with CSUD, both locally and internationally, with a variety of stakeholders including local universities, officials and community-based organizations to develop policies and plans to meet their goals for sustainable urban-based social and economic development.
Founded in 2004, CSUD is one of seven Centers of Excellence established by the Volvo Research and Educational Foundations. It is also supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. CSUD’s international pilot project site is located on the border of the Nairobi metropolitan area. Read more about this project.
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Recent News, Events & Media
Rebuilding Legacy Cities Book Launch co-sponsored by CSUD - January 26th, 2012
Lecture and Discussion - December 5, 2011
CSUD, the Institute for Latin American Studies and others are pleased to invite you to attend a lecture and discussion on December 5 with Carlos Leite on "Megacity Sustainability Indicators: Formal and Informal Urban Development in the Emerging-Market City of Sao Paulo." Click here to register. Click here for lecture info.
Call for Papers
The National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University® and Hofstra Cultural Center in partnership with Columbia University Center for Sustainable Urban Development and New York University Center for the Sustainable Built Environment present From the Outside In: Sustainable Futures for Global Cities and Suburbs
A Conference at Hofstra University Thursday-Saturday, November 8-10, 2012-More info
CSUD Graduate Student Team Completes Analysis of Governance Over Land in Cairo, Produce Collaborative Website with Egyptian Scholars and Activists – 24 August 2011
CSUD Director Sclar gives Guest Lectures in China – July 2011
CSUD and the Land Development and Governance Institute hosted Write-shop on Planning and Transportation in Kenya’s New County System – June 29, 2011
CSUD and the Land Development and Governance Institute to host Write-shop on Planning and Transportation in Kenya’s New County System – June 28, 2011
2010 Land Use Data Now Available for Nairobi GIS Maps - June 23, 2011
Read more about the Nairobi GIS maps project
Canadian TV station, BNN, interviews Elliott Sclar - June 1, 2011
Watch the interview
CSUD Scholar Affiliate Sarah Williams named a Leading Thinker in Urban Planning and Technology - April 26, 2011
The Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University and the Institute for African Studies present THE ART OF CITIZENSHIP IN AFRICAN CITIES: A two-day conference, May 6-7, 2011 - Read more
CSUD Director Sclar in The New York Times - April 4, 2011
CSUD Director Sclar featured in Chinese Social Sciences Today - February 24, 2011
Read the article in Chinese
Read the English translation