Welcome
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.
Recent News, Events & Media
Sustainable South Bronx (SSBx) and Columbia University's Cool City Project Release Study:
Urban Heat Island Mitigation Strategies Can Improve New York City's Environment
On October 15, 2008, with partial support from CSUD, Sustainable South Bronx (SSBx) and Columbia University's Cool City Project released the study "Urban Heat Island Mitigation Strategies Can Improve New York City's Environment." Written in partnership with the Cool City Project, the SSBx study found that widespread use of vegetated and highly reflective surfaces in New York City's built environment could improve the City's environment, public health and economy.
Read the SSBx press release
Read the complete paper
CSUD Premieres Documentary Film:
Innovations for an Urban World: A Global Urban Summit
In May, 2008, the Center for Sustainable Urban Development (CSUD) premiered the documentary film "Innovations for an Urban World: A Global Urban Summit." The half-hour film is based on a series of four week-long meetings held at the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Center in July, 2007, which brought together a variety of key stakeholders to highlight opportunities to address the challenges faced by the world's fastest growing population group – the urban poor.