Mastercard Grows City Possible Network

Mastercard has announced the expansion of its City Possible network to more than 40 members, including more cities in Brazil and one in New Zealand, according to a release.

“Cities around the world share similar issues — above all building strong local economies and prosperity for everyone, everywhere in their cities,” said Miguel Gamiño, executive vice president of enterprise partnerships and head of global cities at Mastercard. “By bringing city leaders together to surface shared challenges and connect them to the insights and solutions of academics, businesses and NGOs, City Possible is pioneering a path to making cities more inclusive and sustainable, drawing on the collective expertise and resources of all stakeholders.”

The new cities include Augusta, Georgia; Madre De Deus, Brazil; New Orleans, Louisiana; Seat Pleasant, Maryland and Wellington, New Zealand, among others.

City Possible was launched in November of last year with the goal of improving public transit, city services access and foster forward-thinking urban planning for the betterment of cities.

One of the initiatives, called City Insights, is to help community leaders better use analytics with the purpose of understanding the community. It’s being tested in Dublin, London and Helsinki to aid policymakers in understanding the economic impact of various events.

Mastercard hopes that City Possible members will take advantage of the City Insights initiative to help mitigate potential troublesome issues with the city, like natural disasters. On the other hand, it can also be used to bolster economic growth and identify opportunities for local investment.

“For too long, we have been dependent on outdated information and anecdotal evidence to make critical decisions,” said Jamie Cudden, Smart City Lead for Dublin City Council. “The collaboration with City Possible by Mastercard has allowed us to move to an evidence-based approach to urban development. This will help our city go farther, faster, and ultimately do more to support the communities we serve.”