Open Cities is a growing partnership that aims to catalyze the creation, management and use of open data to produce innovative solutions for urban planning and resilience challenges across South Asia.

Since its inception, Open Cities has brought together stakeholders from government, donor agencies, the private sector, universities, and civil society groups to create usable information through community mapping techniques, to build applications and tools that inform decision making, and to develop the networks of trust and social capital necessary for these efforts to become sustainable.

South Asia is one of the most rapidly urbanizing regions in the world. We have worked in three cities in the region to incorporate ideals of public participation and open data into disaster risk management and urban planning efforts. The process has been evolutionary, with opportunities for experimentation, learning, and adaptation incorporated into the project planning. We are currently finalizing plans for the next phase of Open Cities projects.