Today, the U.S. Department of State, in partnership with ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, Resilient Cities Catalyst, and the Institute of the Americas, is thrilled to announce the 24 cities selected to participate in Cities Forward. This announcement follows the Cities Summit of the Americas in April 2023, where Secretary Blinken launched Cities Forward, the State Department's flagship urban sustainability initiative connecting local leaders in the Americas. The Cities Forward initiative furthers President Biden's commitment during the Ninth Summit of the Americas to create a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient future in the Americas.
129 cities from across Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States applied for this program, and we were inspired by these cities' commitment to urban sustainability and resilience. This level of interest reaffirms the critical importance of our collective work on sustainable urban development, and there will be future opportunities for cities that were not selected as Cities Forward participants.
The selected cities and their identified pairings are as follows:
- Montego Bay, Jamaica + Hoboken, New Jersey, United States
- Guatemala City, Guatemala + Dallas, Texas, United States
- Cartagena, Colombia + Denver, Colorado, United States
- Cali, Colombia + Baltimore, Maryland, United States
- Fortaleza, Brazil + Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States
- Rosario, Argentina + Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States
- Freeport, The Bahamas + Coral Springs, Florida, United States
- Manaus, Brazil + Stockton, California, United States
- Mérida, Mexico + Austin, Texas, United States
- Ambato, Ecuador + Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- Renca, Chile + Evanston, Illinois, United States
- Hermosillo, Mexico + Dubuque, Iowa, United States
