Yokohama City University, taking the opportunity of its participation in the CITYNET Yokohama Congress 2009, spearheaded the establishment of the International Academic Consortium for Sustainable Cities (IACSC) with an aim to provide academic support in addressing urban issues. The IACSC promotes cooperation amongst universities located mainly in Asian cities and assists individual municipalities in propelling city-to-city cooperation. The consortium also collaborates with multilateral and bilateral organizations including the World Bank, JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) and IGES (Institute for Global Environmental Strategies) as close partners to work on various urban issues in the fields of the environment, urban planning, and public health.

The IACSC aims to develop cooperation, to foster dialogues and discussions, to encourage sharing of information and resources and to promote research and collaborative activities among academic and research institutions as well as to strengthen relationship among universities and cities to contribute to a sustainable society.

In order to address urban problems in partnership with international organizations and academic institutions mainly located in Asia, Yokohama City University established the Global Cooperation Institute for Sustainable Cities in April 2011. The GCI tries to tackle global urban agendas through research aand educational activities with other IACSC member institutions.

*CITYNET: The Regional Network of Local Authorities for the Management of Human Settlements