Helping Local Leadership Navigate a Global World
Dr Hochadel speaking at Dubai Future Forum, October 2022
Upcoming Speaking Engagements…
COP28, Expo City Dubai
Dr Hochadel has several speaking engagements at COP28 in Dubai from 27 November to 8 December 2023. Please use the contact button below for details.
Cape Town, South Africa
Dr Hochadel will be in Cape Town for various speaking engagements and partnership meetings the week of 22 - 26 January 2024. Please use the contact button below for details.
Previous Events…
Borneo, Malaysia World Congress
2 - 6 October, 2023: Dr Hochadel will be speaking at the World Congress on Innovation and Technology on: Decarbonising Cities
World Mayors Forum, Seoul, Korea
24 - 26 September, 2023: Dr Hochadel will be attending the World Mayors Forum in Seoul. The theme this year is “Liveable and Sustainable Cities: Forging an Inclusive and Resilient Future”.
People focused future cities.
Cities are more than just names on a map. Cities are where people live, work and play. More than ever, with climate change, pandemics and mass migration - cities are on the front lines of major change around the globe. We must not forget that cities are about people and when we think about innovation and technology to improve cities, we must think about the impact on people first to make cities better!
Project Highlights
Dr Hochadel runs large scale projects for both public and private clients around the world. The following is a sample of some of her recent work.
New Video uploaded in April 2020: Urban Links Africa - COVID EDITION
Urban Links Africa
By 2050, 2.5 billion more people will live in cities and almost 90 percent of that growth will be in either Africa or Asia. Three African cities have already grown beyond a population of 10 million and are considered megacities. More African cities, like Johannesburg and Nairobi, will soon become megacities. However, much of the urbanisation of Africa will be occurring in medium size cities. This rapid urbanisation provides great opportunities for African cities and their citizens, but also serious long-term problems if not managed well. Whilst much of the focus of current research and work is on the emergence of mega-cities, there is a growing epidemic of chronically under-resourced and ill-planned expansion of the rest of Africa’s cities that would see significant impact from equitable partnerships in innovation. The gap in medium sized cities with massive urbanisation is the area that the Urban Links programme seeks to address.
By developing mutually equitable partnerships between UK and African Innovators, this programme seeks to undertake research and deploy innovation and technology solutions across six cities - three Kenyan cities: Mombasa, Kisumu and Nairobi; and in three South African cities: Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg.
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates: Facilitating an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Based Economy
Sharjah, like many Gulf cities and nations, is seeking to transition from an oil and gas-based economy to one with a thriving entrepreneurship, innovation and research environment in a regional and global economy.
Dr Hochadel and Future Cities Catapult are currently partnering with the American University of Sharjah, sponsored by His Highness Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi. His Highness is establishing a world class innovation testbed; the new Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SRTI).
The Project involves a bespoke market analysis to understand the local drivers and attributes which facilitate an innovation location; a sample testbed of innovation and technology applications that are most applicable to Sharjah; and a formal UK Government to Sharjah Government bi-lateral industry innovation forum.
Government of India: Establishing a National Urban Innovation Hub for Indian Cities
India is struggling to balance both the need to provide basic infrastructure, with the desire to help Indian cities ‘leapfrog’ many of the challenges other cities have faced when seeking innovative urban transformation and resilience for the future. Dr Hochadel developed the original framework for the India innovation hub and is now partnering with the Government of India on implementation.
Joint Secretary Kunal Kumar, Mission Director for the India Smart City Mission at the Ministry for Housing and Urban Affairs, has built a large coalition around his vision for a National Urban Innovation Hub for India. The innovation hub will have both a physical presence in New Delhi as well as a digital platform that connects all of India’s 100 smart cities and provides a space to share learning and to bring in global best practice.
Praise for Local Leadership in a Global Era:
“Amy Hochadel has provided a practical set of policy recommendations for transformative, local city officials seeking to create entrepreneurial and sustainable global cities.” Keith Clarke, CBE, Chairman, Future Cities Catapult
“Local Leadership in a Global Era presents a unique look at the intersection of behaviour and policy in local government acting on the global stage. This book is a significant contribution to the body of literature in International Political Economy.” Leila Simona Talani, King's College London, UK
“Cities and local governments around the world are currently undergoing an exciting, dynamic and complex set of changes. In this important work Amy Hochadel provides a unique perspective to our understanding of 'how' and 'why' local elected officials are playing an increasingly influential role in the global marketplace.” Alan W. Cafruny, Hamilton College, USA
