Hatch and World Council on City Data forge global partnership

Partnership with city data leader extends Hatch's smart growth in infrastructure sector

TORONTO, Dec. 7, 2015 /CNW/ - Hatch, a global engineering and consulting firm with expertise in the infrastructure, mining and metals, and energy sectors, today announced a strategic partnership with the World Council on City Data (WCCD), a world leader in standardized city data and metrics. As urbanization around the world drives new and established cities to find ways to achieve their social and economic goals more productively, understanding how cities can improve is key.

Hatch and the WCCD will jointly promote the critical role that ISO-certified city data can play in developing new solutions for planning and infrastructure challenges faced by urban communities in the twenty-first century. The two organizations also will build innovative tools to map and analyze urban trends and associated city responses. 

"Together, Hatch and WCCD will provide a combination of practical, useful data and expertise on how cities can use this to meet their goals," said Martin Doble, Hatch's Global Managing Director of Infrastructure. "In an era of increasing urbanization, this partnership will focus on providing better solutions to some of the toughest challenges facing cities, in ways that allow cities and communities to plan for real improvements and economic prosperity."

As a WCCD lead partner, Hatch will join the WCCD Global City Leaders Advisory Board, chaired by Senator Art Eggleton, former mayor of Toronto. The WCCD is an initiative originally established in Ontario, Canada, and Hatch is a leading Canadian firm with project experience in more than 150 countries. 

"High quality standardized data is key to understanding the complex and interconnected challenges facing cities. Once understood, it is possible to identify practical and cost-effective solutions," said Professor Patricia McCarney, President and CEO of the WCCD and Director of the Global Cities Institute at the University of Toronto. "Hatch, as one of the world's most respected engineering and consulting firms, is a great partner to drive this data-driven solutions agenda for cities around the world."

Hatch and the WCCD have already started working together on data analytics, opportunities to optimize infrastructure investment, and growing the network of WCCD ISO-certified cities. Metropolitan areas in Asia, Europe, North America, South Africa, and Australia are initially targeted as locations where comparable data in such areas as transportation, energy, environment, water, waste and emergency response will contribute to improved city planning and decision-making.

About Hatch (www.hatch.ca)
Hatch is an employee-owned, multidisciplinary professional services firm that delivers a comprehensive array of technical and strategic services, including consulting, information technology, engineering, process development, and project and construction management to the mining, metallurgical, energy, and infrastructure sectors. Hatch has served clients for over six decades with corporate roots extending over 100 years. With over 10,000 people in over 65 offices, the firm has more than $35 billion in projects currently under management.

About World Council on City Data (http://www.dataforcities.org)
Established in 2014, the WCCD is operationalizing ISO 37120 across cities globally – the first international standard for indicators on city services and quality of life. With 100 indicators, around 17 themes supporting city services and quality of life, ISO 37120 data is accessible through the WCCD Open City Data Portal which allows for cutting-edge visualizations and comparisons. The World Council on City Data Foundation Cities include: Boston, Toronto, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, Bogota, Guadalajara, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Helsinki, London, Rotterdam, Barcelona, Minna, Johannesburg, Amman, Makkah, Dubai, Haiphong, Makati, Shanghai, and Melbourne. 

SOURCE HATCH

Nancy White, Director of Marketing, Hatch, Tel: [phone], Email: [email protected]; James Patava, Director of Communications, WCCD, Tel: [phone], Email: [email protected]