About Capitals Alliance

A nation’s capital plays a vital role in establishing a country’s identity. Capital cities function as a major urban hub while also serving as a nation’s seat of government and its ceremonial center. Capitals Alliance, an organization of capital cities worldwide, serves as an international forum for exchange on the unique symbolic and functional role of national capitals.

In 2001, the capital cities of Brasilia, Canberra, Ottawa, and Washington formed Capitals Alliance to provide a global forum for senior planners and urban designers in capital cities around the world. Through Capitals Alliance, planners and public policy officials exchange ideas and solutions with international colleagues on the unique challenges facing national capitals.

The founding partners are proud to engage with leaders of current and future world-class capital cities. We invite you to learn more about Capitals Alliance and to consider participating in the next gathering tentatively scheduled for fall 2011.

Urban Mobility in National Capitals

Mobility and transportation affect our daily lives in many ways. Transport is therefore one of the most important factors affecting both quality of life and quality of the world's environment.

So how do some of the world’s most recognizable national capitals develop green transit policy that will lead to long-term sustainability? Attendees at the recent Capitals Alliance in Brasilia discussed strategies, plans, and projects that help create a new culture for sustainable urban mobility.

They heard from leading experts in urban transportation, including Brasilia's own Guto indio da Costa, architect and designer of the Express Transportation System and American professor Robert Cervero, a specialist in urban transit policies. For more information on the March 2010 program, please visit the meetings page.