Sister Cities: The Secret to More Sustainable Urban Transportation

Since the first establishment of Monterrey as a sister city in 1953 (Mexico), San Antonio has continued its efforts in gaining partnerships with cities like Gwangju, South Korea (1981), Kumamoto, Japan (1987), and Darmstadt, Germany (2017). The city boasts 12 agreements with sister cities around the world, with 2 friendship cities in the making. Through these partnerships, sister cities globally have made a commitment to collaborative efforts that support the development of educational, cultural, economic, social, industrial, and economic sectors. The focus now shifts to recent demands made by the UN regarding emission reduction. To explore more sustainable approaches for public transportation in urban settings, this study will provide a comparison between San Antonio and its sister cities when it comes to predominant modes of transport, project outlines in each respective transportation department and optimal examples of sustainable transportation. The goal of this research is to characterize the extent of collaborative influence stemming from sister city agreements on existing transportation policy, focusing on realistic projects that promote sustainability in the city of San Antonio, Texas.