Blog Posts: cities

Nicholas Walton gets on the phone with Raj Bhagat Palanichamy, an expert in cities and water for WRI India, to understand why Chennai ran out of water—and what can be done to prevent residents from going thirsty.

While making buildings more energy-efficient is the cheapest way to reduce emissions, the energy efficiency improvement rate is actually slowing down. Eskişehir, a Turkish city of 870,000, is showing cities around the world how they can lead on building efficiency.

Chennai's four main reservoirs are virtually dry. This crisis is not only due to last year's poor monsoon season—lack of proper management is driving the city's water security problems.

A new WRI working paper finds that though cities are hotspots for opportunity, many urbanites find it increasingly difficult to access these benefits, rendering jobs, healthcare and education increasingly out of reach for millions of people.

Looking at four studies of scooter safety, it's clear that one factor outside riders' control needs to be studied more: road design.

Durban's Warwick Junction was once a dangerous marketplace slated for demolition. Today, nearly half a million shoppers pass through its colorful stalls every day, thanks to a collaborative effort from street vendors, local authorities and a non-profit.

Read this post in English.

Medellín, Colombia llegó a ser la capital de asesinatos del mundo cuando la explosión global del comercio de drogas en los años 80 elevó los niveles de crimen en la ciudad, y la sumergió en un estado de continua ilegalidad. Las comunidades en los barrios más pobres adyacentes al Valle de Aburrá estaban en las líneas de fuego de la violencia y el caos.

Hoy en día, Medellín es otra ciudad.

Nuevos comercios y plazas...

Air pollution is bad for your health—most people know that. But did you know it's also responsible for lower crop yields, reduced solar energy generation and changes in rainfall?

Many cities have set renewable energy goals. Some are achieving them through innovative ways, such as legislation, banding together to pool their buying power, partnering with utilities and community solar programs.

105 cities with populations over 1 million should begin to switch their vehicles, stoves, and furnaces to electric-powered alternatives.