Cities — home to more than half of the world’s population and counting — hold the promise of sustainably and equitably connecting people to economic opportunities, essential resources and one another. But reaching this potential requires building alignment across a range of complex and layered human systems, from housing to transport to infrastructure.

With cities on the frontlines of both climate and development challenges, they must rapidly and fundamentally transform to meet the needs of growing populations while also building resilience to escalating threats like heatwaves and floods.

WRI’s work on Urban Development takes an integrated approach that knits together proximity, access to essential services, resilient infrastructure and data-based decision-making to help cities realize their full potential. We are focused on creating livable neighborhoods for all: well-connected and resilient communities with equitable public spaces, plentiful nature and greenery, safe and affordable housing, and accessible resources and services. This place-based vision informs how we develop projects and help create better, more resilient cities. 

The Urban Development team brings deep expertise across multiple areas to help achieve this goal:

Affordable and Resilient Housing

Housing is the foundational link between people and the city. Far too many people — one-third of all city residents globally — live in inadequate or informal housing, which threatens their physical and financial security, economic productivity, and personal as well as community wellbeing.

The Urban Development team works to reduce the number of urban residents living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing, while supporting resilient, accessible housing development across neighborhoods. 

Urban Proximity and Connectivity

Over 1.2 billion people city dwellers globally are under-served, lacking access to one or more core urban services like running water, sanitation, electricity or transport. In many places, unplanned and rapid growth has outpaced municipal service provision, exacerbating this challenge. Lower-income residents often lack access to public space and natural areas too, which are vital for human health, community cohesion and climate resilience.

The Urban Development team focuses on improving access to green, open public spaces. We integrate this work closely with public and active transport planning and resilient housing to encourage smart density and ensure residents can efficiently access core services and connect with one another.

Climate-Resilient Urban Planning

From extreme heat to flooding, urban residents are already feeling the dangerous effects of climate change. Those who are most vulnerable, both socially and economically, are disproportionately impacted.

The Urban Development team works to integrate data-informed climate resilience strategies, from heat mitigation and adaptation approaches to nature-based solutions and urban forests, into efforts to improve quality of life for residents while increasing overall resilience to the impacts of climate change. We work within communities to build up local capacity to track risks and implement solutions, and we engage with governments to strengthen data capacity and knowledge to support long-term approaches to integrated planning.