Mexico

With WRI’s help, people in African, Asian and Latin American cities can get around more safely and sustainably because walking, biking and public transport are now easier and more accessible. Together, these changes contribute to progress on Sustainable Development Goal 11, which aims to improve access to public space and sustainable transport, reduce road deaths and promote active living.

The Challenge

Many cities across the world are built for cars instead of pedestrians, cyclists and public transit users, reducing access to schools, jobs and physical activity. The lack of sound urban infrastructure can be deadly: 1.25 million people die in traffic crashes each year. One key to improving road safety is to support coordination, communication and exchange of perspectives among stakeholders and decision-makers in such areas as transport, planning, education, health and traffic enforcement.

WRI’s Role

WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities helps cities in low- and middle-income countries improve planning, policy and design to make streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists. Our support includes reports and guidance documents, as well workshops and training to improve capacity and coordination. For example, WRI and partners have advised Indian cities on India’s first fully-automated public bike-sharing system. WRI also helped expand car-free Raahgiri Days to neighborhoods in 40 cities across India.

The Outcome

With support from WRI, over 10 cities changed street design to enhance walking and cycling and improve access to public transport. For example, there are new bicycle lanes in Fortaleza, Brazil and Bogotá, Colombia; new pedestrian infrastructure in Mumbai, India, and Accra, Ghana, new measures to reduce traffic speeds in Bogotá and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and expanded public spaces in Bandung, Indonesia. Bogotá has adopted a Vision Zero Road Safety Strategy, while in India, WRI supported the expansion of public bike-sharing from one city in 2017 to more than 15 cities in 2018. In Fortaleza, traffic deaths dropped by 40% from 2014 to 2018. In India, the state of Haryana directed all districts to initiate Raahgiri Days in their district capitals, helping to create demand for safer walking and cycling infrastructure. By the end of 2018, 800,000 people in Haryana had taken part in a WRI India-supported Raahgiri Day.

WRI worked with officials in Bogotá, Colombia, and Mérida, Mexico, to adapt and adopt national-level guidance on energy-efficient buildings, creating effective local regulations that now serve as models for other cities.

The Challenge

Buildings are a prime candidate for improving energy efficiency: buildings account for one-third of global energy use and a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions—and improving efficiency of buildings saves money. Yet the lack of appropriate policies, regulations and enforcement pose significant challenges, even when cities have access to technology and funding. In Colombia and Mexico, for example, national guidelines on building efficiency were ineffective because cities and towns lacked the means to translate these into practical regulations.

WRI’s Role

The WRI report, Accelerating Building Efficiency, Eight Actions for Urban Leaders_, provided a framework for city action. The Building Efficiency Accelerator (BEA), a WRI-led public-private collaboration, provides technical assistance and peer-learning platforms for dozens of cities to improve building efficiency.

In Mexico, WRI trained officials in Mérida on how to use the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and conducted an analysis that showed potential savings from building efficiency regulations. WRI also convened working groups and established a high-level steering committee to oversee the process of adapting and adopting national building efficiency guidance into local regulations, bringing together key actors from government, industry, civil society and academia.

In Colombia, through the BEA and in collaboration with the Colombia Green Building Council, WRI advocated for the adoption of an energy-efficient building code in Bogotá and brought in additional expertise to advise on adapting the national guidelines into city policy. WRI and partners worked with Bogotá and the national government to improve the national guidance on sustainable buildings, which city officials had found difficult to translate into local regulation.

The Outcome

In 2018, Bogotá and Mérida became the first cities in their countries to adapt and adopt national guidance into mandatory regulations, providing financial benefits to building owners and operators by reducing energy and water consumption. City residents will benefit from reduced air pollution and the creation of new green jobs. Colombia and Mexico will be able to report additional progress on their commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As Bogotá and Mérida are both rapidly-growing cities, the use of energy-efficient building practices will also avoid locking in long-lived, carbon intensive infrastructure. This precedent shows the way for other cities to do the same. City participation in the BEA has grown rapidly in both countries, and in both countries local BEA partners are now working to replicate this process and outcome for other cities.