Jillian Du

Knowledge and Data Analyst, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities

Bio

As part of the Sustainable Cities’ Research & Knowledge Exchange team, Jillian Du focuses on advancing new research on how cities can create resilient, equitable communities while tackling climate change and ensuring economic opportunities. Her recent analytical work focuses on: urban inequality, urban water and sanitation access, urban climate resilience, and inclusive climate action planning. She plays a key role in managing WRI’s flagship publication, the World Resources Report: Towards a More Equal City, and the framing research for WRI’s Urban Water Resilience in Africa project. She also ensures that new knowledge is strategically integrated in on-the-ground projects and across workstreams at WRI.

Prior to joining WRI, Jillian worked as an environmental researcher and editor for The Wilson Center’s China Environment Forum and as an international educator in Taiwan and Vietnam. She holds a master’s degree from American University in Global Environmental Policy, and a B.A. from University of California – San Diego in Environmental Systems and Policy.

Jillian currently resides in Washington D.C. In her free time, she enjoys chasing frisbees or chasing her cat.

Blogs

Tackling Inequality in Cities is Essential for Fighting COVID-19
by Jillian Du, Robin King and Radha Chanchani - April 14, 2020
To curb the spread of the coronavirus, cities must address inequality. City preparedness and resilience are key to withstanding this and future crises.
We're Underestimating How Many People Lack Sanitation Services—and Ignoring the Best Solution for Many Cities
by Jillian Du, Victoria A. Beard, David Satterthwaite and Diana Mitlin - December 18, 2019
On average, almost two-thirds of urban residents across 15 cities in the global South lack access to safely managed sanitation, with access lowest in cities of South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
How to Prevent City Climate Action from Becoming "Green Gentrification"
by Maria Hart, Jillian Du and Caroline Coccoli - December 12, 2019
Urban climate action is good for the planet. How do you make it good for people, too?
In Gorakhpur, India, Citizens Use Nature to Prevent Floods
by Jillian Du - October 09, 2019
Monsoons have been stronger in northern India in recent years. Residents of one city are embracing a low-tech solution to control flooding: conserving farmland.
We're Grossly Underestimating the World's Water Access Crisis
by Jillian Du, Diana Mitlin, Victoria A. Beard and David Satterthwaite - August 13, 2019
Nearly half the population in 15 major cities in the global south lacks access to public piped water systems, with access lowest in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. For these households without public piped water, water from other sources is either too expensive or unsafe.
Public Space for Recreation Is Good for Cities. Guadalajara, Mexico Shows Us 3 Reasons Why.
by Maria Hart and Jillian Du - March 26, 2019
Every Sunday, Guadalajara closes more than 60 kilometers of streets to car traffic, opening them up for public use by pedestrians, cyclists and performers. Since starting the "Via RecreActiva," Guadalajara has more open space for recreation, a new collective image of public space and a revitalized movement for transit equity.
Too Many Cities Are Growing Out Rather than Up. 3 Reasons That’s a Problem
by Jillian Du and Anjali Mahendra - January 31, 2019
New WRI research shows that cities in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are expanding outward rather than vertically. As these places grow in population, continuing their unwieldy expansion outward could push them into economic, environmental and social crises.
Johannesburg Fights Inequality with Transit-Oriented Development
by Jillian Du and Valeria Lvovna Gelman - December 18, 2018
Like many other big, developing cities, South Africa's largest city struggles with spatial inequality, where good jobs and affordable housing are mismatched. To bridge the gap, they've turned to a new planning paradigm called transit-oriented development.
Informal Workers Make Cities Work For All: 3 Stories from Thailand, India and Colombia
by Valeria Lvovna Gelman and Jillian Du - May 29, 2018
More than 60 percent of workers are members of the informal economy. Instead of ignoring the informal economy, cities should plan for it; doing so will increase sustainability and productivity while protecting some of the world's least-advantaged.

External Publications

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Jillian Du

Tackling Inequality in Cities is Essential for Fighting COVID-19

We're Underestimating How Many People Lack Sanitation Services—and Ignoring the Best Solution for Many Cities

How to Prevent City Climate Action from Becoming "Green Gentrification"

In Gorakhpur, India, Citizens Use Nature to Prevent Floods

We're Grossly Underestimating the World's Water Access Crisis

Public Space for Recreation Is Good for Cities. Guadalajara, Mexico Shows Us 3 Reasons Why.

Too Many Cities Are Growing Out Rather than Up. 3 Reasons That’s a Problem

Johannesburg Fights Inequality with Transit-Oriented Development

Informal Workers Make Cities Work For All: 3 Stories from Thailand, India and Colombia

Untreated and Unsafe: Solving the Urban Sanitation Crisis in the Global South

Unaffordable and Undrinkable: Rethinking Urban Water Access in the Global South

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