blog post
by and - Decarbonizing the transport sector would create a cleaner, healthier and more affordable future for everyone, and it can be done without sacrificing the interconnectedness we've come to expect from modernity.
transport
publication
by Christopher Moon, Anne Maassen, Xiangyi Li and Sebastian Castellanos - October 2019The overarching goal of this publication is to provide a practical, easy-to-navigate reference document to help practitioners decide if or how to adopt electric and hybrid-electric bus fleets for public transport in their cities. Designed for an action-oriented policy audience looking to learn from experiences of other cities, this publication provides evidence-based answers to questions about recent developments in the electric and hybrid-electric bus space.
blog post
by Anne Maassen and Madeleine Galvin - July 23, 2019Projects like Barcelona's "superblocks" and Atlanta's Beltline are showing cities how to adapt to growing environmental and economic pressures.
news item
WRI’s new working paper, From Mobility to Access for All: Expanding Urban Transportation Choices in the Global South, was launched today at the International Transport Forum summit.
blog post
by Thet Hein Tun, Maria Hart and Anjali Mahendra - May 22, 2019A 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.
publication
by Xiangyi Li, Camron Gorguinpour, Ryan Sclar and Sebastian Castellanos - May 2019This report offers a nine-step framework that can be used by cities at all stages of developing electric bus transit. It aims to fill in knowledge gaps and provide actionable guidance to help cities and bus operators overcome the most common and debilitating barriers to electric bus adoption. Key actions are identified for various stakeholders under different development stages.
publication
by Ryan Sclar, Camron Gorguinpour, Sebastian Castellanos and Xiangyi Li - May 2019This report identifies and presents the main barriers that cities face when implementing electric buses, especially in the global south. Analysis for this report is based predominately on 16 WRI-conducted case studies and framed by a literature review. Six key barriers under three categories are identified.
publication
by Christo Venter, Anjali Mahendra and Dario Hidalgo - May 2019This working paper describes the decline in access to jobs, services and people that many cities are facing due to the confluence of two trends: rapid urbanization and motorization. In analyzing two cities in the global south – Mexico City and Johannesburg – we found that up to half of urbanites experience restricted access, leading to high travel burdens and/or exclusion from opportunities. This paper highlights three key action areas for cities to improve access: rethinking the role of streets and who they serve, shifting to integrated transport systems, and tempering the demand for private vehicle use.
blog post
by Anna Bray Sharpin - May 06, 2019While dozens of cities have taken the "Vision Zero" pledge to end traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries, many are struggling to make progress. Evidence from London, Bogota and other cities reveals three ways to redesign streets to save lives.
blog post
by Alejandro Schwedhelm, Anna Bray Sharpin and Claudia Adriazola-Steil - May 03, 2019Looking at four studies of scooter safety, it's clear that one factor outside riders' control needs to be studied more: road design.
blog post
by Madeleine Galvin and Anne Maassen - March 28, 2019In just two decades, Eskişehir went from a polluted and crumbling post-industrial city to a bustling model of sustainability. The Eskişehir Urban Development Project established a network of green spaces and accessible streets, all linked by a new electric tram.
publication
by Erin Cooper, Erin Kenney, Juan Miguel Velásquez, Xiangyi Li and Thet Hein Tun - March 2019This technical note is intended to help bus operators and transit agencies make informed decisions about alternative bus types during the preliminary analysis phase and to help them determine whether the transition to a “clean fleet” is financially viable and worthwhile based on expected emissions reductions.
blog post
by Emma Stewart and Eric Mackres - February 04, 2019The benefits to zero-carbon cities—clean air, green jobs, energy savings, reduced climate impact—are immense. Here's a manifesto for achieving them.
blog post
by Aniruddha Dasgupta and Guangzhe Chen - January 17, 2019Bike shares, electric scooters, ride-hailing services and other "micromobility" options are exploding. But governments can’t afford to sit back and be spectators – they need to ensure that this mobility revolution benefits everyone.
publication
by Christopher Moon, Anna Bray Sharpin, Iván De La Lanza, Azra Khan, Luca Lo Re and Anne Maassen - January 2019This paper provides questions and answers to some of the important concerns city officials have as it relates to bike sharing, especially as a new generation emerges including dockless and electric bikes, scooters, and increased private sector involvement. It seeks to unpack some of the challenges cities are currently facing, including concerns over regulation, public space management, safety and proper infrastructure, and service reliability, among others.
publication
by Srikanth Shastry, Sahana Goswami, Anil Markandya, Aarsi Sagar, Indro Ray, Zeba Aziz, Sandeep Paul, Madhav Pai, Anirudh Tagat and Apurba Chatterjee - December 2018Using a social cost accounting (SCA) methodology, this research estimates the market and non-market costs associated with the delivery of urban water, sanitation, transport and energy services in 4 case study cities.
blog post
by Andrew Steer - December 10, 2018China's electric vehicle mandate has driven innovation around the globe, an illustration of the kind of "ambition loop" that drives businesses and governments to bring out the best in one another.
blog post
by Catlyne Haddaoui - November 15, 2018Nearly 70 percent of us will call cities home by 2050. To ensure that cities reap the economic benefits of this population boom, though, research shows they need to grow up, not out.
blog post
by Dan Lashof and Camron Gorguinpour - October 04, 2018Electric car sales hit U.S. records this year, with almost 66,000 sold just in July and August, more than double the number sold during the same period in 2017. Media campaigns can help spur this growing demand, but in the absence of federal leadership, automakers need to step up to support this low-emissions mode of transport.
publication
by Lalitha Kamath, Robin King, Himanshu Burte and Avinash Madhale - August 2018This case study in the World Resources Report, “Towards a More Equal City,” examines the processes of transformative change and the conditions enabling and inhibiting it in Pune, the second largest city in Maharashtra state, India. Many initiatives across diverse sectors have had a positive, qualitative impact on sustainability and service provision in Pune, particularly in its solid waste and transport sectors. These initiatives reflect important shifts in the local government’s attitudes and systems towards greater sustainability and equity and have had a positive impact on many lives.