project
Building sustainable, adaptive, resilient urban water systems
urban development
blog post
by Delfina Grinspan, John-Rob Pool, Ayushi Trivedi, James Anderson and Mathilde Bouyé - September 29, 2020The correlation between urban tree cover and income is well-documented in cities around the world, and is often a by-product of historic inequality. However, cities can proactively address inequality, build resilience and improve residents' lives by making green spaces more equitable.
publication
by Peter Kerins, Emily Nilson, Eric Mackres, Taufiq Rashid, Brook Guzder-Williams and Steven Brumby - June 2020This technical note describes the data sources and methodology underpinning a computer system for the automated generation of land use/land cover maps of urban areas.
publication
by Jyot Chadha, Ojas Shetty and Srikanth Shastry - February 2020This paper explores the environmental impact of Shuttl, a demand-responsive bus service, in the National Capital Region of India.
news item
World Resources Institute is pleased to welcome Rogier van den Berg as the new Director of Urban Development for WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.
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.
blog post
by Raj Bhagat Palanichamy - June 25, 2019Chennai'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.
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 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.
blog post
by Sarah Parsons - April 12, 2019From a student safety initiative in Dar es Salaam to a massive mixed-use development in Manhattan, projects around the world are transforming the world's cities. WRI's Courage to Lead dinner brought together leading architects, real estate developers, urban planners and other innovators to discuss the future of cities.
blog post
by Anne Maassen and Madeleine Galvin - April 05, 2019Durban'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.
blog post
by Madeleine Galvin and Anne Maassen - April 03, 2019More than a dozen students are killed or injured in road crashes every year at some schools in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. One project is helping kids get to school safely simply by making small changes to city street designs.
blog post
by Maria Hart and Jillian Du - March 26, 2019Every 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.
blog post
by Jillian Du and Anjali Mahendra - January 31, 2019New 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.
publication
by Anjali Mahendra and Karen C. Seto - January 2019This thematic paper in the World Resources Report, “Towards a More Equal City,” produced in collaboration with Yale University, analyzes data on urban expansion by measuring both the outward growth and upward growth in 499 global cities. It examines the challenge of rapid outward expansion for cities in the global South and highlights strategies cities can take to manage urban growth in a way that ensures more equal and productive cities.
event
January 31, 2019
The launch event of the new working paper, Upward and Outward Growth: Managing Urban Expansion for More Equitable Cities in the Global South, co-authored by Karen Seto (Yale University) and Anjali Mahendra (WRI). This is the fifth paper in WRI’s flagship World Resources Report, Towards a More Equal City.
publication
by Edgar Pieterse and Kate Owens - December 2018This case study in the World Resources Report, Towards a More Equal City, examines transformative urban change in Johannesburg, South Africa, through transit-oriented development (TOD). The Corridors of Freedom program aims to help reduce spatial inequality in the city by extending bus rapid transit to many new areas and spur new or improved infrastructure for non-motorized transport, social facilities and public infrastructure.
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 Lubaina Rangwala and Lauretta Burke - December 17, 2018Cities in Brazil, India and Indonesia are using the new Urban Community Resilience Assessment tool to prepare for a warmer world.
publication
by Lubaina Rangwala, Lauretta Burke, Retno Wihanesta, Katerina Elias-Trostmann and Mandakini Chandra - December 2018This report highlights how the Urban Community Resilience Assessment (UCRA) was piloted in three cities, its potential to build more climate-resilient cities and communities, and ways to enhance the tool for future implementation.