A 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.
urban policy
Positive change is happening in cities, but it’s often lost in a sea of bad news about air pollution, rising costs of living and traffic jams. Projects from Dar es Salaam, Medellín, Pune and more provide inspiration.
From 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.
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.
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.
Cities in Brazil, India and Indonesia are using the new Urban Community Resilience Assessment tool to prepare for a warmer world.
Prepared Communities
Implementing the Urban Community Resilience Assessment in Vulnerable Neighborhoods of Three Cities
Climate change affects poor and marginalized communities first and hardest. Particularly in cities, a lack of access to basic services, a long history of unsustainable urban development, and political exclusion render the urban poor one of the most vulnerable groups to climate induced natural...
Communities in Rio de Janeiro and Porto Alegre are particularly vulnerable to flooding and other climate risks. A new tool helps them find ways to adapt that also benefit the poorest members of society.
Nearly 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.
A debate in Delhi about how to finance the metro rail system offers lessons for the rest of the world. WRI India CEO O.P. Agarwal explains.