Case Studies
To augment the thematic working papers, a series of eight city-level case studies from the global south are also underway. These case studies examine the conditions that enabled or obstructed transformative urban change. In close collaboration with members of the WRR team, each city-level case study is led by local authors deeply familiar with the case study city.
This case study in the World Resources Report, “Towards a More Equal City,” tells the story of the Via RecreActiva – a ciclovía, or bike path, in the city of Guadalajara, Mexico. More than 60 kilometers of streets are closed every Sunday for this event, drawing more than 220,000 people. The Via RecreActiva exemplifies how a public space intervention can alter the social and political fabric of a city, sparking broader transformative change to...
This 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 paper reviews the evidence on whether Johannesburg’s TOD strategy has helped reduce spatial inequality in the city—and if so, how.
In 2013, Johannesburg launched its flagship TOD initiative, The Corridors of Freedom (COF) program. COF was one iteration of a...
This case study in the World Resources Report, “Towards a More Equal City,” examines transformative urban change in Kampala, Uganda, by following its sanitation reforms. The research follows the political process that created favorable conditions for the implementation of innovative solutions to sanitation service provision. This paper also reviews the evidence on whether the sanitation reform triggered a transformative change with equitable outcomes in...
This case study in the World Resources Report, “Towards a More Equal City,” examines transformative urban change in Ahmedabad, India, by analyzing the land pooling and readjustment mechanism called Town Planning Scheme (TPS). This paper reviews the evidence on whether the TPS mechanism has enabled transformative change with equitable outcomes in Ahmedabad City—and if so, how.
This case study in the World Resources Report, “Towards a More Equal City,” examines the processes of transformative change and the conditions both 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 between the 1990s and the present....
This case study in the World Resources Report, "Towards a More Equal City," examines transformative urban change in Porto Alegre, Brazil, through the lens of participatory budgeting. The research focuses on whether and how transformative change has taken place in the city between 1990 and the present.
Porto Alegre pioneered participatory budgeting beginning in the 1990s and the model has since spread throughout Brazil and the world, with more...