How Cities Can Beat the (Extreme) Heat
How Cities Can Beat the (Extreme) Heat
In January 2024, the Central Business District of Cape Town, South Africa, endured a historically brutal day of heat: temperatures climbed to 44 degrees C – the highest ever measured in the city. But on that same day, people in other parts ...
Ciclovía at 50: What We Can Learn from Bogotá’s Open Streets Initiative
Ciclovía at 50: What We Can Learn from Bogotá's Open Streets Initiative
Livability is key to the quality of city life as we look to the future. We don’t have to look far into that future to see how this plays out on the streets. On Sunday, December 15, 1974, a group ...
Detroit Passed the First Law Giving Communities a Say in Development Projects. Here’s What Happened
Detroit Passed the First Law Giving Communities a Say in Development Projects. Here’s What Happened
In 2019, Stellantis (then known as Fiat Chrysler) announced a $2.5 billion plan to expand and modernize two of its auto assembly plants in Detroit. This triggered the city’s Community Benefits Ordinance (CBO) — a unique law that requires companies ...
Decoding Subnational Climate Budgeting in Maharashtra, India
Decoding Subnational Climate Budgeting in Maharashtra, India
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) recently launched Mumbai’s first-ever climate budget, making it the first city in India and the fourth in the world (after Oslo, New York and London) to launch a climate budget. While Mumbai works to expand and institutionalize their ...
Europe’s Cities Should Prepare for Hotter, More Hazardous Days Ahead
Europe’s Cities Should Prepare for Hotter, More Hazardous Days Ahead
Europe is the world’s fastest warming continent, which is severely impacting cities and leading to tens of thousands of deaths, rising hospitalizations, school closures and people adjusting their lives to avoid inhospitable outdoor conditions.  The oppressive heat is being felt across the ...
Public Participation Is the ‘Missing Link’ in Effective Urban Heat Mitigation
Public Participation Is the ‘Missing Link’ in Effective Urban Heat Mitigation
In Mathare – a collection of informal settlements northeast of Nairobi, Kenya, housing more than 500,000 residents – heat is reshaping daily existence. Most buildings in Mathare are constructed from materials like corrugated metal, which trap and magnify heat, forcing ...
How Ride- and Bike-Share Programs Can Play an Important Role in Latin America
How Ride- and Bike-Share Programs Can Play an Important Role in Latin America
Moving around cities in a variety of ways is getting easier and more convenient: whether it’s improved public transportation systems, wider sidewalks or more dedicated bike lanes. With the rise of smartphone technology and GPS, shared mobility services — like ...
The State of Electric School Bus Adoption in the US
The State of Electric School Bus Adoption in the US
Editor’s Note: This article was updated with new findings as of October 2024 from WRI’s Electric School Bus Data Dashboard, which is updated monthly and contains the most recent data on electric school bus adoption. Previous versions of this article are ...
The ACWA Platform: Guiding Africa’s Cities Towards a Water-Resilient Future
The ACWA Platform: Guiding Africa’s Cities Towards a Water-Resilient Future
In a time of polycrises – from economic and political instability to health and environmental emergencies – water is a resource that cannot be relegated to the background. Especially in urban environments, water demand is ever-increasing and in too many ...
Countries Have Been Overlooking Their Biggest Climate Allies: Local and Regional Governments
Countries Have Been Overlooking Their Biggest Climate Allies: Local and Regional Governments
Cities are home to more than half the world’s population: 4.4 billion people commuting, working, eating, shopping, and using light, heat and air conditioning. As a result, cities collectively produce over 70% of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions warming the planet. They ...