Posts tagged with 'data'
How Citizen Science Is Cooling Neighborhoods in Mexico
How Citizen Science Is Cooling Neighborhoods in Mexico
“The heat is terrible,” said Nadia, describing life in her hometown of Hermosillo, Mexico. “To get to work, we’re forced to take the bus because if you walk, you dehydrate. It’s impossible to walk.” Scorching temperatures affect more than just ...
4 Levers for Addressing Africa’s Housing Crisis
4 Levers for Addressing Africa’s Housing Crisis
The thirteenth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) convenes this month in Baku amid converging geopolitical and economic shocks: conflict-driven energy spikes, rising debt burdens and persistent inflation. Around the world, these shocks are squeezing public budgets and household incomes alike.  ...
Most Cities Are Getting Hotter. Not All Residents Feel It Equally
Most Cities Are Getting Hotter. Not All Residents Feel It Equally
On a hot day in February 2024, volunteers dispersed across Cape Town, South Africa, with sensors affixed to their cars. Their aim was to measure heat differences across the city. In Cape Town’s dense, highly developed center, they recorded air temperatures ...
From Infrastructure to Impact: 3 Lessons on Jobs and Growth From Transforming Transportation 2026
From Infrastructure to Impact: 3 Lessons on Jobs and Growth From Transforming Transportation 2026
Last week, WRI Ross Center co-convened the 23rd edition of Transforming Transportation with our partners at the World Bank. Supported by FIA Foundation, the forum in Washington, DC, brought together more than 5,000 in-person and online participants, reflecting the event’s ...
Tangible Insights: Planning for Resilience With Physical Maps
Tangible Insights: Planning for Resilience With Physical Maps
In most urban planning meetings, stakeholder engagement begins and ends with presentations. Data is shared, reports are circulated and challenges are discussed. This format often misses fostering the hands-on participation needed to tackle the local realities of climate change.  What ...
Modernizing Ports Is a Major Untapped Opportunity for a Healthier Planet
Modernizing Ports Is a Major Untapped Opportunity for a Healthier Planet
If global shipping were a country, it would rank among the world’s top six emitters of climate-harming gases (GHGs). Eighty percent of international trade — fundamental to the global economy and the goods we use in our everyday lives — travels by sea from ...
Meet CityMetrics: An Open-Source, Interactive Tool for Analyzing Urban Risks and Opportunities
Meet CityMetrics: An Open-Source, Interactive Tool for Analyzing Urban Risks and Opportunities
Which neighborhoods are suffering the most from rising urban heat? Where is flooding the biggest challenge? What other cities around the world are struggling with air pollution, and what can we learn from those that have improved the quality of ...
Bogotá, Colombia, Uses Data and Smart Urban Design to Cut Air Pollution
Bogotá, Colombia, Uses Data and Smart Urban Design to Cut Air Pollution
Nestled in the Andes, Bogotá’s mountainous landscape traps air pollutants, sometimes cloaking the Colombian capital in a dusty smog. The consequences have been severe. The city’s poor air quality resulted in an estimated 2,300 excess deaths in 2019. In 2023, ...
The State of Climate Action in 2025: 10 Key Findings
The State of Climate Action in 2025: 10 Key Findings
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, a watershed moment on climate action when more than 190 countries agreed to pursue efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) above pre-industrial levels. Achieving ...
New Tool Helps Cities Select and Scale Nature-Based Solutions
New Tool Helps Cities Select and Scale Nature-Based Solutions
As cities try to restore the benefits of natural systems by mimicking how ecosystems function, one option they can use is nature-based solutions (NBS). However, cities often struggle to determine which types of interventions best suit their local context, due ...
After a Devastating Earthquake, Marrakech Plans to Build Back Better
After a Devastating Earthquake, Marrakech Plans to Build Back Better
In September 2023, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Morocco, killing over 3,000 people and devastating communities and infrastructure across Greater Marrakech. The Marrakech Medina, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site, was hit particularly hard. ...
To Fight Urban Sprawl, Cities Must Increase Access to Public Green Spaces
To Fight Urban Sprawl, Cities Must Increase Access to Public Green Spaces
Sprawl is a known and widespread challenge for rapidly growing cities across the world. Unplanned, inefficient development encroaches on natural resources and ecosystems, often reaching far beyond established transit networks. Residents of sprawling urban areas often face socioeconomic vulnerabilities and ...
Piloting Environmental Assessments in Urban Micromobility
Piloting Environmental Assessments in Urban Micromobility
As micromobility becomes a more widespread part of urban transportation, many city governments are eager to understand the environmental impacts of shared electric scooters and bikes. However, implementing cities often find that evaluating the environmental impact of micromobility is challenging. ...
Transforming Transportation 2025: What Did We Learn?
Transforming Transportation 2025: What Did We Learn?
Transforming Transportation 2025 is in the books. After a year of geopolitical turmoil and escalating climate impacts, the transport sector is seeing rapid change on multiple fronts. Across two days of events, leaders in government, business, academia and civil society ...
Beyond the Thermometer: 5 Heat Metrics That Drive Better Decision-Making
Beyond the Thermometer: 5 Heat Metrics That Drive Better Decision-Making
The way scientists and policymakers measure heat as they seek to combat rising temperatures across the world’s cities requires more nuance than just looking at the daily outdoor temperature. There are a variety of tools that can help show a ...
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