Posts tagged with 'public health'
Cool Roofs: An Underused Tool for Reducing Heat
Cool Roofs: An Underused Tool for Reducing Heat
Cities and towns in the Mediterranean and the Middle East have long used white or light-colored roofs and walls to help keep people cool. Today, cities from Ahmedabad to Singapore are also turning to cool roofs to reduce urban heat ...
The Best Defense Against 'Natural' Disasters Is Nature Itself
The Best Defense Against ‘Natural’ Disasters Is Nature Itself
I’ve watched in horror as Europe burns. Ferocious wildfires have swept through Spain, France and now Greece, scorching towns and forests and spewing toxic smoke. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes. Many will have little left to return to. European ...
How Is the World Coping With Extreme Heat?
How Is the World Coping With Extreme Heat?
From hydration breaks during the FIFA World Cup to recent heat waves leaving Europe sweltering in an early summer, extreme heat is reshaping daily life. Around the world, communities are adapting in real time to increasingly high temperatures. During Europe’s ...
Environmental Justice Lives On in Local Communities Despite Federal Rollbacks
Environmental Justice Lives On in Local Communities Despite Federal Rollbacks
As the federal government advances rollbacks of more than 100 environmental and climate policies and resources, it is redefining the U.S. government’s role in protecting communities disproportionately impacted by pollution — and diminishing opportunities for communities to make decisions that impact their ...
Preparing Health Systems for Climate Risks Saves Lives — and Pays Off
Preparing Health Systems for Climate Risks Saves Lives — and Pays Off
Climate change is one of the greatest health threats we face. By 2050, it could claim nearly 16 million deaths across low- and middle-income countries. Extreme heat, the spread of climate-sensitive diseases like malaria and cholera, and disruptions to hospitals and other healthcare could ...
Urban Trees: An Underused Tool for Keeping People Cool
Urban Trees: An Underused Tool for Keeping People Cool
On a hot summer afternoon, the difference between one city block and the next can feel like a different world. On one street, the sun beats down from above while the pavement radiates heat from below. Just around the corner, ...
In This Indonesian City, Community-Led Design Is Improving Water and Sanitation
In This Indonesian City, Community-Led Design Is Improving Water and Sanitation
On rainy days, Meliana Mei walks along an elevated pathway from her home in Makassar, Indonesia, to the market. Water collects in trenches below the path and drains away, giving her a much safer way to reach her destination. “Our ...
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 ...
City Governments, Experts and Communities Unite to Address Heat and Health Challenges in Belo Horizonte and Campinas
City Governments, Experts and Communities Unite to Address Heat and Health Challenges in Belo Horizonte and Campinas
When the weather heats up in Belo Horizonte, residents of Morro do Papagaio get creative. “A lot of people put their blankets in the refrigerator,” said Amanda Lima, a 24-year-old university student, activist and resident of the south-central region of ...
The Atlanta Beltline Paves a Path Toward a Healthier, More Connected City
The Atlanta Beltline Paves a Path Toward a Healthier, More Connected City
Early on a weekday morning in Atlanta, a familiar choreography unfolds along a landscaped path: High school students stream north to class; middle schoolers head south, backpacks bouncing as they bike; electric scooters zip past joggers and dog walkers, while ...
This Hillside City in South America Rebuilt Itself Around Nature — and Got Healthier
This Hillside City in South America Rebuilt Itself Around Nature — and Got Healthier
On most mornings, Cati Ochoa walks the green corridor along the Zamora River near her home in Loja, Ecuador, before starting work. The moment she steps beneath the trees, she feels her shoulders drop. “Green areas give us peace,” she said. ...
How Multilevel Action Advances Colombia's Economic Transformation and Climate Goals
How Multilevel Action Advances Colombia’s Economic Transformation and Climate Goals
Cities are on the front line of climate impacts. They are home to most of the world’s population and economic activity and generate the majority of global emissions. Yet they’re also hubs of innovation and implementation, putting them at the center of ...
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 ...
Are Countries’ New Climate Plans Ambitious Enough? What We Know So Far
Are Countries’ New Climate Plans Ambitious Enough? What We Know So Far
2025 is a pivotal moment for climate action. Countries are submitting new national climate commitments, known as “nationally determined contributions” or “NDCs,” that will shape the trajectory of global climate progress through 2035. These new commitments will show how boldly ...
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