Posts tagged with 'urban services'
For Women in Nairobi’s Informal Settlements, Floods Don’t End When the Water Recedes
For Women in Nairobi’s Informal Settlements, Floods Don’t End When the Water Recedes
When floodwater entered Virginia’s single-family home in Mathare, an informal settlement in Nairobi, it washed away much more than her furniture — upending all her sources of security while reshaping her life. Before the floods, she owned 15 rental rooms, ...
Bogotá’s Vision for a Climate-Resilient Urban Future
Bogotá’s Vision for a Climate-Resilient Urban Future
Well-located housing — integrated with mass transit, public services and climate-resilient design — is an instrument of urban productivity, not an add-on to urban planning. In Bogotá, this integration is becoming central to how the city responds to accelerating climate ...
In Mumbai’s Urban Peripheries, a Shared Autorickshaw System Is Redefining First- and Last-Mile Connectivity
In Mumbai’s Urban Peripheries, a Shared Autorickshaw System Is Redefining First- and Last-Mile Connectivity
In the peripheral areas of Mumbai, the humble autorickshaw provides a vital link between homes, transit stations and essential urban services. For nearly 13 million residents, shared autorickshaws function as essential first- and last-mile connections, helping commuters navigate areas where ...
Solving World's Housing Crisis Requires More Than New Construction
Solving World’s Housing Crisis Requires More Than New Construction
There’s a growing housing crisis that’s impossible to ignore. Consider the stats: Nearly 3 billion people lack access to housing that is both safe and connected to basic services like energy, water and sanitation. Around 40% of the world’s population lives in ...
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 ...
Using Spatial Analyses to Help Build Thriving, Resilient Communities in US Cities
Using Spatial Analyses to Help Build Thriving, Resilient Communities in US Cities
Picture this: you wake up on a Sunday morning and hop on a bike with your family or a close friend. Within a few minutes you arrive at a coffee shop, order your drink of choice while listening to the ...
Reviving Nairobi's Libraries Is Building Healthier Communities
Reviving Nairobi’s Libraries Is Building Healthier Communities
At Eastlands Library in Nairobi, Kenya, students compare notes and work through assignments as music from a tree-lined courtyard drifts through the windows. In another part of the library, a dance instructor is leading a group of children through breathing ...
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 ...
Istanbul and the 15-Minute City: A Feasible Vision or an Urban Myth? 
Istanbul and the 15-Minute City: A Feasible Vision or an Urban Myth? 
Cities are complex ecosystems shaped by countless interactions between infrastructure, ecology and human life. As evolving technologies, shifting social norms, climate change and political instability reshape the urban landscape, these systems face increasing pressure. Rapid urbanization, in particular, has made ...
World’s Informal Housing Crisis Demands a Climate Response
World’s Informal Housing Crisis Demands a Climate Response
When floods hit my hometown in Kenya last year, it was the poorest communities who suffered most. In Nairobi, where more than 3 million people live in vulnerable homes made of wood, sheet metal and concrete — many in low-lying ...
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 ...
Bottom-Up Experiences in Recife and Teresina Underpin Brazil’s New National Policy on Urban Peripheries
Bottom-Up Experiences in Recife and Teresina Underpin Brazil’s New National Policy on Urban Peripheries
Building solutions for urban peripheries — the sprawling, poorly served, low-income informal neighborhoods on the outskirts of Brazilian cities — requires recognizing their value. Brazilian peripheries, while poor, often have knowledge, organizational forms and collective practices that are already helping ...
As Countries Step Back, Neighborhoods Unlock Climate Action
As Countries Step Back, Neighborhoods Unlock Climate Action
The transformation of Buenos Aires’ Rodrigo Bueno neighborhood over the last decade is remarkable. What was once an informal settlement lacking sewers and clean water is now a thriving, diverse community where residents own their homes. A new street system and electrical ...
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 ...
India’s Electric Bus Revolution Isn’t Just for Megacities
India’s Electric Bus Revolution Isn’t Just for Megacities
Imagine living in a country where everyone has access to clean, affordable public transportation to reach their jobs, schools and healthcare needs without relying on polluting fossil fuels. That vision isn’t too far from where India hopes to be by ...
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