Managing Behavior and “Building Culture” for Greater Efficiency
Managing Behavior and “Building Culture” for Greater Efficiency
In the past few years, large commercial building owners and managers have expressed growing interest in using behavioral strategies to improve their buildings’ performance. That interest often takes the form of “occupant engagement,” whereby tenants are encouraged to adjust their ...
The Big Gap in Habitat III: Making the New Urban Agenda Actionable
The Big Gap in Habitat III: Making the New Urban Agenda Actionable
On July 25, over 4,000 participants and negotiators from 142 countries came together for Habitat III’s Preparatory Committee Meeting in Surabaya, Indonesia. The purpose of the meeting was to finalize the New Urban Agenda (NUA)—a vision for the cities of ...
From the Bahamas to the Seychelles, Island Nations Fight Climate Change with Better Buildings
From the Bahamas to the Seychelles, Island Nations Fight Climate Change with Better Buildings
Facing environmental vulnerabilities like increasingly high temperatures, more frequent storm surges and a rising sea level, small island states have long been on the front lines of the fight against climate change. This existential threat has made some of the ...
India Is One Step Closer to Safer Roads with the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2016
India Is One Step Closer to Safer Roads with the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2016
Every year, approximately 1.25 million people die in road traffic crashes. In 2015, India recorded 146,133 road traffic fatalities, which means that the country accounts for over 11 percent of the global numbers. While India is home to roughly two percent of ...
Nossa Cidade: Redesigning One of São Paulo’s Peripheral Streets for Safety
Nossa Cidade: Redesigning One of São Paulo’s Peripheral Streets for Safety
  Nossa Cidade (“Our City”), from TheCityFix Brasil, explores critical questions for building more sustainable cities. Leaning on the expertise of specialists at WRI Brasil Sustainable Cities, the series features in depth articles on urban planning, sustainable mobility, resilience, road ...
Supercharging Investment in Sustainable Infrastructure: Perspectives from Boston
Supercharging Investment in Sustainable Infrastructure: Perspectives from Boston
Milton Bevington is Senior Advisor to the City of Boston under the City Energy Project. He guest-authored this post on the City of Boston’s work on sustainable infrastructure finance. The potential threat which climate change presents to the economy, public ...
Friday Fun: How Pokémon Go Is Creating a New Generation of Urban Explorers
Friday Fun: How Pokémon Go Is Creating a New Generation of Urban Explorers
In the past few weeks, if you’ve seen people roaming around, staring at their phones and spontaneously shouting with glee, or crowds of people inexplicably congregating in parks, there’s a good chance you’ve witnessed someone playing Pokémon Go. Since its ...
Live from Surabaya: Setting the Stage for the New Urban Agenda
Live from Surabaya: Setting the Stage for the New Urban Agenda
This week in Surabaya, Indonesia marks the last preparatory session (PrepCom3) before the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) in Quito, Ecuador in October 2016. The conference will bring together national governments, sub-national actors, decision-makers and ...
Thinking “Incrementally”: Addressing the Global Housing Deficit by Engaging the Poor
Thinking “Incrementally”: Addressing the Global Housing Deficit by Engaging the Poor
Surprising many in the architectural community, this year’s prestigious Pritzker Prize went to Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena. Though the award—often regarded as the Nobel Prize of architecture—prompts images of iconic skyscrapers or cultural centers, Aravena initially achieved fame for his firm’s ...
Tools for Developing Building Efficiency Goals and Tracking Performance
Tools for Developing Building Efficiency Goals and Tracking Performance
Gaurav Sharma is a property developer in Thane, a satellite city of Mumbai. His family firm prides itself on supplying high-quality, environmentally-friendly residential housing to India’s growing urban middle and upper-middle class. By setting ambitious efficiency goals for this new ...