Accelerating Building Efficiency Improvements in Latin America
Accelerating Building Efficiency Improvements in Latin America
Energy efficiency improvements in the building sector can yield significant financial and environmental benefits including reduced energy costs, decreased greenhouse gas emissions, improved occupant health and increased local employment.  However, long standing market and policy barriers stand in the way ...
New Rules of the Road in Mexico City
New Rules of the Road in Mexico City
This week, Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera celebrated the Day of the Pedestrian by announcing strong new policies to reduce speed limits and to increase penalties for dangerous driving. In doing so, he ushered in a new era of traffic safety ...
How Two Community Groups Are Successfully Fostering Bike Culture in Brazil
How Two Community Groups Are Successfully Fostering Bike Culture in Brazil
Nossa Cidade (“Our City”), from TheCityFix Brasil, explores critical questions for building more sustainable cities. Every month features a new theme. Leaning on the expertise of researchers and specialists in WRI’s sustainable urban mobility team in Brazil, the series will feature in ...
President Obama’s Challenge to Cities: An Opportunity for Global Climate Action
Obama Speech UN
Yesterday, the number of US cities pledging to reduce emissions with the Compact of Mayors nearly doubled. With 19 cities in the U.S. already signed onto the Compact—a global coalition of mayors dedicated to climate action—this most recent move brings the ...
From Ideas to Implementation: How to Improve Capacity for Better Public Leaders
From Ideas to Implementation: How to Improve Capacity for Better Public Leaders
How do we make cities work for people? As a WRI Helms Fellow on Urban Governance and Sustainable Cities, Maria Antonia Tigre was tasked with answering this question. Through From ideas to implementation: making sustainable cities through governance here on TheCityFix, Maria ...
Jaime Lerner: Innovating in Brazil and the Future of Urban Transport
Jaime Lerner: Innovating in Brazil and the Future of Urban Transport
Jaime Lerner, a three-term mayor of Curitiba, turned the city into a model for quality public transport. In the 1970s, for example, Lerner created bus priority corridors—a new transport mode that was cheaper than metro but just as effective. Jaime ...
Friday Fun: Three Cities that Are Transforming Public Space with Street Pianos
Friday Fun: Three Cities that Are Transforming Public Space with Street Pianos
When walking in downtown Hangzhou, China, one can safely expect to see a healthy variety of pedestrians, traffic, and commercial high rises.  Dig a little deeper, however, and you may also find locals and tourists belting out Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata ...
The 7 Features of a Successful BRT Station
The 7 Features of a Successful BRT Station
Have you ever ridden Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)? First implemented in Brazil, this relatively new mode of transport can be found in 194 cities around the world and is proving to be an effective and viable solution for urban mobility challenges. Unlike more traditional bus ...
Using Bikes to Improve Mobility in Rio de Janeiro's Favelas
Using Bikes to Improve Mobility in Rio de Janeiro's Favelas
Nossa Cidade (“Our City”), from TheCityFix Brasil, explores critical questions for building more sustainable cities. Every month features a new theme. Leaning on the expertise of researchers and specialists in WRI’s sustainable urban mobility team in Brazil, the series will feature in ...
3 Ways Land-Use Planning and Zoning Can Increase Urban Density
3 Ways Land-Use Planning and Zoning Can Increase Urban Density
Where would you feel safer walking alone at 3 A.M: a busy, heavily trafficked street, or a loosely populated section of a sprawling city? Most people would likely choose the former. Indeed, higher population densities can make city streets feel ...