WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities
@wrirosscities
Helping cities make big ideas happen. A program of @worldresources.bsky.social. Producer of . Home of #PrizeForCities.
Most climate-focused capital is controlled by national governments, which can be bloated, slow and imprecise. Now, with help from #CHAMPclimate, some #cities, states and regions are bridging the funding gap. Read more via Inside Climate News ➡️ bit.ly/45NYgRI
Our analysis of 60+ #cities worldwide reveals a clear gap: Large areas of plantable land are often underutilized. By increasing 🌳 cover in parking lots & along streets, cities can reduce heat exposure & save lives. Read more 👉 bit.ly/4wbgXur How could trees cool your city? ➡️ coolcities.wri.org
🔥 Data from WRI's Global Nature Watch confirms that fires are burning more than 2x as much forest cover today as they did just 20 years ago. Wildfires can have immense impacts on #cities hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away. Now is the time to act. Read more 👉 bit.ly/4gaTFPA
Around the 🌎, #cities are meeting climate risk with local action. 🇮🇳 Bengaluru launched a heat collective. 🇿🇦 Johannesburg is building community gardens. 🇲🇽 Hermosillo is collaborating with residents on a cooling project. Read our July newsletter for more 🔗 bit.ly/4wGbtrL
From e-mobility to AI, 🆕 technology is transforming transportation — so how can these changes create opportunities for more people? Next March, experts from around the 🌍 will convene in Washington, D.C., 🇺🇸, to answer this question at #TTDC27. Stay tuned 👉 transformingtransportation.org
When it comes to global warming, every fraction of a degree matters. 🆕 WRI analysis explores how 1.5 & 3°C of warming might affect ~1,000 of the 🌏's largest #cities. See how your city could be affected ➡️ bit.ly/4bN3Mre Explore solutions with #CoolCitiesLab ➡️ coolcities.wri.org
Urban development & nature are often positioned as at odds with each other 🤼 — but nature can help us build healthy #cities. By implementing green spaces 🌳, cities can combat urban heat, boost native biodiversity & improve residents' mental and physical health. Read more 👉 bit.ly/45aSObz
The average global temperature is shifting — and so is the way we talk about it 🗣️. Our Data Scientist Ruth Engel dives into how heat-related communications 🤳 can reframe extreme heat as a public health hazard, rather than an ambient background condition. 👉 bit.ly/4pCtrZu
Record-breaking heat 🔥 is hitting #cities around the world. In an interview with @grist.org, our Senior Fellow Kurt Shickman shared how extreme heat is impacting human health and the future of climate action. Read it now ➡️ bit.ly/4fEWqbu
Dependence on imported fossil fuels ⛽ leaves economies vulnerable to geopolitical events far beyond their borders. As the conflict in Iran continues, Ethiopia 🇪🇹 is turning a moment of crisis into an opportunity to build a more sustainable, resilient & equitable transport system. ➡️ bit.ly/4vTfjwI
From boda bodas & marshrutkas to colectivos & tuk-tuks 🛺, paratransit provides crucial connections for millions of urban residents around the 🌏. Join us in Bangkok, 🇹🇭, for #GLOCON26, the 1st global convening on informal & shared mobility. Early bird prices available until July 15 👉 bit.ly/4f5pZ4v
With climate change and a severe El Niño underway, #cities need to understand heat’s effects on people and their health 🌡️. "We have the data and the solutions. It’s time for governments to use them,” 💬 WRI Ross Center's Eric Mackres and Drexel University's Usama Bilal. Read more ➡️ bit.ly/4wy8K39
From FIFA World Cup hydration breaks ⚽ to recent heat waves in Europe ☀️, extreme heat is already reshaping daily life. WRI’s Carter Brandon and Ruth Engel unpack how #cities are responding to urban heat, which solutions work and what we can do to prepare for a hotter future. 👉 bit.ly/4oU8Xea
2023–2024 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities finalist 🏆 Green Community Schoolyards has created safe, accessible green spaces for New Yorkers. Now, it's advocating for greener schoolyards across 🇺🇸, showing how locally grounded urban solutions 🌳 can shape broader policy conversations. 👉 bit.ly/4y0XOwp
At #LCAW2026, the Research on Infrastructure in Developing Economies program showcased 🆕 open data systems & AI tools that, if used correctly, can accelerate the road to sustainable transport 🚞. Our Urban Mobility Director Felipe Ramírez Buitrago shares his 🔑 takeaways. Learn more ➡️ bit.ly/3R4EBt7
This week, as 75k+ climate experts converge at #LCAW2026, London is experiencing a sweltering heat wave ☀️. By using data from #CoolCitiesLab 📈, officials can analyze hyperlocal heat-risks & model cooling solutions across the #city. Explore it now 🔎 coolcities.wri.org
With the 🌍 facing an energy supply crisis & geopolitical disruption, climate action risks being drowned out by competing headlines 📰. That’s why we’re joining 75k+ climate experts from around the world at #LCAW2026! Explore our full agenda 👉 bit.ly/44sFqyM
This week at #WCS2026 in Singapore 🇸🇬, we brought together delegates from 2025–2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities 🏆 finalist RISE 🇮🇩 & Grand Prize Winner Move As One Coalition 🇵🇭 for a conversation on people-centered urban transformation in Southeast Asia & beyond. Learn more 👉 PrizeforCities.org
From Cape Town, 🇿🇦, to Freetown, 🇸🇱, #cities across Africa are using land-based finance to fuel growth. Hellen Wanjohi-Opil shares 🆕 research by UN-Habitat & the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy — w/ support from WRI Africa — on how land-based finance can 🔓 better urban services. ➡️ go.wri.org/sFnDtt
How can #cities build more resilient urban systems? What can they do to meet residents’ needs? What governance tools will make these efforts durable? Our experts 💡 will be answering these questions & more at the #WorldCitiesSummit in Singapore 🇸🇬 next week. Explore the agenda 🔎 bit.ly/4uTVZiS
Autocentric development 🛣️ divides neighborhoods, strips away local amenities & drives sprawl. 🆕 analyses from the New Urban Mobility Alliance (NUMO) give #cities across 🇺🇸 clear visualizations of the day-to-day barriers & opportunities caused by divisive infrastructure. Learn more 👉 bit.ly/4cJWZy9
This #WorldEnvironmentDay, we’re looking at how #NBS could be #cities' strongest defense against climate change. Solutions like urban wetlands & green corridors can: 🌊 Absorb flood water 🔥 Mitigate heat 🦋 Boost biodiversity 🧑🌾 Provide jobs ➕ More! 👉 bit.ly/4dZVg8v
This World #BicycleDay 🚴, our Global Urban Mobility Deputy Director Claudia Adriazola-Steil joined the Washington Area Bicyclist Association & embassy representatives from around the 🌏 for a bike ride around Washington, DC, 🇺🇸. Her message to the embassies? Active mobility is 🔑. 👉 bit.ly/4e3SfnG
Extreme urban heat is becoming more frequent, dangerous & disruptive — but #cities are not powerless. Expanding tree canopy, creating shaded public spaces & investing in heat-resilient urban design can make a real difference. Explore 🔎 coolcities.wri.org #HeatActionDay
These WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities 🏆 changemakers are transforming communities & inspiring action in #cities around the 🌏. By improving access to nature, mobility & everyday services, they are addressing growing pressures around public health, climate risk & inequality. ➡️ PrizeforCities.org
Through the WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities 🏆, we’ve documented powerful lessons from 100s of solutions from #cities around the 🌏. Our 🆕 paper w/ Yale's Hixon Center for Urban Sustainability analyzes finalists from the '23–24 Prize to see how climate initiatives drive urban change ➡️ bit.ly/4f7RT1p
Land is Africa’s most underleveraged asset class. 🆕 research from UN-Habitat, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy & WRI Africa’s experts 💡 explores how land-based finance can deliver better urban services. Dr. Emmerentian Mbabazi explains what’s needed to make it work. ➡️ go.wri.org/sFnDtt
