Brazilian Cities Save Lives by Improving Road Safety

The São Paulo Complete Streets Network, a partnership between WRI and the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety, supported Brazilian cities in redesigning infrastructure to protect pedestrians, cyclists, and public transit users. Between 2020 and 2023, ten cities in São Paulo implemented measures such as expanded sidewalks, cycle lanes, and reduced speed limits. These efforts contributed to a shift where the crash mortality rate in these cities fell below the state average of São Paulo in 2022, compared to 2021 when it was higher.

• The São Paulo Complete Streets Network provided technical support and training to 20 cities, with over 800 people attending workshops based on WRI research and guidelines to implement road safety solutions.
• Between 2020 and 2023, ten cities in the network, serving over 6 million residents, implemented infrastructure improvements including cycle lanes, accessible bus stops, increased walk signal times, and extended sidewalks.
• Speed reduction was a primary focus, with cities such as Jundiaí, Guarulhos, and São José dos Campos reducing average car and motorcycle speeds by 10-30 kilometers per hour on monitored streets.
• Targeted safety interventions were implemented for vulnerable populations, including the 'Rua da Gente' program in Diadema for low-income neighborhoods and street redesigns in front of schools in five other cities.
• The network's interventions led to a measurable improvement in safety: while these cities had higher traffic deaths per 100,000 people than the state of São Paulo in 2021, their crash mortality rate dropped below the state average in 2022.

APA

World Resources Institute (2024). Brazilian Cities Save Lives by Improving Road Safety. https://www.wri.org/outcomes/brazilian-cities-save-lives-improving-road-safety

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Brazilian Cities Save Lives by Improving Road Safety. 2024. https://www.wri.org/outcomes/brazilian-cities-save-lives-improving-road-safety.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Brazilian Cities Save Lives by Improving Road Safety |date=13 February 2024 |url=https://www.wri.org/outcomes/brazilian-cities-save-lives-improving-road-safety |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2024brazilian, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Brazilian Cities Save Lives by Improving Road Safety}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2024}, month = feb, url = {https://www.wri.org/outcomes/brazilian-cities-save-lives-improving-road-safety}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }