THE PROMISE OF AN URBAN WORLD

The WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities is a program of the World Resources Institute that works to transform urban areas into resilient, inclusive, and low-carbon environments. With a team of over 350 experts, the center focuses primarily on the global south, employing an integrated approach across land use, mobility, and energy efficiency to influence cities in over 75 countries.

• Urban centers face significant growth pressures over the next 30 years, with an expected addition of 2.5 billion people and up to 1 billion more vehicles. A majority of this growth is anticipated in small-to medium-sized cities within Africa and Asia, and three-quarters of the infrastructure required by that time has not yet been constructed.
• Cities play a disproportionate role in global economic activity and environmental impact, producing 80% of global GDP but also generating 75% of energy-related greenhouse gases. Additionally, 70% of city residents lack reliable access to at least one core service, such as electricity, water, or housing.
• In Brazil, WRI helped reform the national housing program, Minha Casa, Minha Vida (MCMV), by demonstrating that compact, connected, and coordinated developments are less costly to provide with essential services than sprawling communities. This led to a March 2017 law establishing new standards that promote walking, cycling, and public transport connections, affecting 136,000 houses and 408,000 direct beneficiaries since 2017.
• WRI's engagement in Bengaluru, India, has focused on sustainable transport for 5.3 million daily commuters. Key achievements include financing 3,000 additional buses, creating bus feeder routes for the rail metro, and implementing the Station Access and Mobility Program. The latter incubated five start-ups for last-mile solutions, resulting in 35% of those users shifting from private transport to shared mobility and metro services.
• In Mexico City, WRI's long-term engagement began with the Metrobús bus rapid transit system, which serves over 1.2 million daily riders. This work expanded into national advocacy through the YoMeMuevo ("I Move") agenda, which received pledges from over 250 candidates during the 2018 national elections, including three state governors and the mayor of Mexico City.
• Beijing launched China's first low-emission zone in 2017 targeting heavy-duty freight vehicles, supported by WRI China's research. The policy is projected to reduce carbon dioxide by 2.5 million metric tons annually, eliminate 95 metric tons of air pollutants daily, and save approximately 43 lives per year, resulting in $37 million in annual social cost savings.
• WRI implements the 'Vision Zero' strategy in countries including Colombia and Vietnam to reduce the 1.35 million annual traffic crash deaths. This approach utilizes a 'Safe System' that shifts the responsibility for safety from the road user to the road designer to account for human error.
• In İzmir, Turkey, WRI partnered with the city to revitalize the Kemeraltı historic bazaar district. The project resulted in the pedestrianization of over 70 streets, the implementation of traffic-calming measures, and the construction of bike lanes to improve air quality and economic activity through increased tourism and shopping.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). THE PROMISE OF AN URBAN WORLD. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-07/wri-ross-center-brochure.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. THE PROMISE OF AN URBAN WORLD. n.d. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-07/wri-ross-center-brochure.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=THE PROMISE OF AN URBAN WORLD |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-07/wri-ross-center-brochure.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendpromise, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{THE PROMISE OF AN URBAN WORLD}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-07/wri-ross-center-brochure.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }