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The Livable Caferağa project, part of WRI's Deep Dive Cities Initiative, uses a community-led approach to transform a high-traffic district in Istanbul into a more sustainable urban environment. Following a successful pilot at Mehmet Ayvalıtaş Square in September 2023, the project is implementing five core strategies: prioritizing pedestrian space with wider sidewalks and greenery, expanding bike lane networks from 18 km to 58 km by 2050, launching the 'ModaBüs' local shuttle service in late 2025, implementing sustainable parking management, and transitioning delivery services toward cargo bikes. These efforts align with Kadıköy's goals of a 40% GHG emission reduction by 2030 and full climate neutrality by 2050.

The report finds that human-caused climate change significantly increased the frequency and intensity of extreme heat globally from May 2024 to May 2025. Approximately 4 billion people experienced at least 30 additional days of extreme heat, and 195 countries saw the number of such days at least double compared to a world without climate change. All 67 significant heat events analyzed were influenced by climate change, with some becoming dozens of times more likely. The authors emphasize that while adaptation strategies like City Heat Action Plans are vital, comprehensive mitigation through the phasing out of fossil fuels is the only way to limit future harms.

The briefing outlines five key heat metrics—land surface temperature, air temperature, heat index, wet bulb globe temperature, and thermal comfort indices—detailing their specific uses and limitations. It argues that while traditional metrics are useful for regional analysis and safety limits, thermal comfort modeling is essential for understanding human-scale heat exposure and designing local interventions like shade and wind corridors. The document provides a framework for matching these metrics to goals such as protecting pedestrians, reducing energy use, or lowering citywide temperatures.

The report finds that human-induced climate change significantly increased the frequency and intensity of extreme heat globally from May 2024 to May 2025, affecting billions of people and making all 67 identified significant heat events more likely. It highlights the disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations and the systemic failure to accurately document heat-related mortality, while advocating for a combination of urban heat action plans and aggressive fossil fuel mitigation.

The Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA) provides legal and scientific commentary to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, detailing how climate change exacerbates health crises in Latin America and the Caribbean. The document highlights the disproportionate impact of heat, wildfires, air pollution, and vector-borne diseases on vulnerable populations, including indigenous peoples and children. It argues that states have a legal duty under the American Convention on Human Rights and the Paris Agreement to prevent climate-related health harms. The brief recommends a transition away from fossil fuels, the elimination of 'sacrifice zones', and the adoption of sustainable land management to achieve health co-benefits and uphold human rights.

The Global Climate & Health Alliance (GCHA) argues that climate change is a critical threat to public health in Latin America and the Caribbean, exacerbating inequalities and violating human rights. The document details specific health impacts—including heat-related deaths, respiratory issues from wildfires and air pollution, and the spread of vector-borne diseases like dengue—while highlighting the vulnerability of indigenous peoples, children, and the elderly. It asserts that states have legal obligations under the American Convention on Human Rights and the Paris Agreement to prevent climate-related health harms. The GCHA recommends a transition away from fossil fuels, the elimination of 'sacrifice zones,' and the implementation of sustainable land management and urban design to achieve health and climate co-benefits.

Lodha is implementing a systems-leadership approach to decarbonize India's rapidly growing built environment, aiming for carbon neutrality by 2035. Central to this strategy is the Palava project near Mumbai, which serves as a 'smart city learning lab' to test sustainable urban design and energy-efficient construction. Through the Lodha Net Zero Urban Accelerator, the company seeks to scale these learnings and influence industry standards and government policy.

WRI has supported Ethiopia in implementing a "Safe System" approach to road safety, contributing to the development of the National Road Safety Strategy (2021-2030) and the Non-Motorized Transport Strategy (2020-2029). These initiatives aim to reduce traffic fatalities by 50% by 2030. Early results show a decrease in fatal crashes nationwide from 3,628 (2019-2020) to 3,149 (2021-2022), and a stabilization of road deaths in Addis Ababa.

The document outlines the environmental and economic benefits of bicycle infrastructure, noting that federal investment rose from $22.9 million in 1992 to over $970 million in 2017. It describes various infrastructure types, such as protected lanes and bike-sharing systems, and highlights a significant increase in cycling and e-bike sales during the Covid-19 pandemic. Data indicates that bicycle commute shares rose in many major U.S. cities between 1990 and 2015, and research suggests that replacing car lanes with bike lanes often has positive effects on local retail and food service businesses.

The briefing advocates for net-zero energy districts, highlighting how urban-scale planning enables energy balancing across diverse building types, economies of scale for thermal systems, and reduced transportation emissions. It provides examples of smart developments in the US and India that integrate solar microgrids and battery storage to provide grid services and avoid infrastructure costs.

The report argues that transitioning away from fossil fuels through carbon pricing, energy efficiency, active transportation, and plant-based diets can simultaneously reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve public health outcomes. It highlights that in Canada, air pollution from fossil fuels causes 14,400 premature deaths annually, and that shifting to low-carbon energy and urban design can significantly reduce chronic diseases and healthcare costs.

RMI proposes the creation of MOD Cities—modular and modifiable mobility-oriented developments—as collaborative test sites where municipal governments, developers, and the vehicle-service industry can co-innovate. These sites aim to integrate urban design with new mobility services to improve people's health and livelihoods while allowing policymakers to test flexible zoning and land use codes.

RMI and the Austin Transportation Department conducted a 45-day pilot at West 6th Street and Nueces Street, converting four parking spaces into a loading zone to facilitate ride-hailing services and reduce personal vehicle use. The pilot demonstrated that designated loading zones improve pedestrian safety by reducing the need for passengers to board or exit vehicles in travel lanes. However, the study identified challenges in user awareness, the need for better signage, and the potential for 'evening loading zones' to balance mobility needs with parking revenue.

The document outlines how the built environment influences travel behavior, emphasizing that walkable neighborhood design increases the frequency of walking, cycling, and transit use. It details the '5 D's' of community design—Density, Diversity, Design, Destination, and Distance—as the primary factors impacting these choices. Key elements include population density to support services, land use diversity to place destinations in close proximity, safety-enhancing design features like bicycle lanes and traffic calming, and the accessibility of destinations and transit stops within specific distance thresholds.

The event highlighted how climate change negatively impacts health through food insecurity, physical inactivity, and air pollution, while arguing that focusing on health co-benefits can overcome political inertia. Key recommendations include transitioning to sustainable diets, redesigning cities for active transportation, and divesting the healthcare sector from fossil fuels.

The authors argue that the built environment shapes human thought and behavior, often unintentionally reinforcing unsustainable patterns. They propose a three-part framework for 'crystallized pedagogy'—demonstration, experience, and involvement—to intentionally teach sustainability. The paper suggests that the most effective sustainable pedagogy internalizes externalities by giving occupants direct control and feedback, such as in off-grid or naturally ventilated buildings, and integrates biological diversity to foster an understanding of interconnectedness.

The document proposes the creation of an Environment Outlook for Canada (EOC), an integrated environmental assessment designed to move beyond traditional state-of-the-environment reporting by focusing on future-oriented scenarios. It details the potential scope of the EOC, including key topical issues like climate change and water quality, and suggests a time horizon of 20 to 30 years. The paper emphasizes the need for a participatory process involving policy-makers, shapers, and takers to ensure the assessment is salient, credible, and legitimate. It recommends a feasibility analysis and the development of a formal proposal by fall 2007, suggesting that the EOC could be hosted by an independent secretariat to maintain credibility.

The report examines Sweden's 'Vision Zero' policy, which shifts road safety responsibility from the individual user to the system designers to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries. While UK focus groups found the concept laudable, a stakeholder survey revealed significant skepticism regarding its achievability and cost-effectiveness in the UK. The document provides a cost-benefit analysis suggesting high potential savings and proposes a 'backcasting' implementation schedule for the UK through 2030, integrating road engineering, speed control, and sustainable transport.