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The WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities employs an integrated approach combining data-driven research and long-term city partnerships to address urban challenges in land use, mobility, and energy efficiency. The organization focuses on the global south, implementing projects such as low-emission zones in Beijing, sustainable housing standards in Brazil, and last-mile mobility solutions in Bengaluru. Its strategy emphasizes scaling road-tested solutions through national policy guidance and global coalitions to help cities decarbonize and improve equitable access to core services.

The document argues that over 1.2 billion city dwellers lack reliable access to basic services, creating an "urban services divide" that hinders economic development and climate goals. It proposes seven transformations—ranging from partnering with alternative service providers to supporting informal workers—to improve equity, prosperity, and sustainability in rapidly growing cities.

The World Resources Institute developed the Urban Community Resilience Assessment (UCRA) to help city planners identify specific resilience needs among urban populations, particularly the urban poor. Piloted in Rio de Janeiro and Porto Alegre, the tool evaluates vulnerability context, community resilience, and individual capacity. Findings indicate that physical infrastructure, such as early warning systems, does not automatically result in individual behavior change or increased personal resilience. The paper argues that effective urban planning requires participatory engagement with residents to avoid exacerbating existing vulnerabilities and to foster social capital and positive resilience habits.

The Low-Carbon Mobility Challenge is a competitive event where teams navigate a city using low-carbon transport modes, with the winner determined by the lowest carbon footprint rather than speed. The toolkit outlines the conceptual framework, stakeholder engagement, team composition, and a detailed operational plan for organising the event. It emphasizes shifting users from private vehicles to public, shared, or non-motorised transport to meet South Africa's climate goals. The guide includes a ten-week work plan, safety protocols, and monitoring tools such as carbon calculators and experience logs to evaluate changes in participant behaviour.