WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities

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

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

Today at #WUF13, UN-Habitat & the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, with contributions from WRI Africa's experts 💡, launched a report on how land-based finance can fund housing & services in Africa's #cities. Aklilu Fikresilassie shares why land is 🔑 to resilient urban growth. ➡️ go.wri.org/sFnDtt

For climate action to be effective & just ⚖️, informal settlements cannot be left on the sidelines. This week at #WUF13, we're exploring how #cities can upgrade informal settlements to unlock 🔓 more equitable, low-carbon & climate-resilient housing. Learn more 👉 bit.ly/3RkWEuR

The 🌍’s housing & climate crises are deeply intertwined 🪢. Next week is the World Urban Forum. Under the theme “Housing the World,” #WUF13 will spotlight 🔦 the urgent need to address the global housing crisis to drive inclusive, resilient & sustainable urban development. Read more ➡️ bit.ly/4ntqJV0

2025–2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities finalist 🏆 Book Bunk is reclaiming Nairobi’s neglected libraries as “Palaces for the People." In NYC 🗽? Catch “How to Build a Library,” a film about Book Bunk, at the New York Public Library (May 18) or Brooklyn Academy of Music (May 23). 👉 bit.ly/3PUeV1e

2025–2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities finalist 🏆 Revitalizing Informal Settlements & Environments (RISE) is improving water & sanitation infrastructure in Makassar, 🇮🇩. While the technology behind the project is innovative, what sets RISE apart is its collaborative 🤝 nature. 👉 bit.ly/4mk7gph

“Natural space is not just decoration for the city — it’s the backbone of the infrastructure for the city,” 💬 GIZ Ecuador's Juan Pablo Díaz. That's why 2025–2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities finalist 🏆 Sistema Verde Urbano is connecting green space across Loja, 🇪🇨. Read more 👉 bit.ly/4acptPQ

2025–2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities finalist 🏆 the Atlanta Beltline is a vibrant network of trails, affordable housing & local businesses in Atlanta, 🇺🇸. What are its 🔑s to success? 🤝 Continuous adaptation 🪙 A dedicated funding stream Read more 👉 bit.ly/4cwkVXm

Introducing HOW TO MAKE A CITY 🏙️! Made in partnership with the Hixon Center for Urban Sustainability, this retrospective exhibition draws from 1.2k+ submissions to the WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities 🏆 since 2018 to show how bold, local action can spark 🧨 global momentum. ➡️ bit.ly/3QImuZp

What catalyzes healthy #cities? The 334 submissions to the 2025–2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities 🏆 point to a clear answer: "Thoughtful, human-scale solutions designed around people's daily experiences and well-being,” 💬 WRI Ross Center Global Director Rogier van den Berg. ➡️ bit.ly/41JOVbQ

🌏 #EarthDay 2026’s theme, #OurPowerOurPlanet, emphasizes the importance of building environmental progress through everyday action. That’s exactly what 2025–2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities Grand Prize Winner 🏆 Move As One Coalition is doing. Read more 👉 bit.ly/3PddY3V

BREAKING: The Move As One Coalition — a grassroots, youth-led movement advancing transport reform in Manila, Philippines 🇵🇭 — wins the $250k grand prize 🏆 for the 2025–2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities! Read more ➡️ bit.ly/41JOVbQ

🏆 Tomorrow, we'll reveal the $250k Grand Prize Winner of the 2025–2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities. Our 5️⃣ finalists are embracing transformative solutions to catalyzing healthy #cities 👉 bit.ly/4sBWYCf

As the 🌍 spirals into yet another energy crisis ⛽, we’re reflecting on the lessons learned at #TTDC26. Our Global Director Rogier van den Berg shares his 🔑 takeaways 👉 bit.ly/4mjB7ON Read more about the benefits of clean energy in the face of fuel shortages ➡️ bit.ly/4ti7yj5

🚍 At #TTDC26, Avi Silverman, the acting Executive Director of Transforming Transportation development partner FIA Foundation, shared insights into how #cities can finance infrastructure for safe and sustainable mobility. Missed #TTDC26? Watch the recordings now 👉 bit.ly/4c9aEQl

Meet 2025–2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities 🏆 finalist Revitalizing Informal Settlements and Environments (RISE). In Makassar, 🇮🇩, RISE works with residents and city officials to improve water 💦 and sanitation 🚽 infrastructure in the #city's informal settlements. Read more 👉 bit.ly/4mk7gph

As we near #ZeroWasteDay, we’re revisiting 2023–2024 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities 🏆 Winner Re-Ciclo. This holistic recycling program ♻️ is improving informal waste pickers’ livelihoods, recycling rates and cycling infrastructure in Fortaleza, 🇧🇷. Learn more 👉 bit.ly/41roBD0

At Transforming Transportation 2026, WRI Africa’s Semere Jelalu underscored the importance of mobilizing private capital investments in the transport sector to power inclusive jobs and economic growth. Learn more 👉 bit.ly/4uRLP2G #TTDC26

Introducing Book Bunk, a 2025–2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities finalist 🏆. Book Bunk turns neglected libraries in Nairobi, 🇰🇪, into free civic spaces where residents learn new skills, explore the arts, enjoy green space and connect with each other. Learn more 👉 bit.ly/3PUeV1e

Introducing #CoolCitiesLab, WRI's 🆕 heat data platform. Developed with support from Google.org, Cool Cities Lab helps #cities identify where heat risk is highest 🔥 and target cooling solutions where they’ll matter most 🌳. Explore it now 👉 coolcities.wri.org Stay up to date ➡️ bit.ly/4br1bSL

Meet the Move As One Coalition, one of the 2025–2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities finalists 🏆. An alliance of 142 civil society organizations & 77k+ individuals from Manila, 🇵🇭, the coalition works to put people, not cars, at the center of transportation policy. Read more 👉 bit.ly/3PddY3V

At #TTDC26, WRI Africa’s Emmerentian Mbabazi emphasized the importance of integrated transport, which links different modes of travel to active and micro-mobility to increase access to opportunities and reduce emissions. Learn more 🚶 transformingtransportation.org

At #TTDC26, our Urban Mobility Director Felipe Ramírez Buitrago reflects on how decarbonizing energy & transportation drives economic growth. For example, in 🇮🇩, where oil & gas are imported for motorized transport, electrification can fuel savings & domestic jobs. 🛵 transformingtransportation.org

At #TTDC26, our Global Urban Mobility Deputy Director & Health & Road Safety Director Claudia Adriazola-Steil discusses safe, sustainable solutions for last-mile connection. Stay tuned for more from #TTDC26 🚴 transformingtransportation.org

WRI Ross Center Global Director Rogier van den Berg shares his biggest takeaway from #TTDC26 Day 1: Beyond providing temporary construction jobs, transport connects people to better opportunities, driving urban innovation & development. Stay tuned 🚕 transformingtransportation.org

🚴 Today, WRI Ross Center, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the British Embassy & the City of Copenhagen kickstarted #TTDC26 by bringing together top officials, staff & partners for a bike ride through Washington DC 🇺🇸. Register for #TTDC26 now 👉 transformingtransportation.org/register

This #InternationalWomensDay, we’re revisiting the Mahila Housing SEWA Trust (MHT), a 2020–2021 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities finalist 🏆. In Ahmedabad, 🇮🇳, MHT is empowering 1000s of women to be climate champions for themselves and their #city. Read more 👉 bit.ly/3NgCxwa

Meet the Atlanta Beltline, a 2025-2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities finalist 🏆. This 22-mile loop through Atlanta, 🇺🇸, has: 🧩 Connected 45 neighborhoods 🌳 Developed 470 acres of new green space 🏘️ Created/preserved 6.3k+ affordable housing units More ➡️ bit.ly/4cwkVXm @atlantabeltline.bsky.social

Last week, we announced the 5️⃣ finalists of the 2025-2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities. Now, we’re taking a closer look 🔎 at the projects transforming #cities across the 🌎. Meet Loja's 🇪🇨 Sistema Verde Urbano (“Urban Green System”) ➡️ bit.ly/4acptPQ

🏆 Meet our 2025-2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities finalists: ‣ Atlanta Beltline (Atlanta, 🇺🇸) ‣ Sistema Verde Urbano (Loja, 🇪🇨) ‣ Revitalizing Informal Settlements and Environments (RISE) (Makassar, 🇮🇩) ‣ Move As One Coalition (Manila, 🇵🇭) ‣ Book Bunk (Nairobi, 🇰🇪) 👉 bit.ly/464EFNI

🚨 Registration is now open for #TTDC26! This year’s theme, "Powering Jobs & Growth," emphasizes transport's foundational role in delivering essential public goods 🚛. Register to attend virtually or in-person at the World Bank HQ in Washington, DC 👉 bit.ly/3LpFpGf

🎉 Celebrate #WorldBicycleDay by diving into our 'Safe Bicycle Lane Design Principles' guide and learn how 394 regions worldwide reallocated road space to cyclists. Let's make #cycling in cities safer and more efficient for all! 🔗 www.wri.org/research/saf...