Recent Posts by Ani
“We need to get where climate policy is in urban policy,” said WRI Ross Center Global Director Ani Dasgupta in an interview with Urbanet. Speaking at the World Urban Forum last month, he noted that cities are vitally important ...
Exponential progress in how we collect, process and use data is fundamentally changing our societies and economies. But the new digital economy depends fundamentally on a very physical enabler. Amazon and Alibaba would not exist without efficient ways to deliver ...
2017 was a tumultuous year in some respects. We’ve seen major natural and man-made disasters, disruptive new politics in many countries, and an upswing in carbon emissions. But it was also a year that strengthened the role of cities at ...
At this week’s climate conference in Bonn, Germany, the pressure is on many national governments to continue implementation of the Paris Agreement despite the United States’ intention to withdraw. But they’ll have help from the world’s cities. Bonn is shaping ...
This article was first published in TechCrunch. In late September, London made headlines when it stripped popular ride-hailing app Uber of its license to operate in the city. The wall-to-wall coverage that followed the decision was a sign, if any more ...
Winner Take All? Richard Florida’s ‘New Urban Crisis’ Part of Growing Global Focus on Unequal Cities
Cities are growing rapidly in more places than ever before, but this growth is not always accompanied by prosperity. The specter of inequality – and fear that it could short-circuit economic development – has been rising in the global urban ...
Bicycling is on the decline in India’s largest city; perhaps as few as 0.8 percent of a population of 12 million bicycles, according to one estimate, down from an already-low 6 percent measured in 2008. In a new op-ed for ...
For Pittsburgh, it’s a focus on improving air quality and creating renewable energy jobs. For Paris, it’s encouraging social mobility and reclaiming pedestrian areas. The common thread in these cities’ climate action plans is a commitment to pledges made by ...
India is at a crossroads, and how its cities develop in the coming several years will shape its future for generations. While only about one-third of Indians currently live in cities, that number will nearly double from 420 million to ...
By 2050, nearly 70 percent of the world’s population will reside in cities, increasing the size of the world’s urban population by more than two-thirds. Cities will need to focus on building the right things to ensure this growth happens sustainably—so how ...
This week in Quito, Ecuador, international leaders have gathered in support of the New Urban Agenda, which lays the groundwork for improving the lives of more than half of the world’s population. Habitat III follows the historic adoption of the Sustainable Development ...
WRI is engaging in Habitat III – the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development in Quito, Ecuador, October 17-20 – to help create the sustainable, equitable, prosperous cities of the future. Ani Dasgupta, Global Director of WRI ...
As home to more than half the world’s population, cities are some of the places most vulnerable to the impacts of a warmer world. Yet in many ways, they’re still not equipped to deal with the challenges climate change presents. ...
Cities are all about efficiency. It’s why they exist: to allow easy access to jobs, goods, services and ideas. However, in many countries, new and expanding cities are sprawling, car-dependent and uncoordinated – a set-up that’s not only inefficient, but ...
Good ideas that get cities results are worth replicating. Sounds simple enough. But when it comes to scaling up and investing in sustainable urban solutions, it’s complicated. With more than 400 cities making commitments to climate action through the Compact ...
