As China’s Urban Rail Transit Systems Boom, Public-Private Partnerships Face a Reckoning
As China’s Urban Rail Transit Systems Boom, Public-Private Partnerships Face a Reckoning
To curb car congestion and boost the economy, China is embracing trains at an unprecedented rate. In June 2017, the government approved 5,770 kilometers of new urban rail systems, almost 17 times the total amount of track in all of ...
Boosting the Cool Factor of Energy Efficiency
Boosting the Cool Factor of Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency’s image is due for a makeover. Long seen as one of the simplest ways to reduce consumer costs, energy efficiency also offers multiple benefits that improve people’s lives while cutting air pollution and curbing climate-warming emissions. And yet, ...
Making India’s Streets Safer Means Confronting Political Economy Barriers
Making India’s Streets Safer Means Confronting Political Economy Barriers
On average, two people die on Mumbai’s roads owing to traffic crashes every day. The city ranks seventh in the country in terms of absolute numbers of road traffic fatalities. Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists are most vulnerable, and are involved in ...
Financing Sustainable Cities: New Tools Help Leaders Get from Aspiration to Action
Financing Sustainable Cities: New Tools Help Leaders Get from Aspiration to Action
By the year 2050, more than two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities. Cities are primary drivers of economic, cultural and political advancements and, as such, require vast quantities of the world’s resources – today, cities generate more ...
A First Step Down the Road to Zero-Carbon Buildings in India
A First Step Down the Road to Zero-Carbon Buildings in India
In 2013, the world’s cities accounted for 64 percent of primary energy use and 70 percent of CO2 emissions. Energy use in buildings is the second largest contributor (after transport) to urban GHG emissions and to urban heat islands. Emissions ...
Greening at Altitude: Bogotá Makes National Building Codes a Local Reality with the Help of Some Friends
Greening at Altitude: Bogotá Makes National Building Codes a Local Reality with the Help of Some Friends
As countries around the world ramp up ambition toward global climate and development goals, Bogotá’s experience is an example of why they should look to cities for “ground-truthing.” At 8,600 feet above sea level, high on an Andean plateau, Bogotá is Colombia’s largest city and one ...
Cyclists and Walkers Lead Mexico City on the Road to Sustainability
Cyclists and Walkers Lead Mexico City on the Road to Sustainability
This series, supported by the Volvo Research and Educational Foundations, discusses walking and cycling in cities with a special focus on low- and middle-income countries. Sara Vélez got an ultimatum from her boss one day: either find a way to arrive ...
Big Picture, Small Cities: Why Urban Development Needs National Governments
Big Picture, Small Cities: Why Urban Development Needs National Governments
More and more, cities are acting independently of – or even in direct opposition to – their national governments. This trend is seen, for example, in the group of American “Climate Mayors” that remain committed to the Paris Agreement even ...
Ritwick Dutta on Why Air Quality Data Is So Critical: Fighting for Blue Skies
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lain32/8371262254/in/photolist-gs4SCe-nZygZv-9z4q2a-8BDdf1-biP7iv-dKJUBQ-ssErov-bhn2Gv-KPukm-7ezuy7-34mfPZ-qzae2J-gs4mkJ-UDcacd-UDcmhE-9gDBny-YPxWXz-4trzzC-odDQHZ-HPQwK-dg8hD3-YLXGSw-9tN3qR-qsj7wD-s2rGA-gs4Sti-dLLMvS-ERuEGo-qz9n5Y-s9k7TT-CExdcL-7pi4kc-xxY1C-5bYNfd-5BPayd-pUV9MK-YLXDWS-4TqZ3-ddYaqq-bhZshr-9gAkMH-48aVfh-TZSiKJ-5wxQg2-sZ42q-6AFP9X-6AFLe8-6ZSWjN-oywUg-4bEKN6
“India has 13 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world,” says Ritwick Dutta, the managing trustee for the Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE), and Indian advocacy and law group. And yet, for the “bulk” of places ...
São Paulo and Fortaleza Embrace ‘Safe System’ Approach to Combat Road Safety Problems
São Paulo and Fortaleza Embrace ‘Safe System’ Approach to Combat Road Safety Problems
Each year, around 38,000 people die from traffic-related crashes in Brazil. Most of the victims are pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. The staggering number is a direct result of the lack of road safety precautions in Brazilian cities, which are growing ...