WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities

Yesterday, 11 global urban & health experts convened in New York, 🇺🇸, to select the Grand Prize Winner of the 2025–2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities 🏆.

In April, we’ll reveal the winning project at our Awards Celebration. Stay tuned!

Learn more 👉 PrizeforCities.org/jury

Calling all #TTDC26 attendees 📢 Join us on March 12th for the 4th Paratransit/Popular Transport Day (P/PTD) 🛵!

This half-day event will:
📈 Examine global paratransit trends
🚧 Identify action areas
🤝 Strengthen collaboration

Register for P/PTD now 👉 bit.ly/3Oo9qr6

Today is the UN World Day of Social Justice ⚖️. This year's theme: “Social Protection & Decent Work for All.”

Do you want to ensure decent work for all throughout the clean energy transition 🚗⚡? Register for #TTDC26 now ➡️ transformingtransportation.org/register

Read more 📖 bit.ly/4rZl75V

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

DYK the climate transition could lead to a net gain 📈 of ~375M jobs over the next 10 years?

Transport infrastructure & services are 🔑 to 🔓ing economic growth & jobs in #cities. Join us in catalyzing this change at #TTDC26 👉 transformingtransportation.org/register

🏆 The 2025–2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities finalists are reshaping urban life & offering practical lessons for #cities around the 🌏 as they build more inclusive & sustainable communities.

See how these 5️⃣ projects are catalyzing healthier cities 👉 PrizeforCities.org

This #TransitEquityDay, we’re celebrating Delhi’s 🇮🇳 fare-free public transport scheme, which enables women to travel for free on government-owned buses 🚌.

⚖️ Do you want to drive equitable mobility in your #city? Register for #TTDC26 now ➡️ transformingtransportation.org/register

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

As Jakarta, 🇮🇩, looks to expand affordable housing 🏘️, #city officials can use #CityMetrics, our 🆕 data platform, to see which neighborhoods lack access to nearby schools & employment opportunities, allowing them to focus 🔎 on those who need it most.

Explore the dashboard now ➡️ citymetrics.wri.org

🏆 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

In 🇺🇸, #ESBs could bring ~$1.6B a year in health & climate benefits. For school bus drivers like Ron Reser, the shift to ⚡ “is the future. We want to be a part of leading it.”

Do you want to lead the future of transportation? Register for #TTDC26 now ➡️ transformingtransportation.org/register

🏆 334 submissions. 230 cities. 77 countries. Our largest WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities cycle yet.

In just 1️⃣ week, we’ll announce the 5️⃣ finalists that are setting the standard for healthier #cities.

While you wait, explore past submissions in our 🆕 Prize Database ➡️ PrizeforCities.org/database

With just 2 weeks left until we reveal our 2025-2026 #PrizeforCities finalists, we’re looking back 🔎 at transformative submissions from previous cycles — and you can too!

Explore urban projects from around the 🌍 with our 🆕 Prize Database ➡️ PrizeforCities.org/database

🚨 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

Forests are one of the world’s best lines of defense against climate change as they remove and store CO2 from the atmosphere. Their loss has long-term consequences on countries’ ability to meet climate commitments.

More on the impact of 🔥 on #forests ➡️ gfw.global/tcl24

Local Efforts Are Key to Tackling Extreme Heat Health Risks Extreme heat weather warnings aren't enough. Local public health initiatives can go a long way to help keep people safe.

🌡️ A 100° day looks exactly like an 85° day, but #ExtremeHeat kills more people than tornadoes and hurricanes combined. See how one Philadelphia neighborhood found a surprisingly simple solution (via TIME) ⬇️
time.com/7291482/loca... #UrbanHeat

#WRIExplains: The Many Effects of Extreme Heat🥵

@worldresources examines the cascading impacts of heat in cities and offer tangible, scalable solutions that cities can use to develop effective, far-reaching strategies here👉 go.wri.org/urbanheat

🏗️ Small and medium cities often lack resources to develop climate solutions and implementation plans. Colombia's workshops revealed this gap and the urgent need for more technical support at the local level 🔧 thecityfix.com/blog/how-inc...

🌱 In Nairobi's Mathare slums, teenage mothers are fighting climate change one plant at a time. After devastating 2024 floods, they're transforming destroyed land into green farms using sack gardening & vertical techniques: thecityfix.com/blog/teenage... #UrbanFarming #ClimateAction

Completing the Trip: Establishing a Global Quantified Climate Goal for the Transport Sector Countries should collectively commit to a quantified goal for transitioning away from fossil fuels in the transport sector. We propose a sectoral target of a shift to 35 percent green fuels and a 25 p...

🚨A highly recommended read by @wrirosscities.bsky.social for anyone working on #SustainableTransport!

This new paper “Completing the Trip” calls for a global transport goal: a shift to 35% green fuels and a 25% reduction in transport energy consumption by 2035🚲🚏
🔗Read more ➡️: bit.ly/4ldEOnd

The basics work! 💚

(𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥, 𝘸/ 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘴! 𝘵𝘢𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 #𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 + #𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘥 🙌)

🌡️ #ExtremeHeat is no longer just a seasonal event - it's reshaping daily urban life worldwide. With 350+ cities facing temperatures above 35°C, rising heat threatens health, transportation, jobs & economies. How are cities adapting? thecityfix.com/blog/from-wo... #UrbanHeat

It's #ShowYourStripes day! 🌏

These stripes tell the story of our rapidly warming planet. Share your region's graphic to raise awareness & get others talking about the risks of #climatechange and how we can respond.

Download graphics for your location ➡️ showyourstripes.info

#NaturebasedSolutions have a lot to offer sub-Saharan Africa, like:

☀️Reduced extreme heat
💧Improved water security
🌱New green jobs

Learn more: go.wri.org/biodiversity...

⚠️ Colombian cities face flooding, landslides & #ExtremeHeat daily. Their climate priority? Adaptation through ecosystem restoration, wetland conservation & green space expansion.

Learn more about local voices shaping #ClimateAction 🌿 ⬇️ thecityfix.com/blog/how-sub...

🏁 The race to revolutionize #Venice's mobility is on! Five cutting-edge teams are now working to increase low and zero-carbon transport options in this historic city, with $130k funding per team.

Learn more: sustainablecitieschallenge.org/venice?utm_c... #TMFSustainableCities 🏛️🔋

🌡️🚇 #ExtremeHeat can make minibus temperatures 3-4°C higher than outside air, putting drivers & passengers at serious health risk.

Why popular #transport needs urgent climate protection strategies 👉 prism.climate.columbia.edu/sites/prism.... #UrbanHeat #TransportEquity #ClimateAdaptation

Hot in the city. But it doesn't have to be - we have answers | Context by TRF To enable cities to adapt to extreme heat, authorities must clearly understand the risks and which solutions work best for whom

⚠️ Extreme heat causes 500,000 excess deaths yearly, with economic losses expected to double by 2050. Cities need scalable infrastructure that builds baseline resilience. wrirosscities.bsky.social‬'s Pablo Lazo & Eric Mackres explain how in Context: https://buff.ly/8q1FGl4

Wonderful! Congratulations, @brenttoderian.bsky.social!

PARIS CITY HALL EXHIBITION TO OPEN JUNE 21st! I’m proud to join Paris Mayor @annehidalgo.bsky.social, iconic artist Shepard Fairey @obeygiant.bsky.social & local leaders next week to open this conversation-changing EXHIBITION on city leadership in climate action! www.paris.fr/evenements/d...