WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities

From Cape Town, 🇿🇦, to Freetown, 🇸🇱, to Addis Ababa, 🇪🇹, #cities across Africa are using land-based finance to fuel sustainable growth. "These case studies showcase different efforts that many

human settlements finance climate finance urban land policy urban land inclusive finance

#Cities around the 🌏 struggle with the same problem: More people 🟰 more traffic. But what if more people relied on cycling or other modes of active transport? In celebration of World #BicycleDay 🚴

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These WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities 🏆 changemakers are transforming urban communities and inspiring action in #cities around the 🌏. By improving access to nature 🌳, mobility 🚌 and everyday serv

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Land is Africa’s most underleveraged asset class — and one of the biggest opportunities to finance better urban services️ 🏢. At #WUF13, UN-Habitat and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy — with c..

environmental financing human settlements finance development finance inclusive finance urban land policy

Through the WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities 🏆, we’ve documented powerful lessons from hundreds of urban solutions from #cities around the 🌏. Launched during the 2023-2024 cycle, our partnership wi.

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Africa’s #cities need $157B every year to fund infrastructure, public services and housing 🏘️. Today at #WUF13, UN-Habitat and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy — with contributions from WRI Af..

human settlements finance development finance inclusive finance environmental financing climate finance

In Nairobi, 🇰🇪, 2025–2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities finalist 🏆 Book Bunk is reclaiming the #city’s neglected libraries as “Palaces for the People” 🏛️ — free, trusted civic spaces at the hear

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2025–2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities finalist 🏆 Revitalizing Informal Settlements and Environments (RISE) is improving environmental health in Makassar, 🇮🇩’s, informal settlements through wate

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Expanding green space is key 🔑 to improving quality of life in #cities. In Loja, 🇪🇨, 2025–2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities finalist 🏆 Sistema Verde Urbano is restoring and connecting the city

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Once an abandoned freight rail️, 2025–2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities finalist 🏆 Atlanta Beltline is now a 22-mile (35.4km) network of vibrant trails, parks, affordable housing and local busin..

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What does the next decade of urban transformation look like? #Cities already hold many of the solutions 💡 — what we need now is the will, collaboration and investment to bring them to scale. Intro..

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What catalyzes healthy #cities? The 2025–2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities 🏆 points to one answer: thoughtful, human-scale solutions designed around people’s daily experiences. Centered on the ..

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🌏 #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 Gr..

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At Transforming Transportation 2026, Avi Silverman, the acting Executive Director of #TTDC26 development partner FIA Foundation, shared insights into how #cities can finance infrastructure for safe...

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Introducing Revitalizing Informal Settlements and Environments (RISE), a 2025–2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities 🏆 finalist catalyzing more sustainable, inclusive and healthy #cities. In Makassa..

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Introducing Book Bunk, one of the 5️⃣ finalists for the 2025–2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities 🏆. Book Bunk began with a simple but ambitious idea: reclaiming neglected libraries in Nairobi, 🇰🇪

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Extreme heat is no longer a future threat. It’s a present crisis reshaping #cities around the 🌍. In the world’s largest capital cities, the number of extremely hot days per year (35°C+, or 95°F+) ..

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Meet the Move As One Coalition, one of the 2025–2026 WRI Ross Center #PrizeforCities finalists 🏆 leading the way in catalyzing healthy #cities. An alliance of 142 civil society organizations and 7..

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At Transforming Transportation 2026️, WRI Africa’s Emmerentian Mbabazi emphasized the importance of integration in transport corridor design. Integrated transport refers to a multi-modal transport...

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The 2026 theme, "Powering Jobs and Growth," emphasizes transport's foundational role in delivering essential public goods. Effective transport systems underpin vibrant economies by connecting marke...

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