Seven Transformations for More Equitable and Sustainable Cities

Image: WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities

Image: WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities

World Resources Report

About the Authors

Anjali Mahendra is Director of Global Research at WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. She is a recognized expert on urban land-use, transport, and climate policies. Her research focuses on how cities in the global South can manage urban growth for equitable access to core services and infrastructure, and more resource-efficient economic and environmental outcomes. She leads the research agenda at WRI Ross Center, including the flagship World Resources Report series, Towards a More Equal City.

Robin King is Director for Knowledge Capture and Collaboration at WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. She is an economist, and her research focuses on political economy, urban economics, comparative urban development, and inclusive transit-oriented development.

Jillian Du is a Research and Engagement Strategist at the Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund. She previously was Research Manager for Inclusive Cities at WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. Her analytical work focused on how cities can create resilient, equitable communities while tackling climate change and ensuring economic opportunities.

Ani Dasgupta is President and CEO of World Resources Institute, where he works to advance the institute’s global vision to improve the lives of all people and ensure that nature can thrive. A widely recognized leader in the areas of sustainable cities, urban design and poverty alleviation, he developed his expertise in positions ranging from nonprofits in India to the World Bank, where he developed the Bank’s first Knowledge strategy. He took the helm at WRI after seven years as Global Director of WRI’s Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.

Victoria A. Beard is a Fellow at WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities and a Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning and Associate Dean for Research Initiatives in the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning at Cornell University. Her research focuses on how planners and local people address urban poverty and inequality, access to core urban services, and the broader processes that create and sustain citywide transformation.

Achilles Kallergis is an Assistant Professor at the New School for Social Research and the Director of the Cities and Migration Project at the Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility. In this role, he coordinates the Research Platform on Cities, Migration and Membership—a collaboration of The New School and fifteen research institutions from around the world. His research focuses on urbanization, migration, and mobility in rapidly growing cities. It explores how locally generated data can provide new evidence on mobility patterns and contribute to improving living conditions in low-income urban settings through better provision of housing and services.

Kathleen Schalch is a journalist, writer, and editor who covered global economic development for National Public Radio, served in the Obama administration, and now works with researchers at WRI.

CONTRIBUTORS: Emily Matthews, Maria Hart, Emma Pearlstone, and Maeve Weston

DESIGN AND LAYOUT: Shannon Collins, Rosie Ettenheim, and Carni Klirs

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