About Us
WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities helps create accessible, equitable, healthy and resilient urban areas for people, businesses and the environment to thrive. Together with partners, we enable more connected, compact and coordinated cities.
The Center was established in 2014 following a $30.5 million contribution from Stephen M. Ross, chairman and founder of Related Companies and a WRI Board member. It expands the transport and urban development expertise of the EMBARQ network to catalyze innovative solutions in other sectors, including water, buildings, land use and energy, combining the research excellence of WRI with 15 years of on-the-ground impact through a network of more than 250 experts working from Brazil, China, Ethiopia, India, Mexico and Turkey.
WRI Ross Center focuses on a deep, cross-sector approach in five megacities on three continents, and targeted assistance to 100+ more urban areas, bringing economic, environmental, and social benefits to people in cities around the globe.