STATEMENT: WRI Ross Prize for Cities Now Open for Applications that Recognize Visionary Urban Change
Applications to the WRI Ross Prize for Cities are now open.
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (February 11, 2018) — Today, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities opened the application process for the “WRI Ross Prize for Cities,” a global competition to identify and celebrate transformative urban projects. The announcement comes during the 9th session of the United Nations World Urban Forum, where leaders, civil society and urban development experts are gathered to discuss implementation of the New Urban Agenda. The prize is the vision of business leader and philanthropist Stephen M. Ross. Finalists will be identified by the fall of 2018 and the winner celebrated at a gala event in New York City in April 2019.
“The WRI Ross Prize will celebrate high-impact initiatives that have helped to transform cities’ environmental, social, and economic fabric, and encourage others to learn from them, replicate their success and amplify the positive impact of the efforts. There are so many worthy and innovative initiatives underway all around the globe and we are excited by the potential to ignite change and inspire others with their ideas and achievements.”—Stephen M. Ross, Chairman and Founder, Related Companies, and World Resources Institute board member.
“People change cities every day. They build houses, businesses, and infrastructure. They occupy and alter sidewalks, parks, and public spaces. They plant trees and pave fields, altering the underlying landscape. Often these changes are incremental; once in while they are transformative, changing the city for the better. The WRI Ross Prize will help us find, celebrate, and showcase initiatives that have created ripple effects on social, economic, and environmental outcomes well beyond the places and times in which they started.”—Ani Dasgupta, Global Director, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.
"Cities offer great opportunities for as well as risks to sustainable development goals. Seizing urbanization’s potential will require cities to innovate, adapt, and evolve quickly, harnessing public, private, and community forces for change. We hope that the prize will help us identify more examples of transformative change to learn from and ultimately grow."—Jessica Seddon, Director, Integrated Urban Strategy, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.
Learn more at wrirosscities.org/prize.
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About World Resources Institute
WRI is a global research organization that spans more than 50 countries, with offices in the United States, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico and more. Our more than 700 experts and staff work closely with leaders to turn big ideas into action at the nexus of environment, economic opportunity and human well-being. More information at wri.org.
About WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities
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, it enables connected, compact and coordinated cities. The Center 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. It combines the research excellence of WRI with 15 years of on-the-ground impact through a network of more than 200 experts working from Brazil, China, India, Mexico and Turkey to make cities around the world better places to live. More information at www.wrirosscities.org.
