News
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The team conducted a road safety and accessibility inspection to prevent future BRT crashes
Photo Credit: EMBARQ Türkiye
Şanlıurfa, Turkey has a population of nearly two million—which may seem small compared to mega cities, like Beijing—but is still greatly suffering from congestion. As the city’s population rises, the capacity of Şanlıurfa’s public transport has been burdened, causing residents to turn to personal vehicles. To combat congestion and meet the needs of citizens, city officials created a bus rapid transit (BRT) system that is integrated with existing bus lines.
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More than 1,100 participants convened in Mexico City to share best practices and learn about sustainable cities
Panel discussion at XI Congreso in Mexico City with Adriana Lobo, Director of EMBARQ Mexico, speaking. Photo Credit: EMBARQ Mexico
From October 12 – 14, 2015 our team in Mexico held the XI International Congress on Cities and Transport in Mexico City (XI Congreso Internacional de Ciudades y Transporte). Over the course of three days, more than 1,100 individuals participated in panel discussions, presentations and specialized workshops led by former presidents, transport experts and entrepreneurs.
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Pai has helped bring sustainable urban mobility to cities across India
Pedestrians and auto-rickshaws compete for space on the streets of Mumbai, India. Photo by EMBARQ.
Sustainability Outlook, a leading market access, insight and collaboration platform tracking actions related towards sustainability in India, has recognized Madhav Pai, Director of WRI Ross Center in India, as Parivartan Trailblazer of the Year 2015. The prestigious award is a recognition of Pai’s outstanding leadership establishing our Center’s EMBARQ sustainable urban mobility initiative in India.
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New manual from WRI Brasil Sustainable Cities helps businesses develop corporate mobility plans step by step
Highway in São Paulo, Brazil Photo Credit: mlsirac/Flickr
Commutes to and from work make up about half of all daily travel in Brazil. The majority of commuters travel at peak hours, which—coupled with low-quality public transport and sprawl—is harmful for governments, businesses and people. The current model of development centers on private vehicles, which has increasingly resulted in congestion, poor mobility and air pollution. However, both public and private employers can do a lot to encourage employees to commute in more sustainable ways.
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Workshop brought together local officials and experts to share best practices on implementing new policies
Downtown Beijing. Photo Credit: LanguageTeaching/Flickr
According to the Beijing Municipal Committee of Transport (BMCT), the number of vehicles in Beijing has reached 5.591 million, with 30.99 million daily trips within the sixth ring road at the end of 2014. As a result, air quality in the area has declined sharply. Latest data from the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB) shows that among local pollutants, emissions from motor vehicles contributed to 31.31 percent of fine particular matter, for example.
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Advisory Group will help guide our strategy for creating deep, long-term impact in cities worldwide
WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities Advisory Group. From left to right: Tina Duong, Phindile Chauke, Rohit Aggarwala, Ani Dasgupta, Shirley Rodrigues, Mark Watts, Manish Bapna, Madhav Pai, Charlotte Matthews, Holger Dalkmann, Janette Sadik-Kahn, Gino Van Begin, Ede Jorge Ijjász Vásquez, Stephen Ross, Flora Mokgohloa, Andrew Steer, Sam Parker, Clay Nesler, Adriana Lobo, Jennifer Layke, Robin Chase, Patrick Phillips, Rodrigo Rosa, Mayor Marcio Lacerda, Luis Antonio Lindau, Morten Kabell.
On September 23, 2015 the Advisory Group to WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities convened for an inaugural meeting in New York City. The Advisory Group is comprised of globally recognized city leaders, prominent experts and academics in the field of sustainable cities, and business leaders who are making a difference in urban sustainability.
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Established in memory of Dr. Lee Schipper, the scholarship has helped advance the field of sustainable mobility for four years
The Lee Schipper Memorial Scholarship for Sustainable Transport and Energy Efficiency is awarded annually to up to two extraordinary candidates to honor the legacy of Dr. Leon J. Schipper, pictured above, co-founder of EMBARQ. Photo by EMBARQ.
EMBARQ, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities’ sustainable urban mobility initiative, and the Lee Schipper family are pleased to announce Gwen Kash has been selected to receive the fourth annual Lee Schipper Memorial Scholarship.
Established in 2012, the Lee Schipper Memorial Scholarship celebrates EMBARQ founder Dr. Lee Schipper’s vision and contributions to sustainable transport and energy. Last year’s recipients – Erik Vergel-Tovar and Madeline Brozen – studied the relationship between BRT ridership and the built environment and the design of complete streets, respectively.
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Collaboration through the Transit Metropolis program to target private car use and support public transport
Mayor of Suzhou LU Liusheng and WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities Director of Strategy and Global Policy and EMBARQ Director, Holger Dalkmann, inked the MOU to officially launch a series of cooperation on the Transit Metropolis demonstration project between WRI and Suzhou Municipal Government. Photo Credit: EMBARQ China
Currently home 4.16 million people, the city of Suzhou in China is growing at such a rapid rate that its economic activity has nearly reached that of first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. However, rapid economic growth has also produced the same mobility challenges—major traffic congestion, pipe-tail emissions, and increased road incidents--that have plagued the first-tier cities.
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Events in Rio de Janeiro brought together over 1,000 people for strong leadership and action on sustainable cities
Jaime Lerner, former Mayor of Curitiba, speaking at the Cities & Transport International Congress. Photo Credit: Benoit colin.
Celebrating 10 years of EMBARQ Brasil, city leaders, planners and professionals from around the world convened in Rio de Janeiro for the Mayors’ Summit on September 9, 2015 and the Cities & Transport International Congress September 10 - 11. Over these three momentous and inspiring days, participants heard from mayors and experts about how cities are the key to tackling climate change and unlocking economic growth at the same time.
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The Ross Center reinforces its approach in Brazil
Luis Antonio Lindau, Director of WRI Sustainable Cities Brasil, during the launch of Ross WRI Center for Sustainable Cities in Brasil (Photo: Mariana Gil / WRI Brasil Sustainable Cities)
After 10 years of work with strong partnerships making Brazilian cities more sustainable, EMBARQ Brasil is now WRI Brasil Sustainable Cities. Building on our expertise in urban transport, this change reflects our growing work to create transformative change in cities across Brazil with a high-quality team of experts. Andrew Steer, President and CEO of WRI, officially announced the brand change at the Mayors Summit in Rio de Janeiro.