Cities and Urban Development

IFC report reveals how a green post-COVID recovery focused on decarbonizing energy infrastructure, building climate-smart cities, and accelerating a shift to more sustainable production can gain economic and climate benefits -
based on analysis from 10 key sectors across 21 major emerging market economies that represent 62% of the world's population and 48% of global GHG emissions.

Flooding, overheating, water shortages, and damage to infrastructure from extreme weather are just a few of the many climate crisis facing cities across the globe. Yet a survey of 800 cities conducted by CDP reveals that almost 43% do not even have plan to adapt to impacts of global heating. Budgetary restraints were cited as the key reason by about 25% of cities, with a high reliance on the central government.

Cities Turning to Blue-Green Infrastructure

Freight transport and emissions are increasing rapidly and, until now, cities were not equipped to handle the associated challenges. Only about 21 percent of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) highlighting transport refers to freight transport. Nonetheless, general understanding and awareness on sustainable freight have grown exponentially in recent years.

In this weekend's podcasts, learn more about e-mobility in cities (https://www.worldbank.org/en/news//podcast/2021/05/05/on-the-road-to-e-…) and forest carbon offsets (https://www.npr.org/2021/05/07/994774148/emission-impossible)

Greening the Skyline with Green Roofs

Two geologists walk into a bar. The first one says to the bartender, “You know, soon there’s going to be a shortage of sand.” The bartender looks up, waiting for the punchline. The second geologist says, “He’s not kidding and that’s not a joke.”... [It’s an increasing concern, particularly as] Consumption [is anticipated to] accelerate as governments resume infrastructure projects that were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic...

Since 2012 the World Bank has integrated Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in around 100 projects across 60 countries, and developed a knowledge base to help mainstream NbS. One of them is improving transport infrastructure resilience in Haiti, a country prone to natural disasters, from hurricanes to earthquakes.