WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities focuses on integrated solutions to long-standing and new urban challenges. Through innovative research, deep engagement with urban leaders, and global partnerships, our network of local and international experts puts cities on a trajectory of more sustainable and equitable development. We accelerate transformative urban initiatives that turn cities into resilient, inclusive, low-carbon places that are good for people and the planet.

Learn More About WRI Ross Center

We work in hundreds of cities with dozens of partners around the world.

Download brochure

About EMBARQ

Latest annual report

Explore our approach

We are a team of 400+ local and international experts with deep expertise in urban planning and development, mobility, energy efficiency, resilience, housing, water management and more. About 80% of our staff is based in offices in Brazil, China, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey. WRI Ross Center combines the research excellence of WRI with two decades of on-the-ground impact in transport and urban development by the EMBARQ network to catalyze innovative solutions in other sectors, including air quality, water, buildings, land use and energy.

We focus primarily on cities in low- and middle-income regions: Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia, South Asia and the Pacific. Cities here represent the greatest opportunity for a radical shift in how urban areas are planned, built and governed. We also work at the front lines of the mobility and energy revolutions, including in the United States.

WRI Ross Cities Brasil WRI Ross Cities China WRI Ross Cities India WRI Ross Cities Mexico WRI Ross Cities Turkiye WRI Indonesia WRI Ross Cities Colombia

WRI Ross Center Advisory Group

WRI Ross Center’s Advisory Group is a globally recognized assembly of city leaders and urban experts, chaired by Stephen M. Ross, who generously contribute their expertise and influence to advancing WRI Ross Center’s mission.

Learn more

  • Stephen M. Ross, Honorary Chair; Chairman and Founder, Related Companies
  • James A. Harmon, Chair Emerita of the Board, World Resources Institute; Chairman, Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund; Chairman, Caravel Management LLC
  • Carolina Tohá, Minister of the Interior and Public Security, Chile
  • Dirk Messner, President, German Environment Agency (UBA)
  • Frannie Léautier, Senior Partner, Southbridge Group; CEO, Southbridge Investments
  • Gino Van Begin, Secretary General, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability
  • Harini Nagendra, Director, Research Center, Azim Premji University (India)
  • Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman of the Board, Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company Limited
  • Jeff Olson, Architect, Planner, Author & VP, re:Charge-e
  • Lauren Faber O'Connor, Former Chief Sustainability Officer, City of Los Angeles
  • Li Xiaojiang, Former President, China Academy of Urban Planning and Design
  • Mark Watts, Executive Director, C40 Cities Cities Climate Leadership Group
  • Martha Delgado, Vice Minister for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights, Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • Mitch Jackson, Vice President, Environmental Affairs, and Chief Sustainability Officer, FedEx
  • Parks Tau, Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs, South Africa
  • Robin Chase, Co-Founder and Former CEO, Zipcar
  • Rohit Aggarwala, Chief Climate Officer and Commissioner of Environmental Protection of New York City
  • Sameh Wahba, Regional Director for Sustainable Development in Europe and Central Asia (ECA), World Bank
  • Shirley Rodrigues, Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, London
  • Vera Rodenhoff, Head of the Division for International Cooperation on Climate and Energy, Implementing Initiatives, BMWK

 

Featured Cities Experts

Ariel shot of urban bike lane

Stay on top of the insights, research and projects helping cities become better places for people, nature and the climate.

Subscribe
Silhouettes of children playing swing in turbine wind park at sunset