The informal economy matters a lot to cities and climate change. Across the Global South, popular (informal) transport and informal settlements are how or where most urban residents actually move, live, and work. Despite this, investments overlook these systems in mitigating climate change and adapting to increasingly extreme weather that disproportionately impacts informal housing and transit routes. Further, new housing is often located at the urban fringe, far away from jobs and services while investments in transit fail to properly serve such areas. This session brings together a panel of key global experts on the informal urban economy and climate change to explore the opportunities for more effective climate action (both mitigation and adaptation) with affordability and inclusion benefits. Drawing on collaborative work through the Partnership for Research on Shared and Informal Mobility (PRISM) and focusing on real world case studies from cities including Nairobi, Ahilyanagar, Mumbai, Bangkok and Bogota, the discussion will explore how integrated mitigation and adaptation approaches can improve popular transport and informal settlements while putting cities on a more liveable, affordable and low-carbon track.

Speakers:

  • Sheela Patel, Director of SPARC
  • Jacqueline Klopp, Director of the Center for Sustainable Urban Development at the Columbia Climate School
  • Ben Welle, Director, Integrated Transport, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities

The event is hosted by WRI, the Columbia Climate School and SPARC, and the the Partnership for Research on Shared and Informal Mobility (PRISM), a research program of the Volvo Research and Educational Foundations. For more information, contact Benjamin Welle

Location: 
450 E 29th Street
Suite 201
New York, NY

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