To effect change on the scale cities need, we need to better train people, organizations and institutions. Photo by WRI México
This is the first entry in a series on capacity development for city leaders.
By 2050, the global urban population is expected to grow by 2.5 billion people, continuing a decades-long trend of urbanization. And as the number of people in cities has grown so has pressure on urban leaders to be the ring leaders in solving many of the world’s major problems. From socioeconomic equality, to safe and reliable transportation, access to jobs, health care, and education, to clean air, environmental sustainability, and climate change mitigation and adaptation, cities face a laundry list of questions they are expected to answer. These expectations emanate not only from their own constituencies, but from a host of international agreements such as the New Urban Agenda, Sustainable Development Goals, and Paris Agreement.