News

NEW REPORT: Two UN Environment Reports Launched: The Weight of Cities (Global) and Sustainable Infrastructure Transitions in the ASEAN (Southeast Asia)

Can we better design cities to support local and global sustainability goals? That is the subject of two new reports recently released by UN Environment including a global report, The Weight of Cities: Resource Requirements of Future Urbanization, and a regional report for Southeast Asia, Sustainable Urban Infrastructure Transitions in the ASEAN Region: A Resource Perspective.

Both reports call for new strategies to meet the needs of 21st-century urbanization, ones that will result in cities that are low carbon, resource efficient, socially just, and in which people can live healthy lives. Read UN Environment’s full press release here.

Policy-maker summaries for both reports were recently launched at UN Habitat’s 9th World Urban Forum. The summary of the global report can be found here. The summary of the regional Southeast Asia report can be found here.

Anu Ramaswami, director of the Sustainable Healthy Cities Network, was a contributing author to the global report and lead author of the regional report. Sustainable Healthy Cities Network staff researchers Ashly McFarlane and Sam Tabory, as well as post-doctoral fellow Rylie Pelton, were contributing authors to the regional report.

Both reports were developed by UN Environment as part of their ongoing efforts to promote resource efficient urbanization. Learn more about the work of UN Environment’s Global Initiative for Resource Efficient Cities here.