WRI ROSS CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE CITIES JOINS GPIT AS STRATEGIC PARTNER

February 28, 2021 — Press

The Global Partnership for Informal Transportation (GPIT) welcomes its latest strategic partner, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.

WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities is the World Resources Institute’s program dedicated to shaping a future where cities work better for everyone. The Center’s global research and on-the-ground experience in Brazil, China, Ethiopia, India, Mexico, Turkey and the United States combine to spur action that improves life for millions of people.

WRI Ross Center has worked on integrated transport in cities for two decades, recently releasing a landmark report, Informal and Semiformal Services in Latin America: An Overview of Public Transportation Reforms. The report, funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (Banco Interamericano de Desarollo), found that investing in and integrating informal transport services will improve access to opportunity for millions of people.

GPIT works hand-in-hand with informal urban transportation systems of the Global South to advance innovation, improve services, and change business models. GPIT is a project of NewCities, initiated by Agile City Partners, and supported by CoMotion Inc.

Informal transportation—​ojeks, tuktuks, jeepneys, matatus, colectivos, etc.​—dominate the urban mobility systems of the rapidly growing metropolitan regions of the Global South. These regionwide, privately provided transport modes emerge to meet the demand for cheap, flexible mobility. They move billions, employ millions, and support the sizable informal sector in urban economies.

Despite this near ubiquity, informal transportation is often seen as a local problem. The sector suffers from haphazard, discriminatory policies and regulations and is often despised in urban and transportation planning. Even transportation experts tend to favor strategies oriented toward eliminating and replacing these services. Ignoring the potential of these services negatively impacts millions of users, many of them from the most vulnerable groups in society.

GPIT and WRI Ross Center want to change this narrative and bring long overdue visibility to the important role informal transportation plays. The two organizations believe informal urban transit systems are engines for connecting people with opportunity and creating more sustainable and inclusive cities.

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About NewCities

NewCities is a global non-profit committed to shaping a better urban future. The organization has a decade’s experience curating and producing innovative content about the most important emerging urban trends through tailored events, editorial features, and actionable research. NewCities brings a ‘whole-city’ approach by convening and connecting key stakeholders of the urban ecosystem: residents, governments, academic institutions, civil society organizations, and business communities. Its activities are inspired and supported by its global network of members, whose insights help determine the most pressing challenges faced by cities. www.newcities.org Twitter​ ​Facebook​ ​LinkedIn

About CoMotion

CoMotion is a global platform where leaders of the most innovative transportation and technology companies around the world meet with urban policymakers to share ideas, do business and plan the new mobility future. CoMotion organizes exclusive world-class events such as CoMotion LIVE, CoMotion LA and CoMotion MIAMI, and is the new mobility industry’s premiere source for news, insights, and analysis.

About Agile City Partners

Agile City Partners is a boutique global urban consulting company. ACP’s singular goal is to bring the agile mindset to the cities it serves. We face planetary challenges and global disruptions, so our cities need to learn quickly, to respond, to move fast. ACP believes agility helps cities to be truly inclusive, to fight climate change, and to be resilient.