Carbon and Poverty Reduction
We are exploring ways to ensure that such carbon markets contribute to both mitigating climate change and reducing rural poverty in the developing world. Much of the international discussion about combating climate change has focused on how developed countries can reduce emissions of greenhouse gases from the energy, transportation and industrial sectors. One promising response has been the development of carbon markets, where credits for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and for carbon sequestrations can be sold and traded.
Cities and Information
The majority of the world’s population now lives in cities. These dense urban areas are becoming increasingly layered with information technology (cellphones, sensors, etc.) that can provide real-time information about the functioning and use of city infrastructure as well as about the inhabitants and their activities. City planners and managers can track information on transportation flows, water usage, crime, and vulnerability to other threats in ways that were impossible less than a decade ago. Innovative analytical tools that deal with vast quantities of information will provide insights into the dynamics of our cities. New web and mobile systems are allowing citizens greater engagement with their city and its leaders.
The Foundation is probing critical questions: What will the data and information tell us about our cities? How can this information deluge be leveraged to empower poor and vulnerable people with more active engagement and a stronger voice in the decisions of the city? And can this emerging technology and information be used to build community resilience and sustainable growth as well as to improve the way we perceive and manage our cities?
Innovations for a Metro Nation
With the current housing crisis having exposed the vulnerabilities of US housing and urban policies, the Foundation is helping the country reinvent its existing systems. The intention of our efforts is to spark fresh ideas for creating effective regional governance, reforming housing markets, addressing the entrenched inequality and growing vulnerability of households, responding to changing demographics, and helping cities adapt to climate and energy constraints.
Grantee Profile: Walk Score
Networks for Urban Innovation
During the next two decades, nearly all of the urban growth that is projected to occur will take place in the developing world. By 2030, 80% of the world’s urban population will be living in developing countries. In spite of this growth, these affected cities often lack the capacity to absorb this population increase. The Foundation is taking a multi-sector approach to helping these urban areas cope with the demands of already-scarce resources, new health risks, and the negative effects of climate change.
