Cities

More than 65% of the world's population are projected to live in urban areas by 2050, with major implications resource use, energy, water and sanitation, and health and well-being. At the same time urbanization can bring benefits, especially efficiency gains. SEI examines these challenges in the round to advance sustainable urbanization.

A tram in Medillin, Colombia with a backdrop of the city.

Why intermediate cities can drive future sustainability and wellbeing: a view through urban mobility lens

Perspective / Global climate action can be won or lost in intermediate-sized cities. SEI experts offer insights on transport policy changes that can drive a greener future.

5 January 2026 / About Cities

Wind turbines and Bridlington beach by the North SeaWind turbines near Bridlington beach by the North Sea

TRANS4BIO – Integrated Energy Transition Across Scales for Climate-Resilient, Nature-Positive Biodiversity Pathways

Project / TRANS4BIO analyses governance gaps linked to the energy transition and develops policy insights for integrated climate and biodiversity action.

2026 - 2029 / About Cities, Climate policy, Public policy and Renewables

Senegal National SLCP Plan and Methane Mitigation Roadmap

Project / This project strengthens capacity of Senegal’s Ministry of environment and ecological transition to identify sources of SLCPs and develop mitigation measures

2026 - 2027 / About Cities

Two teachers talking in a classroom, one holding a tablet while the other smiles and gestures, with empty chairs stacked on tables and pupil work displayed on the walls in the background.

CHEPA (Classroom HEPA) impact calculator

Tool / CHEPA is an easy-to-use calculator that helps schools assess how a HEPA filter impacts classroom air quality and energy use.

About Cities, Participation, Pollution and Wellbeing

Building urban climate resilience street by street

Perspective / Andreas Hoy argues that a measure of the Paris Agreement's success will be the degree to which urban areas can become resilient to climate change.

6 December 2025 / About Adaptation, Cities and Climate services

Reinforcing vulnerability? Evaluation of unintended consequences in knowledge co-production for urban adaptation

Journal article / Through a knowledge co-production process in Malmö, this article explores its unintended consequences and implications for epistemic injustice.

5 December 2025 / About Cities and Mitigation

Why heat is the defining climate challenge for cities

SEI podcast / Deep dive into the science of shifting heat patterns, the inequalities in who suffers the most, and the lessons from urban design innovations in Asia and Europe

1 December 2025 / Environment and policy in Asia / Adaptation, Cities and Wellbeing

Awaiting room in medical clinic full of patients.

Air Hub: engineering healthy indoor environments

Project / An interdisciplinary network set up to understand particulate matter in indoor air, its health impacts and effective and equitable ways to address it.

2025 - 2027 / About Cities and Pollution

A door with a sign above it that says FTYM clinic, with an air monitor above the door with logos for SEI and UNEP, with grilled windows and wooden beams under the overhanging roof and a ladder.

Air–noise pollution linkages: testing innovative community‑based adaptation and mitigation strategies in Kenya

Journal article / This publication explored how environmental monitoring can help address the mental health needs of vulnerable perinatal adolescents.

31 October 2025 / About Adaptation, Cities and Pollution