Innovation

News May 7, 2025 Supercool, Penn IUR Spotlight Mayors Driving Global Urban Climate Finance A partnership with Supercool, a leading climate solutions podcast, will highlight mayors who are innovating how cities finance sustainable development in the face of climate change. Climate Change & Resilience
Research Paper April 23, 2025 Integrating Urban and Subnational Priorities into Country Platforms: Strengthening Global Commitments Climate Change & Resilience State & Local Finance
News April 10, 2025 Penn IUR Celebrates 20 Years of Global Urban Leadership at Annual Forum The Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR) will host the 20th Annual Urban Leadership Forum, a milestone event honoring visionary global leaders who have shaped today’s cities and have lessons for tomorrow's cities, on Friday, April 25.  Urban Development
Apr 25 2025 Past Event 20th Annual Urban Leadership Forum: Urban Leadership for the 21st Century Speakers:  Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr Patrick Harker Enrique Peñalosa Urban Development
Apr 14 2025 Past Event Special Briefing | Mayors under Stress: Financing Local Development around the World Speakers:  Steve Adler Stephanie Miner Nasiphi Moya Jaime Pumarejo Heins Eugénie L. Birch William Glasgall State & Local Finance
Article February 26, 2025 Megan Ryerson on Resilient, Environmentally-efficient Transportation Megan Ryerson's scholarship examines the interplay between transportation networks, urban development, energy efficiency and resilience. Urban Development
Article February 26, 2025 A Strategic Partnership to Advance Urban SDG Financing Penn IUR and the Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) have teamed up for a strategic partnership to support the SDSN Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance.  Climate Change & Resilience Rapid Urbanization
Article January 28, 2025 Expert Voices 2025 | Access to Sustainable and Affordable Housing Each year, Penn IUR engages a distinguished group of international experts to address a pressing urban challenge. This year, we asked leading voices in housing policy, urban planning, and finance to share their perspectives on a critical question: What bold actions or structural reforms are needed to ensure access to sustainable and affordable housing, and particularly to expand supply? What are the effective strategies that national and subnational governments can use to address this challenge? Eugénie L. Birch Susan Wachter Henry Cisneros Lance Freeman Laurie Goodman Benjamin Keys John Landis Marc H. Morial, Esq. Vincent Reina Housing
Article December 9, 2024 Laura Perna on Access to Higher Education Among the nation's leading scholars on issues of college access and affordability, Laura Perna has advanced the discourse on equity in higher education through numerous highly acclaimed edited volumes, reports, and articles. Her scholarship examines the policy choices for enabling access—and success—for post-K-12 education, assessing college access, affordability, and success--especially for low-income, first-generation, and non-traditional students.  Laura Perna Urban Development
Article November 18, 2024 Dennis Culhane on The Emerging Crisis of Aged Homelessness Dennis Culhane’s current research examines the relationship between homelessness and the aging of the “Baby Boom” cohort. Dennis Culhane Housing
Cover of Urban Sustainable Development
Book November 14, 2024 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance, and Politics Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance, and Politics addresses the critical challenges of promoting sustainable growth in rapidly expanding cities. Eugénie L. Birch Mauricio Rodas Climate Change & Resilience Urban Development + 1
News November 13, 2024 Penn IUR, CEBRI launch “Sustainable Urban Development: Governance, Finance and Politics” book at U20 Rio Summit The Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI) and the Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR) launched a new publication, Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance, and Politics, on November 15, during the U20 Rio Summit that is meeting in advance of the G-20 leaders meeting, November 18-19 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Climate Change & Resilience
Jan 23 2025 Past Event The City in the 21st Century: Celebrating the Reflective Practitioner featuring Enrique Peñalosa Londoño Speakers:  Enrique Peñalosa Manuel A. Diaz Richard Freeland Judith Rodin Eleanor Sharpe Climate Change & Resilience Urban Development + 1
Research Paper November 7, 2024 The Green Cities Guarantee Fund: Unlocking Access to Urban Climate Finance The SDSN Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance proposes a Green Cities Guarantee Fund (GCGF) as an important tool to increase the flow of public and private capital into subnational climate-responsive projects. This report details the case for the GCGF, offers a roadmap for operationalizing the fund, and makes suggestions for its initial market pilot in Latin America. Mauricio Rodas Eugénie L. Birch Luke Campo Climate Change & Resilience
Faculty Fellow Sanya Carley
Presidential Distinguished Professor of Energy Policy & City Planning, Weitzman School of Design Mark Alan Hughes Faculty Director, The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy
Climate Change & Resilience
News October 28, 2024 Penn IUR, The United Nations Environment Programme unveil new framework to address gap in urban nature finance The Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR) released a report with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Cities Unit’s State of Finance for Nature in Cities, From Grey to Green: Better data to finance nature in cities, during COP16 Colombia. Amanda Lloyd Eugénie L. Birch Climate Change & Resilience Urban Development
Videos October 28, 2024 From Grey to Green: Better Data to Finance Nature in Cities This video animates the report Penn IUR and the United Nations Environment Programme developed, “From Grey to Green: Better Data to Finance Nature in Cities,” which provides a framework for cities to improve how they plan, track, and finance nature-based solutions. Climate Change & Resilience
Research Paper October 26, 2024 From Grey to Green: Better data to finance nature in cities The Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR) released a report for the United Nations (UN) Environment Programme Cities Unit’s State of Finance for Nature in Cities, "From Grey to Green: Better data to finance nature in cities," during COP16 Colombia. Amanda Lloyd Eugénie L. Birch Climate Change & Resilience
Article October 24, 2024 Faculty Spotlight: Allison Lassiter Penn IUR Faculty Fellow Allison Lassiter is adapting drinking water systems to climate change. She tells Penn IUR about a tool her lab is developing, SaltCast, and her role in serving on Penn’s delegation to the UNFCCC Conference of Parties. Climate Change & Resilience
Article October 16, 2024 Commission Advances Agenda During New York Climate Week World mayors, urban finance and legal experts comprising the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance developed recommendations to address cities’ climate financing needs during Climate Week in New York. Climate Change & Resilience

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