Climate Change and Sustainable Cities
Climate change and urbanization are reshaping development challenges around the world. The impacts of climate change are expected to fall especially hard on low-income communities, including many areas of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, while rapid urbanization is raising urgent questions about housing, infrastructure, sustainability, and inclusion.
IIEP’s Climate Change and Sustainable Cities initiative examines how climate change and urbanization are reshaping development challenges, especially for low-income communities and resource-constrained settings.
Areas of focus. IIEP programming and research in this area have explored climate adaptation, natural disasters, sustainable development, urbanization, housing supply, housing affordability, inclusive cities, environmental degradation, climate finance, real estate markets, and the policy challenges facing fast-growing urban areas.
Sustainable Cities and Urbanization. A major focus of this initiative is the study of sustainable cities and the economic challenges of urbanization. IIEP’s annual Urbanization and Development Conference, organized with the World Bank and other partners, brings together academics, policymakers, government officials, and development practitioners to examine how cities shape growth, jobs, firms, poverty reduction, and development.
IIEP also hosts the Sustainable Cities Workshop, which provides a forum for scholars and policy experts to discuss urban sustainability, infrastructure, housing, climate resilience, and the governance challenges facing rapidly growing cities.
Climate Change and Adaptation. IIEP held its first international conference on the economics of adaptation to climate change in low-income countries in 2011, in partnership with the World Bank Development Research Group and the United Nations Development Programme (Environment and Energy Group – Global Environmental Finance Team). That early work helped establish climate adaptation as an important area of IIEP programming and policy dialogue. Since then, IIEP has hosted events on climate policy, climate finance, natural disasters, regional climate impacts, and environmental challenges in developing economies.
Related Initiative: Local Sustainable Governance Policy Lab. In 2024, IIEP established the Local Sustainable Governance Policy Lab, a related initiative focused on subnational governance and local policy responses to climate and sustainability challenges. The Lab complements IIEP’s broader work on climate change and sustainable cities by examining how local governments can advance effective sustainability, development, and climate policy. Learn more about the Lab.
Related Conferences
- Urbanization and Development Conference
The World Bank - GW Urbanization and Development Conference brings together academics and development practitioners to present and discuss questions relating to People, Markets, and Cities. In particular, the conference will focus on effective land, housing, transport and local labor market policy in cities and their implications for economic development and social inclusion.
- GW-World Bank Sustainable Cities Workshops
The GW-World Bank Sustainable Cities workshop series brings together academics and development practitioners to present and discuss key questions of common interest relating to Sustainable Urbanization.
- GW Sustainable Development Conference
This conference brought together academics and development economics practitioners to present and discuss pressing questions relating to sustainable development, a theme central to the World Bank’s mission of tackling poverty on a livable planet.
April 16, 2026 - 8:30 AM
6th GW India Conference
March 30, 2026 to March 31, 2026
10th Urbanization & Development Conference
December 11, 2025 - 9:00 AM
17th GW China Conference
June 11, 2025 to June 12, 2025
9th Urbanization & Development Conference (South Africa)
April 24, 2025 - 8:30 AM
5th GW India Conference on India’s Economic Development and U.S.-India Economic Relations
February 25, 2025 - 12:15 PM
Investing in Local Climate Action: The Evolving Role of National Governments
April 17, 2024 - 8:00 AM
The Future of Finance & Trade in Africa Conference
March 21, 2024 - 11:00 AM
International Day of the Forests
April 26, 2023 - 9:00 PM
Reshaping the World Bank for the 21st Century: An Agenda for the New President
April 13, 2023 - 9:00 AM
Governing Finance and Climate Change