Pandemic legacies: funding urban recovery in Europe and the US

Catarina Heeckt, from LSE Cities, argues that the European Union has missed a key opportunity to empower cities – and that there is much to learn from the bold approach taken in the US

Reflections on the 2019 International Transport Forum Summit

LSE Cities launches new paper at International Transport Forum Summit in Leipzig – but urban accessibility and bigger challenges of environmental sustainability remain largely absent from the high-level discussions

Hey big spenders: pandemic recovery funding in Europe and the US

Catarina Heeckt argues that the EU may have missed a golden opportunity to empower cities by giving them more control over recovery funding, and that there is a lot to learn from the bolder approach taken by the Biden administration in the United States

Is Europe’s green wave turning blue? Making sense of the rightward shift in European cities

As support for right wing movements and political parties has grown, so has the idea that cities might act as progressive bastions in an increasingly populist and illiberal national landscape. But as recent election results across Europe demonstrate, cities are not immune to the divisive discourses and increasing polarisation surrounding the green transition, write Catarina Heeckt and Francesco Ripa

How Mexican cities could meet women’s transport needs

The majority of women in Mexican cities depend on public transport to get to their jobs. Yet sprawling urban development and a lack of safe, well-connected transport infrastructure means they are denied mobility and the opportunities that come with it. Catarina Heeckt (LSE) and Anamaría Martínez (WRI Cities) say the government must look at transport through a gender lens as Mexico emerges from the pandemic

Compact, connected, clean and inclusive cities in Mexico: an agenda for national housing and transport policy reform

As the Mexican government charts the country’s recovery from COVID-19, this paper sets out national solutions to urban transport and housing challenges that will put Mexico’s cities on a path to prosperity and resilience

Mobility for the masses: the essential role of informal transport in the COVID-19 recovery

If we do not include informal transit operators in COVID-19 recovery efforts, we are missing a crucial opportunity to make these services cleaner, safer, and more efficient, while protecting millions of jobs

How Mexican cities can meet women’s transport needs after COVID-19

The majority of women in Mexican cities depend on public transport to get to work. Yet sprawling urban development and a lack of safe, well-connected transport infrastructure means that they are denied mobility and the opportunities that come with it. Mexico’s government must look at transport through a gender lens as the country emerges from the COVID-19 crisis, write Catarina Heeckt (LSE Cities) and Ana María Martínez (WRI Cities)

National transport policy and cities: key policy interventions to drive compact and connected urban growth

This paper provides a foundation for national transport policy-makers to begin pragmatic but ambitious conversations about actions they can take to make cities more accessible

Better access to urban opportunities: accessibility policy for cities in the 2020s

The world has entered the 2020s facing three intertwined crises that demand immediate attention: the COVID-19 pandemic, a new rise in poverty and inequality and the climate emergency. The urgency is particularly great in cities, where people and economic activities are concentrated. This calls for a critical rethinking of whether urban areas are meeting people’s needs – and how policies could help transform them for the better