Blog

USAID’s Urban Team is pleased to announce the launch of the new and improved UrbanLinks website. As USAID’s central hub for information about urban topics and programs, UrbanLinks provides valuable tools, resources, and insights from across the Agency and from our partners.

• 02/07/2020
• Urbanlinks

Strong, resilient infrastructure can help countries better prepare for climate variability and change, such as more severe and frequent weather events or sea level rise. Basic infrastructure is failing, insufficient, or non-existent in many developing countries, and changes in climate can damage infrastructure across sectors from energy, health, education, and others.

• 01/29/2020
• Isabela Barriga

Amid growing recognition that climate change is not just an environmental issue, but a concern in all sectors, USAID’s adaptation investments are helping the Agency and its partners more effectively assess, plan for, and manage climate risks.

• 12/19/2019
• Erin Martin

The Climatelinks photo contest received an impressive total of 170 submissions from the Climatelinks community, representing more than 40 countries.

• 12/03/2019
• Steve Hardeman

A growing demand to address the threats of climate change and social inequality has led to the emergence of inclusive climate action.

• 10/22/2019
• Wendy Jaglom, Logan Pfeiffer

Urban microgrids are high on the global development agenda. They are attractive for many reasons, most recently for their relevance to climate change adaptation and mitigation. They have proven resilient to extreme weather events, and, because they create commercial opportunities for low-carbon generation technology, they can reduce greenhouse gases from the urban sector in the long term.

• 08/23/2019
• Michael Ashford, Lisa Pagkalinawan

We asked Climatelinks community members to share their resources at the intersection of energy efficiency, emissions reductions, air pollution and related health issues in urban areas.

• 06/18/2018
• Katherine Cunningham, Joyce-Lynn Njinga

Until recently, the health sector was largely missing from the climate change arena – but this is changing.

• 05/24/2018
• Climatelinks

We’ve all heard the numbers – the global infrastructure investment needed to keep up with projected economic growth is severely lacking. In cities, where 54% of the world’s population now lives, it is estimated that US$4.1 to 4.3 trillion in urban infrastructure investments is needed. To make that infrastructure climate resilient and emission reducing, the estimate increases by 9-27%.

• 03/30/2018
• Climatelinks

By working together to reduce fragility and vulnerability, could we not only better prepare for disaster, but also help prevent conflict? We have the policy tools to take an integrated approach to climate, conflict, and disaster—but we need the political will to use them.

• 01/25/2018
• Florian Krampe, Roberta Scassa

Here in Nepal, more than 13,000 kilometers (8,077 miles) away from Houston, the worst monsoon season in years is also inundating villages outside the capital. Extreme flooding has killed more than 1,400 people and impacted 41 million people across South Asia, and heavy rains have also claimed lives in Sierra Leone, China, Indonesia and Niger.

• 12/07/2017
• Arivudai Nambi Appadurai

Proposals of existing projects or brand new ideas can be submitted on the Best Climate Practices website from 13 March to 31 May, 2017.

• 04/06/2017
• Climatelinks

“Climate work is practical, common-sense, good development,” said Carrie Thompson, deputy assistant administrator at the Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and Environment at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

• 12/29/2016
• Graham Norwood

Climate change is hurting vulnerable populations in developing countries, and posing new risks to USAID programs.

• 12/13/2016
• Climatelinks

More than 30,000 people from 167 countries descended on Quito, Ecuador last month for the third United Nations conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III). 

• 11/23/2016
• Climatelinks