I2UD is a member of a consortium led by RTI International that is part of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) “Making Cities Work” program. The goal is to improve urban and local governance in 112 countries in key functional areas including public service delivery, accountability, climate change adaptation, disaster preparedness, and urban finance.
In response to requests from USAID missions, the consortium will work with municipalities to address some of the most serious challenges created by a rapidly urbanizing world. This includes a continued demand for basic services, infrastructure, land, and affordable housing in the context of increasing vulnerabilities to climate change, disasters, and public health risks. Along with RTI, the consortium partners include:
- Bankworld
- Cardno TEC, Inc./Cardno Emerging Markets USA, Ltd
- Development and Training Systems, Inc. (dTS)
- Innovative Emergency Management, Inc. (IEM)
- Integra Government Services LLC (Integra)
- Local Development International LLC (LDI)
- Overseas Strategic Consulting, Ltd.
- Relief International (RI)
I2UD brings its experience in building urban resiliency and community climate adaptation strategies, as well as urban planning and land management expertise to the consortium. We work with cities to identify and harness their power of urbanization to solve a myriad of complex problems. The Institute works directly with city and community leaders from the ground up to identify and respond to local needs. We recognize that this leadership is key to building resiliency within cities.
Over the past three years, I2UD has increasingly focused its activities on documenting and understanding the potential impacts of climate change on land-use and urbanization patterns and exploring different adaptation strategies at the regional, urban and neighborhood levels. This work seeks to help local governments, community stakeholders and residents develop strategic approaches that address the multiple dimensions of risk faced by urban settlements (particularly lower-income communities) and integrate mitigating interventions into ongoing programs and projects. Our Climate Change Adaptation and Resiliency Framework summarizes this approach.