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WRI Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety - Pedestrian Infrastructure

Global, Global

The World Resources Institute, through Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS), provides technical expertise for safe pedestrian infrastructure design in 16 cities across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Since 2015, WRI has conducted road safety audits on 690 km of roads, leading to safe pedestrian infrastructure in 430+ km. Notable projects include intersection redesigns in Quito (Ecuador) and Mumbai (India) using colorful barriers and crosswalks, and Istanbul's Historic Peninsula pedestrianization. WRI has trained 11,600+ people and secured $300M+ for road safety projects with an estimated 35,000 lives projected saved through 2040. The Safe System approach recognizes human error is inevitable but fatalities are preventable through urban design prioritizing people over vehicles.

Behavior Goal

Transform urban environments to prioritize pedestrian safety; build local capacity for safe street design; demonstrate that pedestrian-friendly infrastructure is economically viable

Methods & Approaches

Advocacy & Policy Influence

Implementers & Partners

  • World Resources Institute (WRI)
  • Bloomberg Philanthropies

Donors & Sponsors

  • Bloomberg Philanthropies

Key Takeaways

  • 1Safe System approach: human error inevitable, but fatalities preventable
  • 2Tactical urbanism (colorful paint, barriers) enables rapid, visible changes
  • 3Training 11,600+ practitioners builds sustainable local capacity
  • 4$300M+ secured demonstrates investment case for pedestrian infrastructure
  • 5Pedestrianization projects (Istanbul) show economic benefits of car-free zones

Sources

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