The finalists from the WRI Ross Prize for Cities have been announced.

Anne Maassen and Madeleine Galvin collect five examples from around the world to showcase "what urban transformation really looks like."
"Experts point to the need for urban transformation, yet few people have a concrete sense of how to trigger and sustain such rapid change," according to Maassen and Galvin.
That's where the WRI Ross Prize for Cities comes in. The first-ever prize competition sought real world examples of urban transformation. Nearly 200 applicants submitted nominees for the $250,000 prize, and five finalists were recently announced.
- Inclusive transport on Medellin's Metrocable.
- The School Area Road Safety Assessment and Improvement (SARSAI) in Tanzania and now a dozen countries.
- A co-created public space in Durban South Africa, the work of Asiye eTafuleni (AeT).
- A waste-picker cooperative in Pune, India
- Integrating nature and public transit on the Porsuk River in Eskisehir, Turkey.
FULL STORY: 5 Cities Show What Urban Transformation Really Looks Like

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