Sarah Colenbrander
Senior researcher, Human Settlements Group
• Financing urban infrastructure
• Urban governance for inclusion and sustainability
• Climate and energy policy in urban areas
I am the Global Programme Lead and Senior Economist with the Coalition for Urban Transitions, a network of 24 organisations from the research, government and private sector. The Coalition was established to support national economic decision-makers to enable low-carbon and climate-resilient urban development. I am responsible for conducting and managing high-quality and innovative research across the partner institutions. The 2017-2019 research programme focuses on national policy levers, financing urban infrastructure and the wider economic case for action.
I also work closely with networks of grassroots organisations on innovative financing for basic infrastructure. In particular, I am working with SDI and the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights on securing access to multilateral climate funds and establishing partnerships with private actors such as commercial banks, property developers and engineering firms. Resourcing community-led processes in this way can foster more inclusive forms of urban development.
In addition to academic publications, I have contributed to reports published by the World Bank, the New Climate Economy and UN Environment. I am also a guest lecturer at the University of Oxford, University College London and the University of Manchester, and serve as Associate Editor for the peer-reviewed journal Environment and Urbanization.
• Research Fellow at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom
• Associate at the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy
Education:
• MSc (Environment and Development) with Distinction at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
• BSc (Ecology) and BCom (Economics) with Distinction at the University of Sydney, Australia
Sarah Colenbrander's blog posts
How can cities in poor countries raise funds for major infrastructure projects? Sarah Colenbrander and Denise Chan look at two success stories and suggest how local governments can build their financial skills and credibility with investors.
A new study shows that increasing population density within cities generates significant economic benefits. But successfully harnessing the power of compact cities also requires large-scale investments in transport and housing.
International definitions of the poverty line don't take into the account the additional costs of living in cities. Sarah Colenbrander says the urban poor can help institutions such as the United Nations and the World Bank develop accurate, local, definitions of urban poverty.
A new report explores how cities can increase their resilience and resource efficiency – but highlights possible tensions between these two environmental agendas.
The international commitment to reducing inequality marks a welcome breakthrough. But without clearer targets for measuring progress, driving change to tackle rising inequality will be a challenge.
City governments in East Africa are grappling with rapid urbanisation and widespread poverty. Pursuing low-carbon urban development could offer many benefits.
There are compelling economic opportunities for cities to reduce their carbon footprints – but will these measures be enough to stay below 2 degrees of warming?
Sarah Colenbrander's blog posts with other authors
While welcoming the support from Michael Bloomberg for a new city-focused global public health initiative, David Satterthwaite and Sarah Colenbrander raise concerns about what is not included.