Registration details will be available soon.
As megacities develop worldwide, the transportation landscape is changing rapidly, with major implications for climate change, climate resilience, the economy, and human health.
On-demand ride apps are booming, urban settlements are expanding, and local vehicle manufacturing is taking off–setting up possibly long-lasting mobility habits. As a surge of private motorized transport is coupled with traffic congestion and local air pollution, planners are struggling to regulate and provide adequate public transportation. Meanwhile, transportation is the fourth-largest and fastest-growing sector of greenhouse gas emissions, and cities are affected by increasingly common climate-related shocks. Extreme weather like heat waves and flooding likely disrupts people’s ability to move, disconnecting urban residents from the opportunities around them. These local mobility issues are a global challenge.
Join the Harvard Center for International Development (CID) on March 5-6, 2026 for our Urban Mobility and Climate Change Conference, bringing together global leaders and innovators on campus to share ideas and develop solutions for a more sustainable future.
The conference is co-hosted by the Harvard Salata Institute’s Urban Mobility and Climate Change Research Cluster and the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University. It combines the strengths of researchers and public policy leadership to drive impactful solutions for lower-emission, healthier, and more resilient cities that thrive.
Advancing Urban Mobility and Climate Solutions Through Interdisciplinary Research and Policy Collaboration
This gathering aims to foster interdisciplinary academic collaboration across fields like urban planning, public policy, economics, computer science, and atmospheric chemistry, and to forge deep collaboration with policymakers on the forefront of these issues. Through these collaborations, we aim to better diagnose pressing challenges and create policy innovations on an accelerated timeline. The conference will focus on three themes for research and policy engagement:
- Improve and Decarbonize Urban Transport – Innovate and test strategies to decarbonize urban transport in developing countries while maintaining high levels of mobility, for example, through improving existing urban transport systems, reducing congestion, or laying the groundwork for electric vehicles
- Measure and Reduce Co-Pollutants – Measure the GHG and air pollution effects of urban transport, especially from common or growing modes
- Understand and Adapt to Climate Shocks – Quantify the impact of climate change and climate-induced shocks on urban mobility; propose and evaluate adaptations
Faculty Hosts
Rema Hanna
Rema Hanna
Jeffrey Cheah Professor of South-East Asia Studies and Chair of the International Development Area, Harvard Kennedy School
Gabriel Kriendler
Gabriel Kriendler
Assistant Professor of Economics, Harvard University
The Urban Mobility and Climate Change Conference will take place at the Harvard Kennedy School’s NYE A, B, C Conference Space and the Allison Dining Room (Taubman Building, 5th floor). All guests must be registered and check in at the main Wexner entrance to the Harvard Kennedy School.
The Harvard Kennedy School is located at 79 John F. Kennedy St. Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. The main Wexner entrance is off of Elliot St.
Harvard Kennedy School Map
Out-of-town speakers are invited to stay at the Sheraton Commander Hotel. Our team will contact you to arrange your reservations.
16 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: 617.547.4800
Distance from HKS: 0.4 miles
Other lodging options include:
The Charles Hotel
One Bennett Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: 617.864.1200 Toll Free: 800.882.1818
Distance from HKS: 220 ft, Distance from HBS: 0.5 miles
Courtyard Marriott Boston Cambridge
777 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02139
Phone: 617.492.7777
Distance from HKS: 1.3 miles
Harvard Square Hotel
110 Mount Auburn Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: 617.864.5200
Distance from HKS: 350 ft
Hampton Inn & Suites
25 Bond Street, Watertown, MA 02472
Phone: 617.926.0005
Distance from HKS: 2.3 miles
Hotel Veritas
1 Remington Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: 617.520.5000 Toll Free: 888.520.1050
Distance from HKS: 0.5 miles
Irving House at Harvard
24 Irving Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: 617.547.4600
Distance from HKS: 0.7 miles
Turning Research into Action
Launching in winter 2026, the Urban Mobility and Climate Change Incubation Fund will catalyze new collaborations between researchers and practitioners focused on conference themes. RFP details coming soon.
The Urban Mobility and Climate Change Conference is sponsored by:
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