Toyota Mobility Foundation launches $9 million sustainable city mobility initiative

The Toyota Mobility Foundation on Wednesday announced a $9 million global initiative in sustainable city mobility space in collaboration with Challenge Works and World Resources Institute.

The three-year programme, Sustainable Cities Challenge, is aimed at helping cities reduce carbon, improve access and enhance data-driven concepts for more resilient transport systems, the Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) said.

Set up in 2014 by the Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan, the foundation utilises Toyota's expertise and technologies to support strong mobility systems while eliminating disparities in mobility.

The challenge aims to improve the lives of people by increasing access to jobs, education and other essential services. It will bring cities and innovators together to implement mobility solutions that could reduce carbon, improve accessibility, and use data to build resilient transport systems, it stated.

With more than half of the world's population currently living in cities, the United Nations predicts that this will increase to two-thirds by 2050, as per TMF.

Additionally, cities are responsible for 70 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, it said.

Toyota Mobility Foundation, in partnership with Challenge Works and World Resources Institute, has launched $9 million global challenge to help cities adapt to the future, with the potential to transform the lives of millions around the world, TMF said.

As part of the challenge, shortlisted cities will be invited to attend a capacity building academy in the US and will receive support developing their challenge design, becoming part of a wider network of other innovative city teams, it said.

In February 2024, three winning cities will be selected to host a City Challenge to attract entries from global innovators, it said.

Innovators could be homegrown, living in the city or country chosen, or may be from anywhere across the globe, but with solutions applicable and adapted to the winning cities.

The winning innovators for each city will be announced in late 2024, and the cities and innovators will share $9 million in funding to test and roll out their solutions.

"Throughout the Sustainable Cities Challenge, we are looking to come alongside cities to find innovative solutions in the areas they identify as critical to developing a scalable model for the cities of tomorrow," Ryan Klem, Director of Programs at the Toyota Mobility Foundation, said.

Entry to the first stage of the challenge is open to city leaders and municipal governments, transport departments and other related local and regional agencies, the foundation said.

The challenge is funded by the foundation and has been designed in partnership with Challenge Works and World Resources Institute.

Challenge Works is an international leader in developing challenge programmes to drive new thinking and find creative solutions to problems faced by society, while World Resources Institute is a global research organisation which works with partners to develop practical solutions that improve people's lives and nature.

"This challenge will help those innovators interface with cities to test and adapt solutions according to local needs to improve people's lives," Kathy Nothstine, Head of Future Cities at Challenge Works, said.

In addition to helping cities decarbonise, transforming mobility systems will help cities become more inclusive and accessible for the people living in them.

Currently, 1.2 billion people living in cities do not have access to one or more core services, it said.

"Cities are in need of innovations to foster sustainable mobility that reduces emissions, improves health, and increases access to jobs and opportunity for all.

"The Sustainable Cities Challenge is an excellent opportunity for cities globally to build capacity and support innovators to work hand in hand with officials," said Ben Welle, Director of Integrated Transport and Innovation at World Resources Institute's Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.