FGV Joins the Urban Transitions Mission to Advance Climate Neutrality in Cities
The Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) has officially joined the Urban Transitions Mission (UTM) as a Support Group Member. Through this global partnership, FGV will actively contribute to accelerating capacity building and research efforts that support Brazilian cities in implementing innovative solutions to achieve climate neutrality (net zero), resilience, and inclusion.
Originally launched during COP26, the UTM is one of seven missions under Mission Innovation, a global initiative dedicated to catalyzing a decade of action and investment in research and development to make clean energy accessible and viable for all. The UTM works in direct technical collaboration with 145 cities across 52 countries, impacting more than 120 million citizens.
FGV's Scientific and Technological Contribution Aligned with Global Challenges
FGV’s engagement is grounded in the UTM’s strategic pillars: urban transitions toward net-zero emissions, capacity building, financing, and the mapping of global Research and Innovation (R&I) needs to support city transitions.
Based on the priorities established in FGV’s commitment letter to the UTM, a technical cooperation framework has been defined with a focus on:
Governance and Urban Mobility: FGV will develop new governance models for low-emission urban transportation, supporting the integration of transport modes, fare structures, and ticketing systems. In addition, it will leverage artificial intelligence tools to propose improvements in public transportation, road safety, and infrastructure efficiency.
Precision Urban Planning and Climate Adaptation: FGV will develop techniques for infrastructure management and for strengthening active pedestrian mobility. To help cities address severe climate events, the institution will provide tools for integrated urban planning, combining climate modeling, data science, econometrics, and financial risk management.
Evidence-Based Sustainability and Municipal Capacity Building: FGV will provide evidence to support public policies related to renewable energy, biofuels, water reuse and loss reduction, and solid waste management. This knowledge will be transferred to municipalities through the dissemination of research findings and continuous training programs for municipal technical staff.
Institutional Leadership and Support for Brazilian Cities
Goret Paulo, FGV’s Director of Research and Innovation, has been appointed as the institution’s representative to coordinate activities with the UTM team.
In Brazil, five municipalities are already part of the UTM technical cooperation network: Salvador, Contagem, Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, and Belo Horizonte. The partnership aims to expand scientific support to these and other Brazilian cities, accelerating their transition toward resilient, inclusive, and net-zero urban models.
Viladecans Global Summit
FGV’s international engagement will play a prominent role at the UTM Global Innovation Summit 2026, taking place on November 3 in Viladecans, Spain, under the central theme: “Accelerating Urban Transitions: Scaling Impact with AI and Digital Innovation.”
The Summit is expected to bring together public officials, investors, and researchers focused on public finance, sustainability, and the use of artificial intelligence in public policy design.
During the event, Goret Paulo will participate as a speaker in the workshop “R&I Strategies for Scalable Application of AI and Digital Solutions in Cities.” Organized jointly with Driving Urban Transitions (DUT), the workshop will explore strategies for developing research projects that generate innovative solutions for implementation by cities.
Data Science Applied to Urban Challenges
To demonstrate how data science can deliver tangible benefits for public management, a group of researchers from the FGV School of Applied Mathematics (EMAp), the University of São Paulo (USP), and the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), in partnership with researchers from New York University (NYU) and institutions in Peru and Colombia, including Universidad Católica San Pablo, Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología, and Universidad de los Andes, are developing a series of potential AI applications to improve city management.
The project is based on the premise that metropolitan areas already generate large volumes of data that can be used to improve public decision-making and communication with citizens.
Aligned with the UTM pillars of resilience, sustainability, and urban planning, the initiative applies data science to address key urban challenges:
Mobility and Road Safety: Multimodal analysis of images collected at urban intersections to identify traffic flow patterns and reaction times among drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and people with reduced mobility, helping create safer streets and improve urban mobility.
Environmental Resilience and Noise Pollution: Real-time monitoring of noise levels and flooding through sensor networks, combined with public service reports (such as civil defense and fire department calls), to guide urban interventions that enhance sustainability and resilience.
Public Safety: Mapping crime hotspots and analyzing physical street features such as lighting conditions, urban disorder, and exposed wiring using neural networks and large language models (LLMs) to support public security policymaking and assess citizens’ perceptions of safety.
Through the strengthening of the Latin American UrbanVisNet network, coordinated by FGV EMAp with partners in Peru, Colombia, and the United States, and through its participation in the UTM, FGV reinforces its commitment to fostering international partnerships that support research capable of improving public-sector decision-making and contributing to solutions for local urban challenges.