WASHINGTON, DC (August 7, 2023) — World Resources Institute (WRI) is pleased to announce that Pablo Lazo has been named the new Director for Urban Development for WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. As part of WRI’s program focused on inclusive, equitable and resilient cities, Lazo will lead global programming on urban land use and integrated planning, urban resilience and equitable development.

“Pablo has a deep understanding of how to take transformative ideas and implement them on the ground in cities,” said Rogier van den Berg, Global Director for WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. “Right now, cities need solutions that are impactful and can scale up. With his long international career in urban development, he will help our team and the cities we work with be better for people, nature and the climate.”

Lazo has served as the Acting Director of Urban Development since November 2022. He brings more than two decades of expertise in urban and city planning and development. He previously served as Director of Urban Development and Accessibility for WRI México, which he joined in September 2020. 

“I plan to explore the relationship between people and space to improve the quality of life for city-dwellers around the world,” said Lazo. “This new chapter at WRI is an incredibly exciting prospect. I look forward to new challenges and the opportunity to continue building on our work to make cities greener and cleaner for the next generation.”

Before joining WRI, Lazo served as Managing Partner of Unidad Diseño SC, an architecture, urban planning, and landscape design firm in Mexico City, and as an IFC consultant for the cities in Latin America program. 

For more than 18 years, he was Associate Principal for the consulting, engineering, and design firm Arup, where he led urban development and master planning projects for different cities and municipalities throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America. His work has encompassed multidisciplinary urban planning and consulting work in Brazil, Mexico, the U.S. the UK, Colombia and China. 

He coordinated the consultancy of the Rockefeller Foundation 100 Resilient Cities program for different cities in Latin America between 2012 and 2018 and led the sustainability master plan for the new airport in Mexico City with USTDA and GAM, among many other projects.  

Lazo is a recognized leader in urban planning at the municipal and regional level and has written and lectured widely on integrated urban planning, urban resilience and sustainable development. He is an architecture graduate from Iberoamerican University, with a Master's Degree from the Architectural Association of London, United Kingdom.

Lazo will continue to be based in Mexico City, Mexico.  

About World Resources Institute
World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research organization with offices in Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Mexico and the United States, and regional offices for Africa and Europe. Our 1,700 staff work with partners to develop practical solutions that improve people’s lives and ensure nature can thrive. Learn more: WRI.org and on Twitter @WorldResources.

About WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities  

WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities is World Resources Institute’s program dedicated to shaping a future where cities work better for everyone. It enables more connected, compact and coordinated cities. The Center expands the transport and urban development expertise and on-the-ground impact of the EMBARQ network to catalyze innovative solutions in other sectors, including air quality, water, buildings, land use and energy. Our network of more than 450 experts working from Brazil, China, Colombia, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, the Netherlands, Mexico, Turkey and the United States combine research excellence with on-the-ground impact to make cities around the world better places to live. More information at www.wrirosscities.org or on Twitter @WRIRossCities.