Sustainability proponents have celebrated the leadership of major cities to advance energy efficiency, electrified transportation and other climate change goals during the past decade. Urban leaders from around the world have established impressive collaborations to share information and develop common commitments. Entities as varied as the Rockefeller Foundation and the United Nations have supported urban sustainability initiatives.

The growing economic power of major cities is reflected in the fact that 43 major metropolitan regions generate about two-thirds of the world’s economic productivity and more than 85 percent of its innovations. Meanwhile, the U.N. projects that, by 2050, two-thirds of the population, or about 7 billion people, will live in urban areas primarily because of the economic opportunities they provide.

The fly in our sustainable cities soup is that the world’s leading cities stand at the epicenter of economic and many other forms of inequality. Consider these worsening trends:

  • Many urban areas in the U.S. and elsewhere are resegregating as wealthy and largely white people wall themselves off from adjacent neighborhoods to be among people like themselves.
  • Rising housing prices have stymied the ability of aspiring homeowners and renters from living closer to their places of work.
  • Suburbs, once the land of opportunity for aspiring middle classes, have declined as regions for economic growth, opportunity and stability. The number of poor people living in suburbs rose faster than in cities during the past decade.
  • Exposure to pollution disproportionately affects people of color and lower incomes.

Proponents for more sustainable cities that ignore inequality and the broader needs of people of color have a challenging task with voters. William Peduto, mayor of Pittsburgh and one of the world’s acknowledged leaders in advancing urban sustainability, lost his re-election primary this year in an overwhelmingly Democratic city. During his campaign, Peduto focused on the city’s economic progress and sustainability improvements, while neglecting to address the needs of minority voters. He was defeated, by a convincing margin, by an African-American candidate who waged a campaign focused on the need for greater inclusivity, police reform and expanded economic opportunity.

Read the full article about barriers to sustainable cities by TerryYosie at GreenBiz.