The Global Designing Cities Initiative set to become an independent initiative

21 March 2022

The Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI) is excited to announce the next step in the evolution of the program. After seven years as a program of the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), GDCI will now be operating as an independent initiative, under the fiscal home of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors–a nonprofit organization and international thought leader specializing in the support of high-impact global projects and strategic philanthropic initiatives.

Since the creation of the GDCI program in 2014, which was founded by Janette Sadik-Khan and operated under the guidance of Director Skye Duncan, the scope and reach of our work has expanded tremendously. Through our award-winning published resources, along with the city-level support, capacity-building workshops, and in-depth trainings provided by our team, GDCI is now recognized as one of the world’s most influential urban design organizations; we’ve cultivated a robust global network, building real-life best practices on the ground, while advising on policies, programs, and projects in 30+ cities around the globe.

In the span of seven years, our team has grown four-fold, and following the success of the Global Street Design Guide in 2016—which has been translated into five languages, endorsed by 109 cities, organizations, countries, and global regions, and downloaded over 40,000 times—in 2020 we released a second major publication, Designing Streets for Kids, which includes design recommendations and case studies highlighting streets that are safe, enjoyable, and inspirational for children and caregivers.