Revolutionizing Digital Storytelling
C40 Cities is a global network of mayors committed to tackling the climate crisis while centering equity and quality of life. C40 drives city climate action across 97 cities, representing 920M people and 23% of the global economy.
As part of C40’s Green & Thriving Neighborhoods (GTN) initiative, it supports the 15-minute city vision by helping cities plan equitable, climate-resilient neighborhoods.
The Client
C40 Cities
ROLE
Product Designer
Industry
8 months
Scope of work
Enterprise SaaS
Product Design
Web App Tool
City officials weren’t lacking climate goals. They were drowning in spreadsheets.
When I started working on C40’s GTN Tool, it became clear that the hardest part of climate action wasn’t ambition, it was turning strategy into something cities could act on, track, and share.
This project is the story of designing a tool that helped cities move from planning to momentum.
C40 Cities supports local governments across the world in advancing climate action.
The Neighborhoods Tool was meant to help cities plan, track, and coordinate sustainability initiatives at a local level.
But in practice, city teams were struggling with:
The tool existed but it didn’t yet fit how cities actually worked.
Before touching layouts, we focused on understanding how city teams plan, coordinate, and report and where existing workflows were breaking down.
We conducted:
Interviews with city officials and program leads
Workflow walkthroughs using real project data
Reviews of existing spreadsheets and reporting templates
Competitive analysis of climate and project-management platforms
Reframed the challenge
Instead of asking “How do we track climate initiatives?”, we reframed the problem:
Design Decision
Flexible planning entry points
The system allows city officials to begin planning from either a specific climate goal (e.g., improve walkability, reduce heat risk) or from existing actions already underway. Relevant indicators, dependencies, and outcomes are surfaced dynamically, eliminating rigid step-by-step filtering and aligning the tool with real world city workflows.
Turning plans into executable projects
The project setup flow preserves GTN’s underlying logic by clearly mapping goals → impacts → key interventions → KPIs in one guided experience. As users define a project, the system surfaces relevant actions, indicators, and metrics based on their inputs ensuring rigor without forcing users to manually navigate or interpret the framework.
Making progress visible
Instead of static reports, progress became something teams could see evolving. Status updates, milestones, and indicators were embedded directly into the workflow, reducing the need for manual check-ins and follow-ups.
Reflection & Learnings
The problem space was ambiguous, constraints evolved, and no single workflow fit every city. Rather than waiting for certainty, I learned to move forward by testing assumptions early and designing for flexibility over completeness.
Working closely with PMs and engineers helped anchor decisions in research, validate feasibility early, and iterate quickly using low- and mid-fidelity prototypes. Collaboration became the way we navigated ambiguity and made progress despite evolving requirements.
Enterprise Saas
Shipped
ATLAS Pathology: A Unified Operating System for Digital Pathology
Mobile App
Shipped