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
Date
Product Designer
Industry
8 months
Scope of work
Enterprise SaaS
Product Design
Web App Tool
This project was completed by a team of four Product Designers, working closely with C40 Cities stakeholders, including two Project Managers.
I focused on:
Translating GTN’s logic into usable system flows
Research synthesis and co-creation facilitation
Designing and validating workflows that reduced rigidity and user error
I helped shape how the platform enables prioritization and justification of climate investments at scale.
GTN existed as a logic heavy Excel tool designed to guide cities from high level climate goals to concrete neighborhood actions.
We studied GTN usage through a pilot in Istanbul, along with interviews across additional city stakeholders.
Methods:
Stakeholder interviews (city officials, planners, policy teams)
Review of GTN Excel logic, KPIs, and workflows
Affinity mapping to synthesize patterns
Comparative analysis across cities and departments
Reframing the challenge
Design Decision
Flexible planning entry points #1
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.
Logic preserving project setup #2
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.
Measurable outcomes & progress tracking #3
Actions are explicitly connected to outputs and outcomes, enabling cities to track progress over time instead of relying on static reports. This supports clearer prioritization and more confident communication of climate impact.
Reflection & Learnings
This project highlighted the importance of deeply understanding user context before designing solutions. City officials weren’t struggling with climate ambition, but with tools that didn’t fit their daily realities.
Balancing flexibility with structure was critical: the system needed to adapt to diverse city needs without losing clarity or becoming unmanageable. The work reinforced that good UX in complex, policy-driven products isn’t about simplifying the problem, but about designing experiences that make complexity usable, collaborative, and actionable.
