Asia Resilient Cities Project Announces Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic as Partner City

The Asia Resilient Cities (ARC) project announced its partnership with the city of Bishkek at a meeting with the mayor’s office. The USAID-funded project, led by JSI, will harness the collective power and passion of Bishkek’s residents and community organizations to promote sustainable urban growth; support resilient, low-carbon urban infrastructure; and integrate climate change and environmental considerations into urban approaches.

Bishkek is the capital and largest city in the mostly rural Kyrgyz Republic. It is home to approximately 1.1 million residents, who comprise 66 percent of the country’s urban population. Bishkek is situated in the Chüy Valley near the Chu River, at the foot of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too mountain range. Its geography makes it Central Asia’s greenest city, with a rich biodiversity in its tree-lined streets and many parks. Yet in winter, air pollution is a major concern in Bishkek because the city relies on coal for heating.

ARC and its local partners will co-design activities that sustain livable environments in the face of climate change. Throughout this partnership, ARC will build the city government’s human resources capacity and employ a variety of tools to support a systems approach to sustainable urban development, and involve people who are often excluded from urban planning.

City residents are ARC’s biggest resource for inspiring change. ARC will go beyond simply including residents in conversations by involving them in setting the city agenda, changing the economy, and advocating for what their communities need. The project will also facilitate enduring relationships between the government and residents, the business community, other development projects, and academia to ensure a brighter future for the city of Bishkek.

For more information, visit JSI.com/asiaresilientcities or contact Amanda Pomeroy-Stevens, ARC project director at JSI, at amanda_pomeroy@jsi.com.

Asia Resilient Cities (ARC) is a five-year cooperative agreement funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) under Agreement No. 7200AA22CA00011, beginning September 23, 2022. ARC is implemented by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI) with partners BRAC, DevTech Systems, Inc., and ICF. This project is made possible by the generous support of the American people through USAID. USAID administers the U.S. foreign assistance program, providing economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 80 countries worldwide.