Welcome
Urban & Regional Intelligence
Data-powered insight for systemic urban and regional transformation
We do not just reflect reality, we magnify the patterns that matter, enabling our partners to anticipate disruption, adapt strategies, and lead change across systems and scales. Our work turns complexity into clarity, translating urban dynamics into actionable intelligence for decision-making across infrastructure, housing, mobility, land use, and economic development.
Our Urban & Regional Intelligence portfolio draws on over 20 years of experience designing territorial strategies across Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the U.S. We support national and subnational actors with tools like spatial economic analysis, climate risk and land-use modeling, and infrastructure prioritization, helping them align local needs with global goals.
Objective & Approach
At GeoAdaptive, we help cities, regions, and national institutions navigate urban and regional complexity by co-developing geospatially informed strategies that are tailored to local needs and aligned with global priorities.
Our strategy is organized around four modular pillars, each designed to address a distinct class of urban and regional development challenges.
Why Urban and Regional Intelligence Matters?
Cities contribute over 80% of global GDP but also account for over 70% of global COâ‚‚ emissions. (World Bank, 2023 - Urban Development Overview)
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Global Urbanization Trends (World Bank, 2025)
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4.4B people (over 50% of global population) currently live in cities.
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By 2050: Urban population to double → ~70% (7 in 10) will reside in cities.
Urban Climate Risks (UN-Habitat, 2024)
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By 2030: ~60% of urban residents in cities facing:
â–ª High climate risks
â–ª Resource constraints
â–ª Social vulnerabilities
Urban Focus in Climate Policies (UN-Habitat, 2024)
Only 34% of 195 National Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) pre-June 2023 include urban content.
Areas of Expertise
Our strategy is organized around four modular pillars, each designed to address a distinct class of urban and regional development challenges:
Resilient, Low-Carbon and Inclusive Urban Growth
We support governments and development partners design inclusive, low-carbon urban growth strategies by integrating climate risk, housing resilience, and spatial equity into land-use planning and neighborhood upgrading frameworks.
​What we offer:
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Climate-resilient urban expansion and land-use optimization tools.
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Integrated Spatial Growth Strategy.
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Spatial strategies for affordable housing and informal settlement upgrading.
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Green mobility corridors and nature-based urban regeneration solutions.
Modular Products:
Sustainable Infrastructure and Innovative Urban Finance
Our team helps cities and regions prioritize, structure, and justify infrastructure investments by applying spatial-economic analysis and climate-aligned financing tools. This approach to maximize long-term value, resilience, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) impact.
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​What we offer:
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Infrastructure Prioritization & Green Finance Toolkit.
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Climate-aligned infrastructure investment roadmaps and prioritization matrices.
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Green finance structuring models for urban projects.
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Cost-benefit and opportunity cost modeling linked to SDG-aligned outcomes.
Modular Products:
Digital Transformation and Smart Urban Systems
At GeoAdaptive, we enable cities and institutions to harness the power of digital transformation by developing urban intelligence platforms that integrate real-time data, digital twins, and smart analytics to improve service delivery, mobility, and resilience.
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​What we offer:
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Urban Intelligence Platform Development.
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Real-time urban management dashboards integrating digital twins and IoT data.
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Open data strategies and urban governance intelligent ecosystem.
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Predictive analytics for mobility, infrastructure, and services.
Modular Products:
Institutional Strengthening for Inclusive, Climate-Ready Governance
At GeoAdaptive we support institutions in building the capacity, systems, and foresight needed to manage complex urban and regional challenges through participatory planning, digital governance, and fiscal innovation.
​What we offer:
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Urban Governance Acceleration Program.
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Capacity-building in data-driven, inclusive planning practices.
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Land-based finance and fiscal tools to enhance municipal revenue autonomy.
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Institutional foresight labs to integrate climate, equity, and digital transformation into governance.
Modular Products:
Our Tool Box
We analyze and evaluate complex dynamics of planning instruments, policies, and institutional investments on the territory through innovative spatial methodologies. This dynamics include:
Natural Resources and Climate Adaptation
Cities and Infrastructure
Governance and Public Policies
Strategic Financial Investment
Agriculture and Forestry
Tourism and Hospitality
Social and Economic Development
Public Health and Education
Related Projects
Agglomeration and urbanization: a geospatial identification of welfare gaps Across Urban Areas in Azerbaijan
Given the persistent inequality across Azerbaijan’s territory, especially between Baku and the rest of the country, this analysis was conducted to identify possible constraints and opportunities towards an inclusive economy. The analysis was structured around the principles of economic geography (distance, landscape, spatial size) ,demography (population, population growth, density), and urbanization (mobility, expansion, agglomeration) to propose an evidence-based policy framework for urban development.
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To analyze patterns of welfare disparity, the project categorizes urban areas based on their levels of agglomeration and mobility. Through a functional urban analysis, settlements are grouped into six distinct typologies. This classification is based on similarities in population size and density, as well as measurable changes in urban footprint (expansion) and population dynamics (mobility). This typology provides a structured framework to understand how urban characteristics influence welfare outcomes.
Municipal Covid-19 Recovery And Disaster Preparedness Assessment And Investment Plan
In the project, we developed geospatial and municipal finance baselines to assess disaster risk profiles and service delivery capacity. We assessed the impact of COVID-19 on the municipalities and derived municipal risk profiles and urban planning priorities based on a desk review of ongoing initiatives, municipal development plans, and geospatial analysis. We recommended pathways for risk-sensitive land-use planning, resilient building standards, and increased risk awareness.
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We assessed the nine municipalities using the criteria and indicators of the Ready2Respond Diagnostic Framework. We held workshops with stakeholders to validate the assessments. The recommendations stem from strategies and investments to improve emergency preparedness and response capacity across five dimensions. GeoAdaptive identified municipal typologies to organize recommendations into nine municipalities, which could be typologically expanded to 293 urban municipalities.
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Climate Risk Assessment for the Santiago Metropolitan Region
This regional and community planning project seeks to prepare the municipalities of the Santiago metropolitan region to respond to threats from climate change and other anthropic stresses. The project is situated within a process of climate planning and action for the Santiago Metropolitan Region, providing key inputs that will guide the process.
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The study includes the modeling of threats of climatic origin (flood, landslides, drought, forest fires and heat waves), analysis of population exposure and infrastructure, vulnerability analysis and risk assessment for the region, both in areas urban as well as rural. As part of the climate planning and action process, territorial indicators of adaptive capacity were developed to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the actions implemented.
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Climate Adaptation: Long-term Climate Adaptation in the Marshall Islands
In this project, a series of scenario models with different levels of sea level rise and storm surge flooding were carried out to understand the level of impacts and what adaptive measures could be considered. This study used Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways to suggest adaptation strategies capable of responding to climate-related uncertainties. The specific conditions of the urban atolls Majuro and Ebeye, where 76% of people live, were addressed with several pathways combining nature-based solutions and gray infrastructure.
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GeoAdaptive also has ample project experience responding to a broad set of environmental and climate-related hazards, including inundation, sea level rise, storm surge, high winds, seismic events, and landslides.
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Climate Adaptation: Managing Sea Level Rise in Florida
Given the diverse land-ocean interface and varying levels of vulnerability and adaptability, the project categorized four influential coastal typologies: wetland, ocean, bay, and estuarine. For each typology, the project formulated a set of toolkits with different interventions taking into account nature-based solutions to enhance the process of creating a more resilient and sustainable coastal region. Four main actions are identified and located: Protect, Restore, Enhance, and (De)Construct.
This study also classified Florida’s coastline into 9 regions using a taxonomic approach built from ecosystem attributes and built-up area densities. These classes provided a qualitative framework to localize causes and solutions to vulnerability and adaptation, as well as an ideal analytical unit to assess the impact of sea level rise across both rural and metropolitan zones.
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Urban Resilience Plan: Strategic Interventions towards a Resilient Future, La Paz, BCS, Mexico
The project was part of a series of studies commissioned in the areas of urban and economic development, land productivity, municipal finances, and climate change adaptation. The study's objective was the development of integrated, multi-sectoral scenarios that inform an urban and regional investment plan. The plan aimed to secure a more sustainable and resilient form of development.
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Four structural variables were considered in the study: (i) population growth projections, (ii) desirable sectoral contributions to the economy, (iii) public policies that guide future land use and public infrastructure / services, and (iv) government budget for public projects and investments. A spatially derived Gross Regional Product and per capita income were used to create a spatial economic summary index for urban interventions. These analyses informed the economic resilience plan and action plan for implementation.
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Urban Development and Climate Change: Analysis of Threat and Vulnerability to Climate Change in Mar del Plata, Argentina
As a coastal city with a thriving commercial center and seasonal tourism-based economy, the threat of inland flooding and sea level rise is critical to Mar del Plata's future. Using projections of coastal inundation and available information on flooding within the city, GeoAdaptive developed 3D visualizations to highlight the most exposed areas.
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An assessment of the coastline also identified zones of greater susceptibility to erosion and deposition, which can threaten operations of active ports and the maintenance of beaches for resorts. Topographic analysis and a customized pluvial flood index were depicted through 3D spatial representations of inundation risk throughout the city. This helped guide decisions about risk-mitigation for investments and prioritization of engineering studies to make the most efficient use of the city's construction and maintenance budget.