Tec de Monterrey Professor Wins 2025 Nobel Sustainability Award

Eugen Reséndiz, an architect and research professor at Tecnológico de Monterrey’s School of Architecture, Art and Design, has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Sustainability Trust Award in the category of Outstanding Research and Innovative Solutions for Cities. The award recognizes her work on the Global Observatory of Health and Sustainable Cities.

The observatory emerged from a series of studies published in The Lancet Global Health, which analyzed 25 cities using health and sustainability indicators. The research identified a persistent gap between academic analysis and real-world implementation. “Measuring and publishing is not enough. We wanted cities to be able to use these methodologies to generate real change,” Reséndiz said.

The Global Observatory of Health and Sustainable Cities was subsequently established as a collaborative, voluntary network of researchers from 11 universities across multiple regions. It now operates through an executive committee of 14 researchers who coordinate its global activities. The broader network includes more than 319 members interested in applying its tools and metrics, as well as around 50 cities that already use its indicators to assess and improve urban conditions.

The observatory’s methodology is grounded in open science and open-source principles, ensuring free access to data, software, and analytical frameworks. According to Reséndiz, this approach is essential to enabling adoption by cities with limited financial and technical resources.

The award includes financial support that will be used to expand the observatory’s activities, particularly in Latin America, Africa, and low- and middle-income countries, where interest in applying the metrics is growing but funding remains constrained. These regions, Reséndiz noted, face some of the most acute challenges related to urban health, inequality, and climate resilience.

Reséndiz is currently the only executive committee member who lives and works in a country in the Global South, a perspective she said is central to the initiative’s mission. “It shows that high-quality research with global impact can come from countries like Mexico,” she said.

Following the award, the observatory launched the “Thousand Cities Challenge,” an initiative aimed at encouraging 1,000 cities worldwide to apply its tools in the coming years. Plans also include establishing regional research networks and developing additional educational materials to support the use of its indicators by local governments, students, and civil society organizations. “It is important for students to see that architecture is not only about designing buildings,” Reséndiz said. “It can also generate research that influences public policy and improves daily life.”

The Nobel Sustainability Trust Award is presented by the Nobel Sustainability Trust, an independent international foundation established and led by members of the Nobel family to promote solutions to global environmental and social challenges. For Reséndiz, the recognition is more than symbolic. “It rewards innovative work with real, global-scale impact, focused on the sustainability of cities,” she said.

Tecnológico de Monterrey  Strengthens Leadership in Urban Sustainability

The Nobel Sustainability Trust’s recognition of Reséndiz builds on Tecnológico de Monterrey’s broader efforts to advance urban sustainability in Mexico. In August 2025, the university and UN-Habitat formalized a partnership to promote the New Urban Agenda (NAU) in Mexico and Latin America. Adopted by UN member states in 2016, the NAU provides a framework for sustainable urban development aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Under the agreement, Tecnológico de Monterrey contributes applied research, academic coordination, and innovation, while UN-Habitat brings its global expertise in sustainable cities. The partnership aims to raise public awareness of urban challenges and foster cross-sector collaboration among academia, government, and the private sector.

Ramiro Estrada of Tecnológico de Monterrey’s School of Architecture, Art and Design in Mexico City described the agreement as “a milestone aligned with Tec’s 2030 vision,” underscoring the institution’s commitment to designing sustainable habitats in line with the SDGs.

The alliance builds on a long-standing relationship that began in 2007. In 2023, Tecnológico de Monterrey and UN-Habitat launched a diploma program on the New Urban Agenda, providing sustainable urban planning tools to governments, businesses, and civil society organizations across seven Latin American countries.