A continued and intensifying propensity to hurricanes in the southern U.S. and Caribbean, earthquakes in Mexico, civic unrest around the world, and economic disparities, pushed the fundamental questions citymakers face to the top of national conversations: How can we design cities to bounce back from disaster? How can we help communities weave strong social fabrics in the face of dramatic stress? How can we plan for what’s next? Building resilience into our cities requires a shift – from reacting to stress to proactively designing for it. In the aftermath of so many devastating climate, economic, and social events, it’s up to planners, developers, and community leaders to push for sustainable, equitable urban regeneration to build strong cities for the future. Here are a few examples of what’s in the works now.

As the concentration of poverty in American cities intensifies, the cycle of poverty becomes even more entrenched. Disinvestment spurs disengagement, pulling the threads of community apart and isolating our most vulnerable populations. Disrupting that cycle requires more than investment’it requires intention. Creating neighborhoods for all means including more voices early in the development planning process. It requires identifying initiatives that can make the biggest impact, listening to what residents want, and including those priorities in development, investment, and policy decisions. The result: vibrant, diverse communities that improve the lives of current residents, attract new people to the mix, and that support sustainable development and strong social networks.

The complexity of large-scale urban and community development will only increase as millions move to cities each year. Traditional public incentives and financing are not enough to drive the change cities need to meet growing demands. With Collective Impact as their framework for change and collaboration as their catalyst, new public-private partnerships are addressing common barriers to social impact in housing, development, placemaking, and green infrastructure. Whether it’s foundations funding nonprofit/for-profit collaboratives or cross-sector groups establishing new “intermediaries” to manage joint effort and money, community leaders are responding with creative partnerships and financing to increase the pace and scale of new projects.

As more citymakers recognize the critical role they play in improving public health, the tools at their disposal are becoming more advanced. The timing could not be more critical: There is a huge gap in health between poor and more affluent neighborhoods. Poorer neighborhoods experience greater environmental pollution and less access to nutritious food, reliable public transit, green spaces, and health care. Solving this is critical to creating healthier cities. Urban leaders are responding with smarter design approaches that make healthy living possible while promoting local entrepreneurialism, revitalizing neighborhood business districts, honoring local culture, and creating public spaces that draw community members together. It’s a smarter approach that’s using art, culture, green space, access to fresh food, and recreational opportunities to enliven neighborhoods and encourage economic development.

Cities and regions devastated by the increasing frequency and severity of storms, fires, and other natural disasters are desperately looking for better solutions to ensure safe and accessible water and energy systems. New research shows that the cost of retrofitting old water and energy systems for resilience is more expensive than integrating forward-thinking district-scale systems at the design stage. New district energy systems keep the lights on, save money, and keep cities moving, while water systems address storage, demand, delivery, and environmental challenges. This year we saw more neighborhoods and districts moving forward with projects to realize the enormous benefits of district-scale energy and water innovation: Improved energy efficiency, fuel flexibility, environmental protection, ease of operation and maintenance, and decreased capital costs.

This year, Cities across North America are committing to EcoDistricts Certified, the landmark new standard for sustainable urban and community development. Local leaders are not simply tackling stubborn challenges with new solutions – they’re certifying the work to demonstrate a commitment to transparency and measurable impact. EcoDistricts Certified gives urban and community developments a better way to work with (and not against) communities. A standards-based approach transforms the market and is where an upfront investment in a rigorous development framework yields exponential returns: Leaders get organized, projects happen faster, opportunities grow, people stay where they live, and others move there. It’s a holistic approach to achieving important public policy, sustainability, and investment goals and a better way to move projects from vision to reality.