How can cities tackle housing, climate, and economic issues concurrently?
Across the United States and Canada, city planners face a “polycrisis,” as the interacting challenges of adapting to climate change, ensuring housing affordability and security, and prioritizing economic inclusion put competing demands on localities’ limited resources, attention, time, and capacity.
The new Policy Focus Report, Policy Focus Report, Planning in a Polycrisis: Equitable Urban Strategies for a Changing Climate, developed by researchers at ICTA-UAB in collaboration with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, offers a path forward by producing a framework of actionable strategies for practitioners, policymakers, and others.
This report, written by Emilia Oscilowicz, James J. T. Connolly, and Isabelle Anguelovski from the Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability, with affiliations at the ICTA-UAB and the University of British Columbia, draws on studies from five major cities and provides concrete, practice-oriented strategies to advance more equitable urban planning in the face of climate and housing pressures.
“Local leaders face increasing pressure created by converging crises. This report aims to alleviate that pressure by providing a more equitable policy framework,” said George W. McCarthy, president and CEO of the Lincoln Institute. “Creating more climate-friendly, affordable homes while simultaneously cultivating agency, participation, and engagement from frontline communities creates more sustainable urbanism that leads to better outcomes across the board.”
In 2025, researchers interviewed 32 planners and practitioners across five cities—Boston, Massachusetts; Denver, Colorado; Portland, Oregon; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Washington, DC—and mobilized prior interviews they conducted in those cities to find that traditional approaches to climate action, housing, and economic development are often siloed, which spreads municipal resources very thin. After thorough analysis, the authors created an overarching framework that empowers city leaders to advance climate urbanism that addresses these interconnected challenges.
The recommendations include securing and expanding local climate action funding; championing resilient, affordable housing solutions; strengthening local economies and connection to place through climate resilience; restructuring and coordinating municipal planning; leveraging short-term projects for long-term goals; and fostering respectful, ongoing community engagement.
Reference: Planning in a Polycrisis: Equitable Urban Strategies for a Changing Climate by Emilia Oscilowicz, James J. T. Connolly, and Isabelle Anguelovski. 2026. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.