Planning in a Polycrisis

Now available for preorder.

This report outlines strategies for integrating equity into climate and housing planning in five North American cities: Boston, Denver, Portland, Vancouver, and Washington, DC. Drawing on interviews with planners, it addresses how local governments navigate the intersecting crises of climate change, housing affordability, and economic inequality. The report proposes a framework to guide equitable climate urbanism, emphasizing cross-sector collaboration, resilient housing, place-based adaptation, and inclusive community engagement. It offers actionable insights to help cities move from fragmented efforts toward long-term, justice-centered urban transformation.

About the Authors:

Emilia Oscilowicz is a doctoral student at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and at the University of Colorado Denver. Her research focuses on planning for climate disaster by advancing policies, tools, and interventions that contribute to just, affordable, and climate-resilient neighborhoods.

James J.T. Connolly is an associate professor of community and regional planning at the University of British Columbia. His research examines the intersection of urban greening and social justice, with a current focus on how planners can work at the nexus of housing and climate crises in cities.

Isabelle Anguelovski is an ICREA research professor at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Her research interests focus on the extent to which urban plans and policy decisions contribute to more just, resilient, healthy, and sustainable cities, and how community groups contest environmental inequities caused by urban redevelopment processes and policies.

All authors are affiliated with the Barcelona Laboratory for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability at the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology within the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.