A report by the Island Press Urban Resilience Project offers a framework for thinking about how U.S. cities can thrive in turbulent times brought on by the impacts of climate change.

The report, “Bounce Forward: Urban Resilience in the Era of Climate Change,” is part of a wide-ranging effort to imagine and inspire the sustainable, equitable, climate-resilient cities of the future.

A partnership with The Kresge Foundation, the Island Press Urban Resilience Project brings together leading thinkers with a broad range of expertise in areas such as ecology, community development and green building to generate and cross-pollinate ideas. Those ideas are being shared in a variety of media, including books, blog posts, webinars and articles.

Kresge works to expand opportunity for low-income people in America’s cities. Its Environment Program seeks to help communities build environmental, economic and social resilience in the face of climate change.

While climate change is a global problem, its effects are – and increasingly will be – felt locally in communities across the United States and around the globe, Kresge’s Rip Rapson and Lois DeBacker write in a foreword to the report. State and federal actions are essential, but cities have a critical role to play in mitigating climate change and helping society prepare for the impacts that are now too late to prevent.

“Building climate resilience requires that urban leaders rethink the systems that supply their cities’ energy, transportation, food, water and housing. It requires practitioners to work across disciplines and sectors,” says Rapson, the foundation’s president and CEO, and DeBacker, managing director of the Environment Program.

“We think it’s important to bring new voices into the conversation, particularly those of experts and advocates grounded in the experiences and interests of low-income communities,” says DeBacker. “Our goal for this partnership with Island Press is to get practical, actionable information to urban leaders and those assisting them in their climate-resilience efforts.”