The world has never experienced a summer like this one.

What is beyond scary is that it may be the 'new normal'. When the Secretary-General of the United Nations says, 'the world is boiling', we should be terrified.

Fires and floods. Unbearable heat, especially in urban cores. Relentless heat warnings from public health officials. Forest fires have spread choking smoke around half the globe.

And, of course, this was all predicted.

Pointing fingers doesn't do a lot of good right now. Action is what we need.

For cities, actions are many. They are both broad in scope and narrow in implementation. And many Canadian cities are already being innovative.

When I was speaking at conferences or to municipalities about making cities more creative and downtowns more vibrant, I was often asked, "What is one thing we can do right now?"

A fair question. And my answer was consistent (and often surprising to some)—plant more trees. By the thousands. In your downtown. Shade your sidewalks. Make shopping and visiting your core more pleasant. Trees do that. They cool temperatures. They provide shade and shelter. They offer big ecological advantages. They are not that expensive. And they provide an immediate benefit.

When that program is coupled with reclaiming paved areas, there is a double win for cities. That new asphalt-free area can often be planted with new trees. Cities have many empty or unused paved areas in their downtowns.

Improving a city's resiliency should now be the top aspiration in every city's strategic plan.

Melbourne, Australia is a wonderful example of a city that has done just that. It has reclaimed 65 acres of asphalt in its urban core. It plants 3,000 trees a year downtown—and its downtown is already beautifully treed. It has a modern, efficient, and well-used public transportation system. It has extremely safe and well-designed bicycle paths. (Their system is: a couple of lanes of traffic, a curb, a boulevard planted with trees, sidewalk, boulevard with trees, and a two-lane bicycle path.)

They have a series of municipal plans and strategies to enhance their resiliency. It has paid off—Melbourne is routinely chosen as one of the most livable cities in the world.

There are many choices that Canadian cities make, most of which have not been analyzed under this new lens of resiliency. What kind of buildings are approved by the council? Design makes a difference. Do they utilize more climate-friendly building materials? Should 'white' roofs be mandatory? Should asphalt get a reflective coating? Are there public water fountains and water bottle refilling stations in parks and downtowns? Are there benches in public spaces? Is the city increasing its public parks acreage, including reclaiming those small, empty, paved plots downtown? Are there roof gardens being constructed? What regulations are there for windows and HVAC systems and energy-efficient designs in buildings? Are there grassed courtyards in downtown complexes?

These public policy decisions should not be very difficult. In the private sector, smart builders already embrace more energy efficient construction and design. The city's responsibility is to smooth and quicken the approval process, set high standards, and then prove its own leadership in building green civic projects.

This is not the time for whining about 'it is too difficult to plant trees downtown'. Suck it up. Figure it out. Do it.