Making the Case for Climate-Aligned Abundance and Urbanism

The fiscal and climate case for infill housing is increasingly hard to dispute — but data alone hasn't been enough to overcome the political and aesthetic resistance to density, even if it's for the better. This panel is about the messaging gap: how advocates, designers, and coalition-builders are translating cost curves and emissions data and examples of beautiful infill housing from around the world into narratives and images that make compact, mixed-use development the changes communities yearn for rather than something imposed on them. Panelists will share what's worked around the country — and what hasn't — in turning abundance into a story policymakers, developers, and the public actually want to be part of. Speakers: Rushad Nanavatty (Moderator),Managing Director, RMI · Brian Hanlon, CEO, Metropolitan Abundance Project + California YIMBY · Caroline Spears, Executive Director, Climate Cabinet Education · Heather Clark, CEO, Housing Multiplier Project · Dr. Justyn Huckleberry, Projects and Research Associate, WRI This session is hosted by Gehl, Climate Cabinet, the Parking Reform Network, Metropolitan Abundance Project, and WRI and is a part of The Urban Climate Solution track at NYC Climate Week 2026. View all events in the track at https://www.urbanclimatesolution.org/.