“We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them". 
Albert Einstein

In addition to environmental issues such as global warming, several important sets of problems face urban America.  For one, housing affordability is a major challenge in more than a few urban areas, as are high levels of crime and violence, racial and social inequality, traffic congestion, limited public transportation options, inadequate infrastructure and income inequality.

Until recently, international and national agencies have played the most visible roles in dealing with global warming.  International and national agencies funded decades of scientific research that transformed our understanding of Earth’s climate systems. The United Nations-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is now the most authoritative source of scientific consensus about global warming.  The IPCC’s most recent Synthesis Report (AR6), released just last month, begins with the following statement: