All people across the world have similar ideas when they move to big cities: Cities are where people go to achieve their goals and dreams. This is certainly a small part of why the UN predicts 68% of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050.

It’s not difficult to imagine all of the challenges this raises—including how successful we are in bringing renewable power to all of these rising city centers. Here’s a look at how the transition to sustainable cities is already changing how we build, maintain and even rebuild them.

1. It Forces Action on the "Infrastructure Gap"

The World Economic Forum reports that, globally, humanity faces an infrastructure gap to the tune of $15 trillion. This is significant for many reasons, including:

• The infrastructure gap in cities will only widen as more people move there;
• Many heavily populated cities are situated on coasts, and many of these cities are poorly equipped to deal with the effects of climate change; and
• Well-maintained infrastructure strongly correlates with a healthier and more economically mobile population.

With climate change now a fact of daily living for some regions in the world, city, state and business leaders have a huge mandate on their hands to bring urban areas up to new standards and make up for decades of underinvestment.

They must ensure cities are resilient in the face of natural disasters by being prepared to help the movers and the displaced thrive there, do as much as possible to meet global climate benchmarks at the local level and fund it all with revenue systems that make sense for everybody.

Polling indicates that a majority of Americans want more government action on the environment, including investments in sustainable infrastructure and energy projects. Leaders at the city level should continue to find ways to meet that demand.

2. It Encourages New Stormwater Management Techniques

Stormwater management plays a major role in the overall sustainability and preparedness of cities. For a stormwater management program to be truly sustainable, it must be designed in a way that’s forward-thinking enough to not require redesign and reconstruction every few years.

Cities and construction companies have a huge opportunity here. Paying mind to this sustainability trend is a practical matter as well as a way to beautify urban areas.

How well cities shed runoff water after heavy rains is a major factor in how livable these cities are year-round and whether they can withstand major weather events. This is why new stormwater management techniques are becoming so popular in sustainability-minded cities across the world.

There are lots of examples of this, including the 2000 Gallon Project in New York City. The creation of green, treed areas throughout cities and even on top of parking areas and other structures creates vastly more opportunities to retain stormwater and ensure city infrastructure doesn’t become overwhelmed while shedding the runoff.

3. It Drives Clean Power Adoption

Solar power has, by any measure, enjoyed a quick rate of adoption. Installation rates can double in the span of a year.

Plus, places like Singapore are leveraging their position on the coast to trial-run solar technologies that could prove relevant to other territories—floating photovoltaic solar farms. Projects like these have implications for protecting water reservoirs and turning nearby surfaces into productive, power-generating assets for cities.

Builders and city planners will need to continue finding inventive ways to construct new power-generating infrastructure.

Measures such as the one in California, which makes solar panels mandatory for new construction, and one in France requiring green rooftops in commercial zones, should be seen as inspiring to a new generation of green-minded builders rather than an inconvenience. Leadership at the state and business level will continue to see these mandates for the opportunity they are.

And even companies without a legal mandate have clear advantages, including some likely tax credits, to adopt renewable energies. Every situation is different, but many businesses come to see this as an investment that pays dividends over the long haul. Construction companies will need to commit to renewing their knowledge on green building techniques and technologies.

And with or without an immediate legal mandate to “go solar” or “go green,” the business community can help inspire change from above and drive down costs (and drive up accessibility) for everybody else when it buys into clean energy.

4. It Promotes a Greater Awareness of Public Health

Urban construction is an expensive affair. This means our approach in past years—to grow quickly and ask questions later—resulted in some corners getting cut.

Many common building products, including roofing and building materials, paints, finishes, insulations and many others, can take a toll on the environment and public health. Choosing sustainable alternatives has, in some cases, a direct correlation with higher cognitive functioning in residents and fewer instances of “sick building syndrome.”

Flame retardants are one example of a family of chemicals that tends to accumulate in nature and in human bodies, sometimes causing neurodevelopment issues.

Asphalt-based and other petroleum products used in roofing and other construction elements can have an environmental footprint that makes them difficult to justify compared to other methods that are longer-lasting, easier to manufacture and require replacement far less frequently.

Today’s and tomorrow’s cities will require more cooperation than ever between government and the construction sector. It will require that representatives on both sides be willing to break with convention and, as often as required, respond quickly to new scientific findings on public health and new materials and techniques when they become available.

Sustainability Is a Cultural Shift

That is precisely the reason why this is the moment to start thinking of sustainability as a kind of comprehensive cultural shift in cities. Sustainable cities require common-sense legislation, smart investments from the public and private sector, and strong revenue streams to support infrastructure.

Moreover, public and private infrastructure needs to incorporate health- and safety-minded building principles that last, support jobs, and protect and provide opportunities for residents in the world’s cities. The sustainability movement is a complex mission that takes everybody’s interest and expertise.