Despite the many shifts of 2020, urbanization remains a characteristic trend of this century. The challenges for urban life and communities have compounded through the realities of the Covid-19 pandemic, racial injustice, and environmental consequences on already stressed and straining communities. Our team has found both sorrow and hope in witnessing cities move through chapters of response, slowdown, protest, adaptation, and reopening throughout this year. While there is much uncertainty in what is to come, we remain adamant that sustainable urban systems are urgent and critical to the actions we need to take to reverse global climate change.

For the last 5 months we have been working with our eighth cohort of companies: Adiona, Aquagenuity, Climate Robotics, Mobilyze, Resonant Link, and Xtelligent. The teams have worked with Urban Us partners and our Experts-in-Residence to tackle their most pressing development needs: industrial designs, functional mechanical systems, user-researched interfaces, and validated business models. We have hosted sessions on customer development, pipeline quantification, culture building, and fundraising. Now, the founders are gearing up for Demo Day on Oct. …