Cities have been important actors in environmental action and greenhouse gas reduction for years. Yet urban greening has often exacerbated social injustices, spawning green gentrification in low-income communities where local governments neglect the long-term impacts of capital investments. Now, some cities are reimagining what urban infrastructure and planning must look like to meet the needs for climate change mitigation, resiliency, and environmental justice. These local governments are restructuring institutions to work collectively in a polycentric system, to not only build a more sustainable urban environment, but to reimagine sustainability through a holistic lens, one intertwined with housing, transportation, urban planning, and the injustices that have plagued cities for generations. Through a cross-case comparison between Denver, CO, and Salt Lake City, UT, two cities committed to climate action while facing severe housing crises, this study argues that cities are entering a new phase of urban climate action, one rooted in righting systemic injustices to build a more sustainable and equitable urban environment for all.