During the pandemic, several cities across the world were repurposing their streets and public spaces for a active and healthy living. At the Smart Cities Mission (SCM), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India (GoI), we created a bouquet of initiatives that involved on-ground action of infrastructure pilots; foundational works of building design teams, policies, guidelines, budget allocations; as well as communication with citizens and stakeholders for behaviour change and support. These initiatives included ‘Streets4People’ and ‘IndiaCycles4Change’ for healthier streets across India; ‘Nurturing Neighbourhoods’ to make cities friendly for young children and caregivers; and lastly the ‘Placemaking Marathon’ to transform small public spaces. Led by the Ministry with support from technical partners such as ITDP, WRI and Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvLF), we have been working across cities conducting one-to-one design reviews with cities, documenting project details, building over 80 guidance toolkits for design and implementation, and undertaking several capacity building workshops and webinars.