There has been growing research and policy interest in urban resilience in Australia and internationally. Cities face an increasing likelihood of acute shocks and chronic stresses such as climate change impacts and the COVID-19 pandemic, and are a crucial part of local mitigation, response and adaptation efforts. However, urban resilience has been defined in various ways, and applying somewhat abstract and nebulous resilience concepts in practice can be challenging. A partnership between university researchers and the City of Melbourne sought to clarify the concept of urban resilience and make it applicable to the multi-sectoral work of local government.