In recent decades, the world has witnessed the increasing risks and uncertainties brought about by global climate change. Cities have become particularly vulnerable to the severe impacts of climate-related disasters. As a result, the concept of sustainable urban development, including climate adaptation strategies, has become a crucial task for countries worldwide. Cold region cities, as a special urban group, face unique and diverse climate issues, requiring a multi-perspective approach to establish innovative strategies for cold region urban development. Throughout the long history of humanity, various disasters have plagued communities, and our ancestors have repeatedly demonstrated their survival wisdom in overcoming these challenges. Traditional knowledge has played a vital role in shaping their ability to adapt to and mitigate the effects of these disasters. While the traditional knowledge and ideas of indigenous peoples in cold regions may be complex and diverse, they contain valuable insights and technological wisdom that can be learned from and applied to contemporary urban planning practices.In the face of the present-day challenges of climate change, energy scarcity, and environmental degradation, it is evident that universal technological solutions grounded solely in natural sciences are inadequate for addressing the unique climate conditions of cold regions. Instead, a comprehensive understanding of the essential attributes and resilient characteristics of cold region urban communities, from the perspective of local traditional knowledge, is needed to inform local sustainable planning practices. This study focuses on unraveling the ecological core connotation of traditional knowledge held by indigenous peoples in cold regions. It highlights the ecological consciousness within traditional knowledge systems that enables the identification, understanding, and response to extreme cold climate environmental changes. This ecological consciousness emphasizes the need to maintain adaptive socio-economic environments within communities. It encompasses various aspects, including the protection of ecological integrity, the sustainable development of resources, comprehensive material management, adaptive spatial construction, and multidimensional interactive maintenance. Furthermore, the study delves into the transformation path of ecological wisdom derived from traditional knowledge within cold region urban communities. It argues that the evolution of wisdom from traditional knowledge should be based on its ecological connotation. This provides a foundation for constructing a comprehensive ecological wisdom system in cold regions, which guides and inspires the implementation of scientific ecological information within urban construction activities, particularly climate protection initiatives. Moreover, it underscores the importance of fostering cohesion and cooperation among planning participants as a critical aspect of constructing ecological wisdom. Through collaborative management and reflection on outcomes within ecological practices, an intrinsic spiritual and cultural consensus is formed. This consensus serves as a catalyst for cold region cities to adopt new perspectives and higher levels of environmental cognition, ultimately leading to the evolution ofmodern cold region ecological wisdom. This dynamic approach ensures the continuous renewal and preservation of ecological wisdom within cold region communities. Building upon these findings, the study reconsiders the strategies for cultivating ecological wisdom within modern cold region urban communities, drawing from traditional knowledge as a starting point. It provides a comprehensive framework and modern application paths for enhancing climate adaptability, social robustness, and systemic inclusiveness within urban communities. This encompasses various aspects, including environmental cognition, resource utilization, production activities, spiritual culture, and social organization. Moreover, the study offers planning and governance insights tailored to foster sustainable development within modern cold region communities.The study aims to explain the ecological wisdom necessary for the resilient development of social-ecological systems within modern cold region urban communities from the perspective of traditional knowledge. By exploring the ecological connotations embedded within local knowledge and experiential practices, this study seeks to apply the evolved modern ecological wisdom to inform value-based decision-making, environmental planning, and social governance within cold region urban communities. Ultimately, it aims to provide innovative ideas and value-based guidelines for the theory and practice of resilient development within modern cold region urban communities.