Imagine a city in the year 2035: clean parks, open learning spaces, strong neighborhoods – and a generation growing up with emotional competence, digital sovereignty, and clear boundaries. This city is not a science fiction set, but an achievable health ecosystem. The lever? Smart prevention that strengthens communities and mitigates risks where they arise: in schools, businesses, online spaces, and at everyday junctions.

Substance abuse is not an isolated phenomenon, but a pattern of availability, stress, social dynamics, and individual coping strategies. Those who want to keep the city healthy think systematically: prevention works on multiple levels – individual, social, structural. Central are life skills, i.e., life skillsemotional, social, and cognitive abilities that help regulate stress, make decisions, and navigate peer pressure. Equally important is community capacitythe ability of a neighborhood to identify problems, mobilize resources, and collaborate effectively. Peer models utilize peersindividuals with personal experience who provide guidance to others on an equal footing – a factor of trust that often surpasses traditional offerings. For high performers, this is relevant because high-performance environments require stability, focus, and security: a strong community reduces disturbances, protects talents, and extends healthy performance capacity.

When communities take prevention seriously, substance use and its associated costs – medical, social, and economic – decrease. In German cities, a study shows: higher community capacity, including resources, problem-solving skills, and cross-sector collaboration, correlates with lower rates of alcohol, tobacco, and binge drinking ^[1]. Schools that train emotional skills change consumption patterns: a program that enhances emotional acceptance, impulse control, and verbal skills reduced daily cannabis use among adolescents; even heavy users improved their emotional perception – a central protective factor against chronicity ^[2]. Peer approaches, in turn, fill care gaps in particularly burdened groups and increase acceptance and effectiveness, as long as peers are professionally protected, recognized, and fairly compensated ^[3]. In short: where community engages, health, performance, and quality of life stabilize – the city becomes more resilient.

A multilevel analysis of 28 German municipalities links measurable community capacity with lower substance use among students. Resources, sectoral collaboration, knowledge/skills, and problem-solving abilities had particularly strong effects – a practical blueprint for urban health rather than abstract theory ^[1]. In Polynesia, a school-based prevention program that trains emotional skills showed short-term improvements in emotional regulation and a decrease in daily cannabis use among non-users and light users; heavy users benefited primarily from improved emotional verbal skills – a realistic but valuable lever for initiating change ^[2]. Additionally, a German-language app intervention for vocational students demonstrates that individualized, modular prevention is embraced: the majority chose stress and media modules, decisions were aligned with individual risks, and socio-demographic differences allowed for targeted, equitable approaches – an important step towards scaling in heterogeneous student populations ^[4]. Lastly, a systematic review of peer support in vulnerable groups shows that peer models can be effective if boundaries, stigma management, supervision, and compensation are well regulated – a quality framework that connects impact and protection ^[3].

- Actively build local prevention capacity: establish or support a community prevention team that connects schools, sports clubs, businesses, health services, and youth aid. Goals: common language, clear action plan, visible resources. Studies show: more cooperation, resources, and problem-solving abilities correlate with lower alcohol, tobacco, and binge consumption among adolescents ^[1].
- Bring emotional competence into schools and learning spaces: implement programs that train acceptance, emotional perception, impulse control, and verbal skills. Start with 8–10 sessions per semester and supplement with teacher workshops. Evidence: students reduced daily cannabis use and improved emotional skills ^[2].
- Establish peer-supported groups: recruit individuals with their own addiction or risk backgrounds as qualified peers. Ensure clear roles, supervision, fair pay, and anti-stigma training. When well implemented, peer models increase reach and trust – crucial in precarious situations ^[3].
- Scale life skills-based, mobile prevention: implement app coaching in secondary schools and businesses. Allow for modular selection (stress, social media/gaming, alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, social skills) and personalized feedback. Adolescents choose appropriately and show high prevention needs – a lever for reach and equity ^[4].
- Combine places and rituals: connect school programs with community hubs (libraries, maker spaces, sports centers). Utilize "health-active" rituals: weekly check-ins, skill-of-the-week, peer labs. This transforms prevention from a project to a culture – precisely aligning with the capacity factors associated with reduced consumption ^[1].

The next big leaps will come from integrated design: evidence-based emotional programs, digital coaching pathways, and professionally implemented peer support anchored in networked communities. Future research should examine how combined models affect educational attainment, employability, and urban economics in the long term and what "dose" of community capacity provides the greatest benefit – scalable, equitable, and sustainable ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}.