Building Resilient Cities – an update

It’s amazing to think how many more reminders we have had for the need of resilient cities since our article in September and 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) President Michael Berkowitz thinks it will continue.

“We saw, in 2015, all of these accumulated shocks and stresses and we can expect, without being harbingers of doom and gloom that this trend is going to continue. The need for resilience, the urgency of that really continues” he said at the second Chief Resilience Officer Summit in November.

100RC are currently selecting the remaining 33 cities from the 324 applications received from over 80 countries. The entries are first reviewed before the panel of judges and whittled down to 100 by the Challenge team. The list is then halved by urban resilience technical experts and 100RC staff before going before a panel of prominent judges who will make recommendations. The final list is decided by a 100RC staff member considering these recommendations, regional diversity, commitment to resilience, innovative leadership and more.

100RC are also working to develop a plan for the rest of the cities in the world to help them take part in the growing urban resilience movement.

The 67 cities already selected are meeting to build relationships and share knowledge to strengthen their cities against shocks and stresses. They are also meeting with Platform Partners to discuss how to achieve some of their resilience goals and at the second Platform Partner Summit in the Bay Area of California.

One of the opportunities uncovered at the meeting was using Trimble eCognition Essentials to view existing city data with high resolutions images and natural hazard models to highlight potential problem areas.

It is going to take a lot of work but they are well on their way to building cities that will survive and thrive, regardless of the challenge.

You can learn more about 100 Resilient Cities on their website.