Explore Resilient Cities, Resilient Lives, a new report with lessons from the 100 Resilient Cities Network
Cape Town, South Africa
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Defining urban resilience
Resilience is about surviving and thriving, regardless of the challenge.
Urban resilience is the capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses, and systems within a city to survive, adapt, and grow no matter what kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience.
CHRONIC STRESSES
weaken the fabric of a city on a day-to-day or cyclical basis
Examples include: high unemployment, inefficient public transportation systems, endemic violence, and chronic food and water shortages.
ACUTE SHOCKS
are sudden, sharp events that threaten a city
Examples include: earthquakes, floods, disease outbreaks, and terrorist attacks.
Resilient cities demonstrate seven qualities that allow them to withstand, respond to, and adapt more readily to shocks and stresses.
Reflective
using past experience to inform future decisions
Resourceful
recognizing alternative ways to use resources
Robust
well-conceived, constructed, and managed systems
Redundant
spare capacity purposively created to accommodate disruption
Flexible
willingness and ability to adopt alternative strategies in response to changing circumstances
Inclusive
prioritize broad consultation to create a sense of shared ownership in decision making
Integrated
bring together a range of distinct systems and institutions