The City Resilience Framework
What are the characteristics and capacities of a city that can adapt and grow in the face of these challenges? What distinguishes a resilient city from one that collapses in the face of disruption and adversity?
The Rockefeller Foundation partnered with the global design firm Arup to answer those questions. Extensive research and evaluation of cities’ experiences around the world revealed a common set of factors and systems that enhance a city’s ability to survive, adapt, and grow in the face of adversity. The City Resilience Framework (CRF) is the product of that work. It is an invaluable lens to help understand the complexity of cities, and it identifies a series of drivers necessary for a city’s resilience.
The CRF describes the essential systems of a city in terms of four dimensions: Health & Wellbeing; Economy & Society; Infrastructure & Environment; and Leadership & Strategy.
Each dimension contains three “drivers,” which reflect the actions cities can take to improve their resilience. To learn more about a Dimension and its Drivers, click on a portion of the circle below.
We also recommend you read the full text describing the City Resilience Framework here, which includes more detail as well as case studies that apply these concepts to city examples. While the CRF isn’t a definition of urban resilience, it is a useful tool to help cities explore the strengths and weaknesses of its systems. 100RC uses several diagnostic tools based on the CRF in its work with cities to examine interdependencies and diagnose where to build their capacities.
Leadership & Strategy
The processes that promote effective leadership, inclusive decision-making, empowered stakeholders, and integrated planning
- Promote Leadership and Effective Management
Encourage capable leadership and effective urban management within government and civil society, particularly during an emergency. This involves strong leadership, cross-sector communication, and evidenced-based decision-making.
- Empower a Broad Range of Stakeholders
Ensure everybody is well informed, capable, and involved in their city. This includes access to information and education, communication between the government and public, knowledge transfer, and timely and appropriate monitoring.
- Foster Long-Term and Integrated Planning
Align sectoral plans and individual projects with the city’s vision to be coordinated and appropriate to address the city’s needs. This includes city strategies and plans.
Health & Wellbeing
Everyone living and working in the city has access to what they need to survive and thrive.
- Meets Basic Needs
Particularly in times of crisis, ensure that people have access the basic resources necessary to survive – food, water and sanitation, energy, and shelter.
- Supports Livelihoods and Employment
Assist individuals to access diverse livelihood and employment opportunities, including access to business investment and social welfare. This includes skills and training, fair labor policy, and development and innovation.
- Ensures Public Health Services
Provide access to effective public healthcare and emergency services to safeguard physical and mental health. This includes medical practitioners and plans, as well as clinics and ambulances.
Economy & Society
The social & financial systems that enable urban populations to live peacefully, and act collectively.
- Promote Cohesive and Engaged Communities
Create a sense of collective identity and mutual support. This includes building a sense of local identity, social networks, and safe space; promoting features of an inclusive local cultural heritage; and encouraging cultural diversity while promoting tolerance and a willingness to accept other cultures.
- Ensure Social Stability, Security, and Justice
Ensure a comprehensive and inclusive approach to law enforcement and justice that fosters a stable, secure, and just society. This includes fair and transparent policing and deterrents to crime – specifically in times of crisis, as well as enforcement of laws such as codes and regulations.
- Foster Economic Prosperity
Ensure the availability of funding and a vibrant economy as a result of diverse revenue streams, the ability to attract business investment, and contingency plans. This involves good governance, integration with the regional and global economy and measures to attract investment.
Infrastructure & Environment
The man-made and natural systems that provide critical services, protect, and connect urban assets enabling the flow of goods, services, and knowledge.
- Provide and Enhances Protective Natural and Man-Made Assets
Maintain protective natural and man-made assets that reduce the physical vulnerability of city systems. This includes natural systems like wetlands, mangroves and sand dunes or built infrastructure like sea walls or levees.
- Ensure Continuity of Critical Services
Actively manage and enhance natural and man-made resources. This includes designing physical infrastructure such as roads and bridges to withstand floods so that people can evacuate, as well as ecosystem management for flood risk management. It also includes emergency response plans and contingency plans that may coordinate airports to function so that relief can be lifted in and out during a crisis.
- Provide Reliable Communication and Mobility
Provide a free flow of people, information, and goods. This includes information and communication networks as well as physical movement through a multimodal transport system.