The ICLEI ACCCRN Process (IAP) enables local governments to assess their climate risks in the context of urbanisation, poverty and vulnerability and formulate corresponding resilience strategies. It draws on the experiences from the ten core ACCCRN cities (see www.acccrn.org) and existing ICLEI approaches and has been applied in a range of cities in Indonesia, Bangladesh, the Philippines and India.
Concepción lies in Central Chile, 500 kilometres south of the capital, Santiago. The city sits within the larger urban area of Greater Concepcion, where a population of 1,026,425 reside across 10 municipalities. As the 11th largest municipality in Chile, Concepción is home to 231,233 people. Located 10 kilometres upstream of the mouth of the river Biobio, the city is also a capital, major port, and important administrative hub for the wider Bio-Bio region.
Concepción was among the areas most severely impacted by the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 8.8 magnitude quake was followed by a devastating tsunami, which affected over 500 kilometres of the Chilean coast.
Following these events the Municipalidad de Concepción, along with civil society and National Government, expressed a strong interest in measuring city resilience. With support from the Rockefeller Foundation, Arup is undertaking a series of pilot research studies in five global cities to test the feasibility, suitability and effectiveness of the City Resilience Index (CRI). Concepción was selected as an example of a Global South city that has undergone wide scale reconstruction and transformation following a major natural disaster. The CRI pilot offered the city the opportunity to evaluate strengths and weaknesses across the range of systems and processes which shape its resilience profile.
Shimla is the capital of Himachal Pradesh and is perched in the southwestern ranges of the Himalayas of Northern India. It is built over several hills and connecting ridges, occupying an area of approximately 20 km2. Formerly the British ‘Summer Capital’ of India, it is now one of the most one of the most popular tourist destinations in the State, both for Indian and international travelers alike.
In 2008 Shimla was selected as a pilot city in the Asian Cities Climate Change and Resilience Network (ACCCRN), funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. Together, the ACCCRN ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability developed a six-phase process to enable the identification of
vulnerable urban systems, capacity constraints, and opportunities under a future climate scenario.
New Orleans, USA is a city located on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana. The municipal population of 380,000 is governed by the City Council and Mayor’s office. In 2005 New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, resulting in flooding of an estimated 80% of the city. The City’s recovery from the storm demonstrated their inherent resilience and capacity to bounce back with demonstrable improvements in economic resilience, strong leadership capacity, and resource commitment to the environment. However, many stresses that faced the city prior to Hurricane Katrina persisted, and have been coupled with growing inequality.
Lower Manhattan, New York City is home to approximately 220,000 people. This area contains some of the largest central business districts in the country, which are at the core of an economy with an annual GDP of approximately $500 billion, influencing economic activity throughout the world. More than 52 million visitors annually come to Lower Manhattan to see sites as the 9/11 memorial, Wall Street, Battery Park and take ferries to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The Lower Manhattan area also contains 35,000 affordable housing units, many of which were hit hard by Hurricane Sandy, and over 94,000 of the residents in this area are low-income, elderly, and/or disabled. The most vulnerable of the population live along the East River.
Following the devastating impacts of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the city was challenged to create protection for Lower Manhattan to ensure that New York City’s financial district and other key infrastructure can operate during and after a storm while maintaining and enhancing, local residents’ connection to the waterfront. Flood protection would be designed to enhance everyday life and address existing social, economic and health challenges.
Rotterdam, Netherlands is a City located in Southern Holland. The municipal population of 620,000 is split into 14 boroughs, governed centrally by a city council, currently headed by Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb. Rotterdam has achieved a high level of success in developing best-in-class climate adaptation and water management strategies to address the threats of sea-level rise and pluvial flooding inherent in their unique geography and morphology. The City is currently striving to link these achievements with strategies for addressing other risks and in particular emerging social cohesion challenges.
Addressing the shocks and stresses with innovative and integrated solutions required a new direction and vision for resilience that would build off of the City’s recognized leadership in water and climate risk resilience.
The City Resilience Assets & Risks Tool is part of Phase I of the City Resilience Strategy, created by 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) as a customized roadmap, which cities use to build their resilience.
The City Resilience Actions Inventory is part of Phase I of the City Resilience Strategy, created by 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) as a customized roadmap, which cities use to building their resilience.
The City Resilience Perceptions Assessment is part of Phase I of the City Resilience Strategy, created by 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) as a customized roadmap, which cities use to building their resilience.
Building resilience in cities requires an understanding of both what contributes to resilience and how it can be measured. To address this gap, Arup has developed the City Resilience Framework and the City Resilience Index with support from The Rockefeller Foundation. These tools provide cities with a comprehensive, accessible, technically robust and globally applicable basis for assessing and measuring resilience at a city scale.
