A Resilient City

Climate resilience is not about making development in a new way. It is about adding climate variability and change considerations to the planning and development framework to ensure long term sustainability and preparedness towards climate change

A resilience building process entails strengthening of:

• City systems (Infrastructure, services, sectors) - drainage, water supply, transport, health facilities etc.
• City planning (development norms, land-use planning)

How are climate resilient cities different or better?

A resilient city is one that has developed capacities to help absorb future shocks and stresses, so as to maintain the same functions, structures, systems, and identity.

Climate resilient cities have the capability to reduce and manage the negative impacts of climate change because these cities have planned and factored these changes in their development goals and planning by:

• Utilizing climate information (of past and future) to identify climate stressors typical to their cities/regions.
• Preparing and implementing strategies to reduce vulnerability of population and city systems.
• Adapting to change, preparing, and responding to disasters, mitigating GHG emissions.

International Programmes supporting Resilience

• Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network
• Cities Development Initiative of Asia
• UNHABITAT’s Cities and Climate Change Initiative
• Rockefeller Foundation’s Recent 100 Resilient Cities Program
• USAID’s Climate Change Resilient Development(CCRD) program have been working towards addressing knowledge gaps with improved mechanisms to support cities to be climate resilient.
• Global Resilience Partnership
• ADB’s Urban Climate Change Resilience Partnership (UCCRP)