Resilient Cities 2: Cities and adaptation to climate change. Proceedings of the Global Forum 2011

Posted on: 17 July 2012
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Assembling papers originally presented at the Resilient Cities 2011 Congress in Bonn, Germany (June 2011), the second global forum on cities and adaptation to climate change, this volume is the second in a series resulting from this annual event. These cutting-edge papers represent the latest research on the topic and reflect the intensification of the debate on the meaning of and interaction between climate adaptation, risk reduction and broader resilience.

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Community resilience in a changing climate

Posted on: 10 July 2012
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This interim briefing paper reports on findings from two complementary research projects that are investigating the delivery in a changing climate of health and social care in acute and community settings.

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Resilient cities webinars

Posted on: 5 July 2012
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The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) Making Cities Resilient Campaign: My City is Getting Ready!, and the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB) and its Task Group on Disasters and Built Environment (TG63) have staged a series of online seminars in May and June 2012 to look at key areas for intervention related to the growing risks of natural hazards in urban areas and identification of solutions to enable cities to grow in a safe and sustainable way. The main topics of presentations and discussion at the four webinars were: Enabling risk reduction through urban planningl Engaging multiple stakeholders in urban disaster risk reduction;  People’s needs and expectations in post-disaster reconstruction; and Ten essentials for making cities resilient: Local government self assessment tool. Recordings of the webinars are available online.

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New knowledge for resilient futures

Posted on: 3 July 2012
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The Transition Research Network (TRN) is a self-organising peer group of academics and community activists which aims to: help advance understanding and practice in transition; support transition groups to address their research needs; help transform the crisis in our universities into an opportunity for positive change in research culture, making research relevant, fulfilling, and fun. A report has been published which highlights the outcome of two recent meetings. The first, held in Manchester on 28 November 2011, identified some of the key issues, along with approaches through which they might be addressed. The second meeting, held in Plymouth on 29 February 2012, aimed to identify solutions.

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Shifting agendas: response to resilience

Posted on: 29 June 2012
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In this paper, which launched the 9th Brunel Lecture Series, Jo Da Silva, Director International Development at Arup, proposes that it is time for civil engineers to cease practising ‘the art of directing the great sources of power in Nature for the use and convenience of mankind’. Instead we should acknowledge the fundamental role we have to play in reducing the vulnerability of mankind. Whilst recent disasters have emphasised the limitations of international response. A new approach is required which prioritises creating resilient communities which are able to respond and adapt to changing circumstances and unexpected catastrophes. A video of the lecture is also online.

http://www.jodasilva.me/Report/Brunel_Report_FINAL%5B1%5D.pdf

Resilient Cities: 3rd Global Forum on Urban Resilience & Adaptation. Bonn, 12-15 May 2012

Posted on: 21 June 2012
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This event is the global platform for learning, cooperation and networking on all aspects of urban resilience and adaptation to climate change. It is convened by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, the City of Bonn, and the World Mayors Council on Climate Change. The main themes covered were: Urban risk; Resilient building and construction; Resilient urban logistics; Financing the resilient city. A report is scheduled for release in August 2012 on the progress that has been made in key thematic areas at Resilient Cities 2012, and on the way forward towards Resilient Cities 2013. Presentations from the event are available online.

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Re-mixing the city: Towards sustainability and resilience. Vienna, 14-16 May 2012

Posted on: 21 June 2012
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REAL CORP conferences are held annually since 1996. About 500 experts from around the world from the fields of urban planning, transport planning, information and communication technologies, architecture, social and environmental sciences, real estate, GIS, surveying and remote sensing and more meet to discuss current tasks and topics on urban planning, regional development and information society in an international and extremely interdisciplinary conference. It is possible to research the archive of all papers presented since 1996 here.

Cities worldwide are facing rapid social, economic, environmental, technological and cultural changes such as: rapid urbanisation, aging of society, security issues, housing emergency, new solutions on mobility, integration of immigrants, food and water shortage, etc. Especially in times of economic crisis and demographic changes in cities, it is necessary to think about how to best handle what we have, and therefore “RE-MIXING THE CITY” is a challenge to manage and re-combine the elements which make our modern cities in order to better respond to change. This event offered the possibility to collectively discuss a wide range of topics in different panel groups and workshops. Questions considered included:

Can “mixed cities” be more sustainable and resilient?

Time-space patterns of the 24/7 city?

Is it the purpose of spatial planning to “sort land uses in space”?

Do the urban patterns and structure of our cities still meet the needs of the people in their everyday life?

How do urban, transport and environmental technologies and solutions shape our cities?

Does and can migration re-mix the city?

What is the role of urban planning in these processes?

A large number of presentations and papers are available online.

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URBAN-NEXUS

Posted on: 14 June 2012
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The URBAN-NEXUS Consortium comprises of 13 core partners, supported by 25 Strategic Partners throughout Europe. This coordination and support action builds on the work of the FP6 project URBAN-NET, which formulated the themes that URBAN-NEXUS is now working on. URBAN-NEXUS will develop a Strategic Dialogue & Partnership Framework to organise a long-term collaboration with stakeholders in relation to the key dimensions of sustainable urban development: Urban climate resilience; Health and quality of life; Integrated urban management; Integrated data and information; Competing for urban land.

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Acting today for tomorrow: a policy and practice note for climate and disaster resilient development in the pacific islands region

Posted on: 11 June 2012
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This policy and practice note presents some analysis and recommendations meant to inform disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) planning across a range of institutions at all levels. It grows out of extensive consultations with countries, regional organizations, and donors and other development partners, and it is addressed primarily to high-level policymakers and decision makers within them.

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Measurement for management: CDP Cities 2012 Global Report

Posted on: 11 June 2012
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The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has issued a report which contains analysis by technical and management support services firm AECOM, presenting a global snapshot of the activities, challenges and opportunities facing cities as a result of climate change. It is based on the carbon and water strategies and actions disclosed to CDP by 73 cities spanning every inhabited continent. The report also contains a special focus on the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40), a network of the world’s largest cities working to reduce urban carbon emissions and accelerate climate change adaptation.

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