4th Global Forum on Urban Resilience and Adaptation. Bonn, 31 May – 2 June 2013

Posted on: 22 July 2013
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The aim of this event was to provide current, actionable advice for local governments to create more resilient cities. Themes tackled include: risk and vulnerability assessment; adaptation and resilience planning and policy making; multi-stakeholder and community-based collaboration; governance; implementing specific adaptation solutions; financing resilience; and resilient urban food systems. Presentations and a conference report are available online.

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Turn down the heat: Climate extremes, regional impacts, and the case for resilience

Posted on: 26 June 2013
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This report builds on a World Bank report released in 2012, which concluded the world would warm by 4 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by the end of this century if we did not take concerted action now.  This new report looks at the likely impacts of present day, 2°C and 4°C warming on agricultural production, water resources, coastal ecosystems and cities across Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and South East Asia.

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Smart cities: How to build sustainable and resilient environments in an increasingly urbanized world

Posted on: 26 June 2013
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This white paper aims to provide a framework for understanding the definitions, market indicators, key metrics and value propositions smart cities hold for numerous industries. The emergence of smart cities as the receptacle for ideas, thoughts, policies and strategies about the future of the world’s cities is an important milestone because it comes amid rapid innovation, convergence and a redefinition of what it means to live and work in an urban environment in the 21st century.

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Resilient Cities 2013: 4th Global Forum on Urban Resilience and Adaptation. Bonn, 31 May – 2 June 2013

Posted on: 14 June 2013
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Every year, since 2009, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, with the City of Bonn, and other partners has been organizing the Resilient Cities congress in Bonn, Germany. The Congress brings together local government leaders and climate adaptation experts from around the world. The Congress serves as the meeting ground for innovative ideas, strategies for resilient urban planning and knowledge sharing. Blogs, videos and presentations are available online.

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Making cities resilient: Summary for policymakers

Posted on: 7 June 2013
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The purpose of this policy brief is to inform local policy makers about the current trends and activities taking place in selected cities that have signed up to the Making Cities Resilient Campaign, which are striving to improve their resilience, and to outline good practices, challenges and solutions to help inform local governments’ future actions.

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Transitioning to resilience and sustainability in urban communities

Posted on: 7 June 2013
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Adapting to the challenges of rapid urban growth and societal change will require mechanisms for efficient transitioning to an embedded resilience. This has become central to the exploration of methods for achieving truly sustainable urban growth. However, while transitioning and resilience are useful descriptors, they can be abstract or conflicting ideals and their meanings obscured by a lack of concrete examples, both being barriers to many planning objectives. In this paper, the authors hold a lens over key issues in transitioning to resilience in urban areas by outlining emerging challenges that may offer directions towards operationalising how cities might transition to a more resilient future, while ensuring that communities are at the center of the process. The emerging and challenging areas – geospatial ICT, green infrastructure planning, novel design using collaborative responses, climate planning, limiting urban sprawl and short-circuit economic approaches – are explored as viable facets for devising and sustaining urban transition strategies. We conclude with a discussion on the need for developing a synergistic approach in practice to facilitate transition.

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Building resilience to disasters: Assessing the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action (2005-2015)

Posted on: 4 June 2013
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This report presents the first peer review undertaken to assess progress in the implementation at national level of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters (HFA). Under the HFA, Member States of the United Nations have committed to policy action. The United Kingdom volunteered to be the first country to undertake such a peer review, with the overall objectives to: enhance the effective implementation of and reporting on the HFA, contributing to improved policy-making on disaster risk reduction (DRR) through external assessment and mutual learning; increase the consistency between the national disaster risk reduction policies and stimulate transferability of good and innovative practices; contribute to developing and implementing EU policy initiatives that could further advance the implementation of the HFA in EU Member States as well as in neighbouring countries; encourage awareness-raising through broad involvement of stakeholders in the review process and wide dissemination of the results; and foster policy dialogue in Europe and enhance regional cooperation between countries exposed to common hazards and risks. It is the hope of the authors of this review that it could be o f broader relevance. While some of the findings of this review are specific to the UK institutional frameworks, it may help countries in the EU and beyond to reflect and strengthen the implementation of risk management policies, contributing to stronger resilience of nations and communities, and helping to promote better lives. The review can also help to sustain a broader policy dialogue on these issues, engaging with local governments and the private sector.

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Arctic Resilience Report

Posted on: 31 May 2013
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The Arctic Resilience Report is a science-based assessment that aims to better understand the integrated impacts of change in the Arctic. Its goals are to: identify the potential for shocks and large shifts in ecosystems services that affect human well-being in the Arctic; analyse how different drivers of change interact in ways that affect the ability of ecosystems and human populations to withstand shocks, adapt or transform; and evaluate strategies for communities and governments to adapt. An interim report is now available, with the final report expected in May 2015.

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Climate resilience and disaster risk management: Stories of change from CDKN

Posted on: 16 May 2013
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This newsletter highlights the work of the Climate and Development Knowledge Network regarding climate resilience and disaster resilience management.

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Risk and resilience in coastal regions. Washington, DC, 16-17 January 2013

Posted on: 1 May 2013
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This event brought together stakeholders including investors, lenders, insurers, owners, and planners to assess how underlying climate-related risks are informing land use decisions in coastal regions.  Discussion explored how recent storm events and environmental trends present new challenges to communities and real estate markets. Presentations and information packs are available online.

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