The Rockefeller Foundation launched the 100 Resilient Cities Centennial Challenge on its centennial, May 14, 2013. The $100 million grant program will help cities build greater resilience from the increasing shocks and stresses of the 21st century. One hundred of the world’s cities will be selected to receive technical support and resources for developing and implementing plans for urban resilience over the next three years.
Disasters in urban areas can impact millions of people and shut down entire economic systems. We cannot predict the next disaster, but are sure that disasters will occur. However, cities on the whole are not sufficiently prepared to manage these shocks and have a lack of technical expertise and financial resources to implement resilience strategies on a citywide scale. The Rockefeller Foundation invited municipal officials and leaders of major institutions to apply for the challenge to develop and implement a plan for building city-level resilience.
Although registration is now closed, nearly 400 cities around the world have applied. Winning cities will be announced in three rounds over the next three years, with the final round of winners named in 2015. On December 2nd, the first set of 33 cities for the 100 Resilient Cities Network was announced. Each winning city will receive:
- Membership in the 100 Resilient Cities Network which will provide support aimed at sharing new knowledge and resilience best practices.
- Support to hire a Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) to oversee the development of a resilience strategy for the city and be part of a learning network of other CROs.
- Support to create a resilience plan, along with tools, technical support, and resources for implementation.
It is estimated that 75% of people will live in cities by 2050, so we all have a stake in building urban resilience worldwide. “There is no doubt: natural and manmade shocks and stresses will continue to hit the world’s cities – It’s time for cities to act”
Join in a global conversation about urban resilience: “100 Resilient Cities”
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