Resilient Cities Network (R-Cities) is an independent non-profit organization advancing urban resilience solutions to protect vulnerable communities. R-Cities is built on the legacy of the 100 Resilient Cities programme pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation.
R-Cities brings together global knowledge, practice, partnerships, and funding to empower our city members.
We are city-led with a membership of nearly 100 cities in over 40 countries around the world. Cities in the network commit to: maintaining an Office of Resilience and Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) position; implementing resilient initiatives; and participating actively in network activities. The network is governed by a Global Steering Committee of member cities and an independent Board of Directors composed of senior leaders from the private, public and non-profit sectors.
“Cities are on the frontline, playing an essential role in not only ensuring communities are protected from public health and environmental threats, but also improving well-being and enabling city dwellers to thrive in the face of multiple hazards. We have witnessed that cities with well-built resilience teams and strategies have been able to respond effectively to the pandemic recovery efforts. Good governance and urban planning are paramount to conducting reliable risk assessments and developing strategies that enhance city resilience.
Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic and onslaught of extreme weather events have amplified the call-to-action for greater resilience-building. In an increasingly uncertain and unstable world, strengthening resilience is key to successfully weathering the ongoing shocks and stresses to our systems and enabling cities to thrive well into the future.”
LAUREN N. SORKIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RESILIENT CITIES NETWORK
PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES
R-Cities partners with cities, helping them to become more resilient to the physical, social and economic challenges that are a growing part of the 21st century. The organization takes a view of resilience that includes not just the shocks—earthquakes, disease outbreaks, floods—but also the stresses that weaken the fabric of a city on a day to day or cyclical basis. We ensure cities are strong in a world where things go wrong. We engage through Chief Resilience Officers, applying place-based knowledge that allows cities to scale solutions and fortify essential resilience capacity. Arm in arm with member cities, we build a safer, more equitable, and sustainable future for all urban residents.
We take a three-pronged approach to achieve our mission around the world: empower cities, implement programmes, and mobilize investment.
KEY PROJECTS
Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Chairman Agenda. This effort focuses R-Cities’ work to strengthen partnerships, raise substantive contributions, and prioritize investment in resilient climate-ready infrastructure that is equitable and creates economic benefit.
Resilient Cities Shaping a Digital World. This joint programme with Visa draws in key stakeholders to support cities in Latin America to identify opportunities for digital inclusion as a means to advance city resilience. A resilience lens is applied when scanning for challenges to ensure solutions have multiple benefits across social, economic, cultural and health topics.
Urban Ocean. Working closely with city leaders, this programme brings ideas, partners and resources together to solve interrelated problems around waste management. The programme demonstrates how actions to improve waste management and recycling can provide resilient solutions, such as improving public health, supporting economic development, and reducing emissions.
R-Cities’ programmatic work delivers in three priority areas:
• It advances a resilient recovery that reinforces the priority of equity, private-public partnerships, and stronger local economies in response to and during recovery from the pandemic.
• It prioritizes climate resilience as cities prepare not only to protect citizens from water-related challenges but strengthen the capacity of communities to cope with the effects of climate change.
• It promotes circular economies through indigenous and technological solutions that rapidly and sensibly enhance waste management and food systems.
182 Cecil Street, Frasers Tower, 06-01, Singapore 069547
Executive Director: Lauren N. Sorkin