100 Resilient Cities connects cities, experts with Resilience Accelerator

Dive Brief:

100 Resilient Cities (100RC) has partnered with the Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes at Columbia University to launch the Resilience Accelerator, designed to help cities in the 100RC network develop strategic partnerships and advance resilience projects.
The main objectives of the accelerator are to promote "immersive workshops," enabling folks across multi-disciplinary expertise to strategize resiliency concepts; to connect communities with creative thinkers who can facilitate strategies; and to embed resilience thinking within Columbia University's Graduate School for Architecture, Planning and Preservation.
The accelerator, announced Sunday at the World Urban Forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is funded by $3.7 million from The Rockefeller Foundation.

Dive Insight:

100 Resilient Cities, a cohort of cities from around the globe, has worked since 2013 to help members combat threats of climate change, disease, crime, poverty, inadequate housing, aging infrastructure and other inevitable risks associated with the urban environment. The organization touts four main "pathways" to make a city more resilient: appointing a chief resilience offer to lead efforts; developing a robust resilience strategy; partnering with private, public and NGO sectors; and networking with other member cities.

All cities have a need for resiliency — no city is immune to threats, especially those of natural disaster or terrorism — therefore the Resilience Accelerator is a clever way to get professionals and organizations involved in resilience opportunities. The accelerator calls for design professionals or experts, resilience practitioners, organizations committed to advancing resilience-building projects, or investors looking to identify projects ready for resources, all to join the cause and advance the efforts put forth by 100RC.

And while this accelerator is sure to be beneficial to 100RC members, cities don't have to participate in 100RC in order to develop significant resilience plans. San Diego, for example, is adapting to future threats of sea-level rise and seismic activity through various construction projects, while Houston has worked tirelessly to fold resilience into its long-term development strategies following the destructive Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

If a city doesn't yet have the resources to develop a thorough, full-length resilience plan, it can start with implementing design elements that will promote a resilient future. A new report from venture capital firm Capital E detailed how smart surface solutions such as green roofs and permeable pavement can strengthen resilience, and a National Institute of Building Sciences study recently determined that every federal grant dollar spent on disaster resiliency and mitigation can save the U.S. an average of six dollars, according to Construction Dive.