Resilience

$1 Billion Disaster Recovery Competition Announced

Following the Rebuild by Design competition, which awarded $920 million in June, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced another $1 billion competition for innovative resilience projects in communities recently struck by disasters.

July 17, 2014 - Next City

Aggravated 15 Year Olds as a Measure of Place

Is there nowhere in your town to teach a kid to drive? Congratulations. You may be on to something.

May 21, 2014 - PlaceShakers

FEMA Hurricane Sandy

National Resilience Agency Needed to Prepare for Continued Disasters

Be Prepared! It's more than a motto: it's how we must respond to continuing large-scale natural disasters.

April 30, 2014 - Edward J. Blakely

Celebrating the Botanical Diversity of Cities

The word “ecology” has been co-opted so widely that it has lost real meaning, yet ecological thinking remains a powerful lens for understanding complex adaptive systems. A new book aims for a more rigorous engagement of ecology and design.

April 30, 2014 - Places Journal

CN Tower rises above Gardiner Expressway on Toronto Waterfront

Ranking the Most Resilient Cities

Resilience has entered into the planning and urbanism lexicon as a large challenge for all places pursuing prosperous, sustainable futures. A new study examines the world’s leading cities for lessons in resilience.

April 20, 2014 - Urban Land Magazine

Rebuild By Design: Building Resilience along the Atlantic Coast

Rebuild By Design, a design competition under the purview of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, released ten final proposals for projects that could protect and strengthen the Atlantic Coast in the event of another Hurricane Sandy.

April 7, 2014 - New York Magazine

Oklahoma and Texas Experience the Costliest Natural Disasters

The Insurance Information Institute released a report detailing the insurance payouts for natural disasters in 2013. Oklahoma and Texas topped the list, with $2 billion and $1.5 billion, respectively, in payouts.

February 21, 2014 - Houston Chronicle

Obama Picks Up the Resilience Buzz with $1 Billion Fund Proposal

President Obama is in California today to pitch a $1 billion “resilience fund” to help communities dealing with the weather impacts of climate change—including the state’s current drought.

February 14, 2014 - The Hill

Two young girls carry water on the train tracks that run through the Kibera Slum

Our Fragile Emerging Megacities: A Focus on Resilience

The number of megacities is expected to double over the next decade, and many of these growing cities are far from resilient. The solution: frugal engineering and local knowledge.

February 12, 2014 - Kevin C. Desouza

Critiquing Urban ‘Resilience’

An article by Tom Slater takes on several sacred cows of the current planning discussion, most prominently among them what he describes as “the anaesthetising spell of resilience.”

February 4, 2014 - OpenDemocracy - OpenSecurity

Stayin’ Alive: The life and death prospects of community ties

Connected communities aren't just about fun and frolic. When the goin' gets rough, they can make the difference between life and death.

February 2, 2014 - PlaceShakers

New York Sandy Power Outage

Rockefeller's 100 Resilient Cities: 33 Chosen, What's Next?

In December, the Rockefeller Foundation chose the first 33 cities to receive funding and support through its 100 Resilient Cities Challenge. Here's what comes next.

January 13, 2014 - Future Cities

Global Insurance Firms offer Resiliency Tools to Climate Risk Cities

"Building Climate Resilience in Cities" was developed by global insurers and non profits to offer tools and technical assistance to urban areas facing development changes in response to climate change risks.

November 24, 2013 - Canadian Underwriter

Obama Signs Resilience Order

In an acknowledgement that significant climate change is a real and growing threat (and unlikely to be averted), President Obama will direct federal agencies to make it easier for localities plan for, and adapt to, a warming planet.

November 2, 2013 - The New York Times

Boston to Require Developers to Detail Resilience Efforts

Hurricane Sandy served as a wake up call for many cities to the dangers of rising seas and more extreme storms. To prepare for these threats, officials in Boston have proposed zoning rules that would require developers to detail mitigation measures.

November 1, 2013 - The Boston Globe

A Year Later, Sandy Recovery Shows That Building Resilience Takes Time

Despite warnings of the threats posed by rising seas and more extreme storms in the years leading up to Hurricane Sandy, the New York region's preparations lagged behind where experts thought they should be. Has anything changed since Sandy?

October 25, 2013 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Garcetti Proposes "Chief Resilience Officer" to Tackle L.A.'s Earthquake Preparedness

Recent controversies have called into question whether Los Angeles officials have done all they can to prepare the city for its next big earthquake. Mayor Eric Garcetti is making earthquake preparedness a top priority.

October 20, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

Recognizing Lively Urban Spaces as the Heart of Resilient Communities

Based on lessons from recent disasters in Chicago and New York, where lively urban spaces helped communities to survive and recover, Michael Kimmelman suggests that neighborhood libraries could be designed with such a purpose in mind.

October 6, 2013 - The New York Times

Modular Street Squares Turn NYC's "Leftover" Spaces into Public Amenities

New York City's 5.3 million square feet of “leftover” street space provides a prime opportunity to create public amenities and a more resilient city. Eric Tan and his colleagues at Gensler have created modular "Street Squares" to fill the void.

October 4, 2013 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Designing the Indestructible Home

With extreme weather on the rise across the United States, a recent competition asked architects to design the resilient home of the future. The winners offer an impressive "balance between resiliency and livability," writes Emily Badger.

October 4, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

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A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.