From Oakland, California, to Semarang, Indonesia, these chief resilience officers are fighting to make their cities stronger—whether through flood planning or cybersecurity.
Published on Co.Design
By Katharine Schwab
By Katharine Schwab
Resiliency is everywhere today. Governments around the world are thinking about how to make their infrastructure adaptable to the stresses and shocks of a changing world. Yet, because many federal governments’ attention is stretched thin, compounded by budget issues and political debate, much of the necessary work of resilience is falling to cities—and within cities, to chief resilience officers.
In 2013, the Rockefeller Foundation started an initiative called 100 Resilient Cities to give 100 cities across the globe the tools to become more resilient. Among the initiative’s many components was the creation of an entirely new C-suite job within city government: the chief resilience officer. With a mandate to work across agencies and departments, the CRO is an advocate for resilient thinking within individual city governments.
Now, four years after the initiative was established, 100 cities have signed on to participate in the program, creating a strong network of chief resilience officers around the world.
Co.Design spoke with five CROs representing a wide range of cities: Oakland; Semarang, Indonesia; Rotterdam; Pittsburgh; and Mexico City.
Read complete article How 5 Chief Resilience Officers Are Preparing For The Next 50 Years | Co.Design