Enhancing local climate action: Moving toward greater and greener resilience 

This blog post was written by Dewi Sari and Kanak Gokarn with contributions from the Resilient Development and Sustainable Energy teams of ICLEI World Secretariat. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has brought renewed attention to the close connections between our natural environments, economies, and human well-being. While cities have been contending with the immediate health impacts 

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Framing the future of urban resilience: An interview with Resilient Development Head Nazmul Huq

Ten years ago, ICLEI launched the first Resilient Cities Congress to respond to a growing and largely unaddressed need of local and regional governments to plan for the uncertain impacts of climate change in an integrated manner. Since then, resilience has gone from a fringe topic to a mainstream climate policy approach at all levels. 

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Daring Cities 2020: Top 5 most popular thematic sessions

A first-of-its kind virtual event, Daring Cities 2020 positioned itself as the global forum for urban leaders taking action on the climate emergency. With 100 sessions and more than 200 hours of online discussions designed with urban leaders in mind, the event unfolded over the span of three weeks. The four plenary days at the 

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New report charts the evolution of urban resilience

It’s 2009. The world has failed to reach a meaningful international climate agreement at COP15 in Copenhagen. Despite increased climate action, cities and regions are increasingly feeling the effects of climate change. Mitigation alone is not enough – cities and regions around the world need to build resilience. Responding to this need, ICLEI launched the 

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A Game Changing Approach to Help African Cities Better Manage Their Natural Assets

While cities in sub-Saharan Africa are striving to protect and revitalize urban natural assets, such as river systems and coastal zones, capacity and resource constraints tend to hamper innovation and proactive planning. When implementing solutions to overcome the array of challenges that local governments face in managing their natural resources, a focus on human resources 

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South American visions for nature-based resilience

by Sophia Rettberg, Resilient Cities 2019 Guest Blogger One of the most urbanized regions in the world, over 80 percent of the population in Latin America lives in cities. Cities throughout the region are focusing on building resilience through improved environmental management, and the integration of biodiversity and nature-based solutions. In Uruguay, flooding has become 

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#ResilientCities Day 3 in the Twittersphere

These past three days of the Resilient Cities Congress was overflowing with inspiring messages and innovative ideas that give hope for the future of our cities. More than that, it was three days of cultural and societal exchange. To keep the spirit of the Congress alive, here are some of the best tweets from the 

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From rubbish to resource: Building resilient urban food systems

by Sophia Rettberg, Resilient Cities 2019 Guest Blogger Food waste is a global issue. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, more than one third of all food worldwide is wasted. When it comes to food waste, the US ranks second worst in the world, wasting around 40 percent of the food produced 

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#ResilientCities Day 2 in the Twittersphere

Today’s congress attendees, armed with laptops, tablets and smartphones, look different than the Resilient Cities attendees of the last 10 years. They’re no longer sitting quietly taking notes during presentations. They are using new tools to connect the conversations around resilience with others in and outside the room. Thursday’s main tracks focused on fundamental topics 

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How design thinking and landscape architecture can help cities regain their resilience

by Sophia Rettberg, Resilient Cities 2019 Guest Blogger Environmental hazards such as flooding, heat waves and droughts are increasingly common challenges for cities around the globe. As these issues demand on-going adaptation and innovation, local governments have turned to design thinking – a people-centered approach for building products and services – for solutions. Landscape architecture and 

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