Resilience is about people more than anything else. For every database, for every project, there is always a human interface: the civil servants, community leaders and regular citizens making resilience a reality. This was a red thread along the whole Resilient Cities 2016 congress, which wrapped up today in Bonn after three days of intense,
by Lauren Stabler, PhD student at the Global Sustainability Institute, Anglia Ruskin University Alfredo Zamudio, Director of the Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue, issued an inspirational call to action at today’s special feature plenary. Mr. Zamudio began his keynote speech with a personal account of his experience as an unaccompanied minor at age 13, after being
The number of climate change-related events is rapidly increasing, and Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) are highly vulnerable. In 2013, Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, was hit by a major flash flood that damaged informal settlements built in high-risk areas. In 2015, a huge cyclone destroyed big parts of Port Vila, the capital of
by David Lammers, MSc Environmental Studies and Sustainability Studies, Lund University The goal of making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable is anchored within the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG11), and so is achieving food security (SDG2). The interrelation between these two goals was the central focus of the “Resilient urban food systems: city progress” session co-organized by RUAF Foundation,
Seventy-five percent of the infrastructure that will exist in 2050 has not been built yet, according to Global Infrastructure Basel. So, how can we ensure that this infrastructure gets financed and built in a way that factors in environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues? Cities in emerging economies, particularly in Africa, face numerous challenges in
by Lauren Stabler, PhD student at the Global Sustainability Institute, Anglia Ruskin University In this afternoon’s session “Inclusive governance: partnering with communities and marginalized groups”, representatives of the Rockefeller Foundation, the International Labour Organization, Women in Informal Employment Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) and IIED made a strong case for inclusivity, from which four key lessons can
Kampala, Uganda, is home to 1.39 million slum dwellers. Not long ago, these communities were not even considered a part of the city. They did not appear on any map nor had any access to municipal authorities. This is what the Know Your City campaign allowed to change. The Know Your City campaign is a
by David Lammers, MSc Environmental Studies and Sustainability Studies, Lund University While the challenges of increasing urbanization are often most prominently visible in the world’s megacities, the fastest growth will occur in medium-sized cities in Asia or Africa, according to the World Urbanization Prospects 2014 report. Finding solutions for the challenges these cities face is –
More than 200 million people in Africa live in slums, making it a major issue for cities growing at a rapid pace. With the Sustainable Development Goals – in particular SDG 1 and SDG 11 – national and local governments are looking for new ways to build inclusive and resilient cities for all, including the urban
by David Lammers, MSc Environmental Studies and Sustainability Studies, Lund University Water systems have a crucial function in many cities. Rivers and coastlines act as veins of life as they provide cities with a plethora of ecosystem services – water supply, income generation, relaxation and many more. At the same time, however, they can be the