-- The Rockefeller Foundation, joined by Swiss Re, Palantir, World Bank, American Institute of Architects, and Architecture for Humanity, advance a new vision for urban resilience globally
NEW YORK, Sept. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, during the opening plenary of the 2013 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting, President Bill Clinton announced a global Commitment to Action to the 100 Resilient Cities Centennial Challenge. The Commitment to Action, led by The Rockefeller Foundation and shared by Swiss Re, the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Architecture for Humanity, and Palantir, will support at least 100 cities to hire a Chief Resilience Officer (CRO), create a resilience strategy, and provide access to tools, technical support, and resources for implementation including access to innovative finance for infrastructure development. 100 Resilient Cities will also create a network for CROs to share information and best practice.
The Commitment to Action will be realized through a new organization, 100 Resilient Cities -- Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation (100 Resilient Cities), which will coordinate both the network of cities as well as an innovative platform of services offered to network members. The first commitments these services have been made by Swiss Re, the AIA, Architecture for Humanity, and Palantir.
"Building resilience cannot be done by a single actor or sector, no matter how innovative or passionate they may be," explained Rockefeller Foundation President Dr. Judith Rodin. "Rather, building resilience requires a shared vision and investment among a range of partners including cities themselves. The Rockefeller Foundation has been on the front lines of urban resilience for nearly a decade, and we are thrilled to have this initial set of partners joining us to transform this vision into progress in our rapidly urbanizing world."
A focus on building resilience strengthens cities' ability to prepare for and bounce back more quickly from the inevitable shocks and stresses they will undoubtedly face, whether due to extreme weather resulting from climate change, seismic events or terrorism. Accounting for today's realities of more people living in cities -- by 2050 that will include an estimated 75% of the world's population -- The Rockefeller Foundation sees building urban resilience as an imperative of the 21st Century, because when disaster strikes cities are affected on a larger scale due to population density, often with tragic results particularly among the poor and vulnerable. But through planning, foresight, and better investment, cities can mitigate these impacts.
"It is our deep conviction that we should be preparing for disasters before they happen, rather than responding after the fact. This not only saves lives, reduces human suffering and protects property: it also helps to speed up recovery and lessen the impact on public and private budgets, which is the essence of resilience. Frankly this is an exciting moment to be supporting the 100 Resilient Cities Centennial Challenge. Our contribution to the commitment will consist of practical risk management insight and tools, including CatNet, a state-of-the-art risk assessment tool, which will be offered to the cities free of charge. We also look forward to bringing our expertise to bear in helping to define the role of the Chief Resilience Officer, and supporting the development of the CRO network," said Martyn Parker, Chairman Global Partnerships, Swiss Re.
100 Resilient Cities will select the first round of cities to join the network following the Challenge process, upon the recommendations of a panel of esteemed judges. Cities around the world were invited to participate; to date, more than 500 cities registered. Selected cities will be announced on December 3, 2013 at The Rockefeller Foundation's annual Innovation Forum.
"We are honored to bring Palantir's technologies to this partnership," said Alex Karp, co-founder and CEO of Palantir Technologies. "With the leadership of Judith Rodin, we will save and improve many lives around the world."
"The American Institute of Architects and Architecture for Humanity are committed to creating a series of Regional Resilient Design Studios," said AIA Chief Executive Officer Robert Ivy, FAIA. "By building upon our experience helping recover in the wake of major disasters, these studios will train and engage architects in their communities before disasters strike. We are excited to share this resource with the network of cities created through 100 Resilient Cities," Ivy added.
Eric Cesal, Director of Architecture for Humanity's Reconstruction and Resiliency Studio said, "Through the Studios, we will provide capacity-building workshops to guide cities in their agenda setting, which offer powerful planning tools to cities along with access to resilience planning experts. This is a win for everyone, particularly the cities, and is work that Architecture for Humanity has been doing for over 10 years. We look forward to sharing our lessons learned and to working with The Rockefeller Foundation and AIA to further our understanding of resilience and together offer assistance to communities to plan their strategies."
Supported through a $100 million pledge to build urban resilience from The Rockefeller Foundation, the 100 Resilient Cities network will, over time, grow to include at least 100 cities from around the world. As more cities join or express interest through future rounds of applications, and as more entities follow the lead of Swiss Re, the AIA, Architecture for Humanity, and Palantir, the potential to change the future of city planning globally will become increasingly powerful and real.
"Building resilience is a journey, not a destination. 100 Resilient Cities is on a mission to ensure that cities everywhere are prepared to endure the shocks and stresses they will surely face. We are thrilled to have partners in this endeavor who are equally passionate and that stand ready to offer tangible, results-driven services to cities," said Michael Berkowitz, Rockefeller Foundation Managing Director for 100 Resilient Cities, adding that "we look forward to welcoming others to join us."
