The most resilient cities in the world, including six in the U.S., have attributes that would enable them to recover better than others from devastating natural disasters.
A report by Grosvenor examined 50 major cities around the world and ranked them on their vulnerability and adaptive capacity in terms of their infrastructure, community, resources, environment, and climate.
Two-thirds of people will live in urban areas by 2050, according to U.N. estimates, so city planners face daunting challenges to cope with the impact of climate change and population growth. The top three resilient cities are Canadian (Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary), and six of the top 10 are from the U.S., led by Chicago and Pittsburgh.
The report examines five categories of vulnerability: climate, environment, resources, infrastructure, and community. The five categories of adaptability include governance, institutions, technical capacity, planning systems, and funding structures.
“Resources,” encompasses a city’s access to energy, food, and water. “Funding structures” covers the ability to borrow and tap into national and international money.
“The strong U.S. ranking is due to adaptive capacity, where resources, public accountability of elected officials, and the technology of the U.S. are dominating factors,” the report says. “This suggests that U.S. cities will continue to see a pattern of effective public intervention, but often only after a major shock has occurred.”“The least resilient cities are the ones facing the greatest pressure to grow,” the report says. “High rates of population growth, while beneficial to production and culture in the long term, are likely to challenge improved adaptive capacity in the short term.”
(http://www.fastcoexist.com/3029442/the-10-most-resilient-cities-in-the-world)
Related Stories
| Jun 26, 2014
Canadian groups combine forces to support EPD program for LEED v4
The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Group and the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) will collaborate to support LEED v4 and CSA Group’s Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) program.
| Jun 26, 2014
Ohio is first state to roll back renewable energy standards
Ohio became the nation’s first state to roll back renewable energy standards after the state House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 310 and Gov. John Kasich recently signed the measure.
| Jun 26, 2014
Walkable areas lead to higher rents for developers
New research from a George Washington University research group and LOCUS, a coalition of real estate investors that's part of Smart Growth America,says that offices in “Walkable Urban Places (WalkUPs)” bring developers 74% more rent per square foot.
| Jun 18, 2014
ASHRAE publishes guideline on specifying Building Automation Systems
Performance monitoring guidance is a key feature of the document. It provides designers of BAS systems with recommendations for good practice, project considerations, and detailed discussion of design options.
| Jun 18, 2014
Battle over low-cost, Chinese-made solar equipment could stunt solar power growth
The U.S. Department of Commerce tentatively agreed to assess tariffs of up to 35% on solar equipment, a move that could slow the rapid growth of the domestic solar power industry.
| Jun 18, 2014
Senate passes ‘compromise’ bill that green lights 26 new VA hospitals, clinics
The U.S. Senate reached a compromise deal combining elements of two competing Veterans Administration reform bills that would, among other things, gives the go-ahead for the construction of 26 new VA hospitals and clinics.
| Jun 18, 2014
Pittsboro, N.C., approves massive new development plan
The Pittsboro, N.C., Board of Commissioners approved the master plan for Chatham Park, a massive residential and commercial project that could bring 60,000 people to Pittsboro over several decades.
| Jun 11, 2014
AGC to study causes of construction deaths, injuries
The Associated General Contractors of America is conducting a new study to make job sites safer and search for ways to lower the number of injuries and deaths in the construction industry.
| Jun 11, 2014
U.S. infrastructure quality ranks only 19th in the world
The quality of infrastructure in the U.S. ranks just 19th in the world, trailing countries such as Oman, Portugal, and Spain, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report.
| Jun 11, 2014
ISO releases standards for comparing city services worldwide
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has created the first standards to compare services of the world’s cities.
