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Kyoto selected as a resilient city in 100 Resilient Cities program by Rockefeller Foundation

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Kyoto Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa on Wednesday welcomed an announcement from 100 Resilient Cities – Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation (100RC), selecting Kyoto to join the 100RC Network to build urban resilience. Kyoto is among the final cohort of cities invited to join the worldwide 100RC Network.

As a member of 100RC, Kyoto will gain access to tools, funding, technical expertise, and other resources to build resilience to the challenges of the 21st century. Entrance into the 100RC Network will help Kyoto fight the resilience challenges of earthquakes, floods, and landslides, and the stresses of aging infrastructure and demographics.

As the number of people living in urban areas grows from 50% today to an estimated 70% in 2050, cities around the world face huge deficits in preparedness for rapid growth and natural and man-made disasters. 100RC’s new member cities are joining an elite international group proactively preparing to face any challenge that lies ahead.

“We are so proud to welcome Kyoto to 100 Resilient Cities,” 100RC President Michael Berkowitz said. “We selected Kyoto because of its leaders’ commitment to resilience building and the innovative and proactive way they’ve been thinking about the challenges the city faces. We’re excited to get to work.”

“For us, a resilient city has good emergency response and meets its citizens’ needs,” Berkowitz continued. “It has diverse economies and takes care of both its built and natural infrastructure. It has effective leadership, empowered stakeholders, and an integrated planning system. All of those things are essential for a resilient city.”

Momentum from 100RC’s two earlier challenges made this year highly competitive, spanning over 90 countries across six continents. Kyoto was chosen from more than 325 applicants on the basis of their willingness, ability, and need to become resilient in the face of future challenges. The application process showed each city’s unique vision for resilience, a long-term commitment to building resilience in a way that connects silos of government and sectors of society, and specific attention to the needs of poor and vulnerable citizens. Applicant cities also demonstrated the willingness to be leaders in urban resilience, sharing learning experiences and becoming a model for other cities across the globe.

Selected cities are now part of a global community of cities working together to build urban resilience. In the months ahead, as part of the 100RC Network, Kyoto will be eligible to receive grant funding to hire a Chief Resilience Officer, who will lead the citywide resilience-building process and engage stakeholders from across different government agencies, public and private sectors, and various communities to incorporate diverse perspectives and knowledge. Kyoto will also receive technical support to develop a Resilience Strategy that reflects the city’s distinct needs, and the support and services they need as they work towards implementing that strategy. Each new network member will gain access to a variety of 100RC Platform Partners in the private, public, academic, government, and nonprofit sectors. Partners offer tools and services valued at over $180 million USD at no direct cost to 100RC members, in areas such as innovative finance, technology, infrastructure, land use, and community and social resilience. Finally, the cities will be linked together in a global network so they can learn from each other’s challenges and successes.

© Japan Today

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Hopefully it can develop resilience to the inept urban planning that has blighted most of it in the past 60 years.

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