1 UN-Habitat - CRPP CORFU Workshop 19 May, 2014
Overview What is urban resilience? Clarity of definition = clarity of purpose Value Principles Resilience vs. DRR What is the systems and multihazards approach? The case for flood protection within a resilience agenda. How cities change? What UN-Habitat is doing? Resilience and Business Partners Introducing the Urban Resilience Institute. 2
City Resilience Profiling Programme: Urban Resilience : The ability of any urban system to absorb and recover quickly from the impact of any plausible hazards. No Ambiguity 3
Value Principles Resilience vs. DRR For any plausible hazard, CRPP will assist city actors to ensure: Reduction in loss of life; Reduction in loss and damage to assets; Continuity of process and services. 4
So in cities, resilience is about PEOPLE INDIVIDUALS ASSOCIATIONS ORGANIZATIONS ORGANIZATIONA L ASSETS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SPATIAL BUILT ENVIRONMENT PHYSICAL SPATIAL PHYSICAL PROCESS OPERATIONS BUSINESS SERVICES FUNCTIONAL 5
City Resilience Profiling Programme: Urban Systems and Multiple hazards Organiza%onal Resilience Poli%cal Hazards Social Hazards Economic Hazards Technological Hazards Natural Hazards Spa%al Resilience Physical Resilience Func%onal Resilience 6
7 Economic loss due to flooding
8 Flood events by region
Key flood loss drivers Urbanization: Africa/Asia with highest rates of urbanization-in many cases not planned/ managed. Aging infrastructure: Europe/Americas mostly with highest levels of infrastructure, and in some cases 50 years of insufficient maintenance. Changing climatic conditions: Likely the largest driver of flood risk in cities; and demanding highest investment in infrastructure upgrading. 9
Building Resilience: How do cities change? Cities change through planning, development (or redevelopment) and management; Urban (re-) development is expensive: requires a concrete strategy built on verifiable (or auditable) information and data; Urban (re-) development is long term: often over decades, except in post-disaster settings where redesign opportunities to plan out risk and build in resilience measures are high, and can be short term; Urban planning/development is a cyclical process, constantly adjusting priorities: to date however, most planners do not consider resilience building Resilience Action Plans (RAP s) address this in a verifiable, multi-threat/risk, and integrated and cyclical urban systems approach. 10
11 CRPP Goal and Expected Outputs OVERALL GOAL: Cities are safer places to live and work as urban managers are able to implement strategic development planning and programmes that target specific indicators of resilience to multi-hazard catastrophic events EXPECTED OUTPUTS: An adaptable urban systems model suitable for all human settlements; A set of indicators and standards for calibrating urban systems ability to withstand and recover from crisis; Software systems that produce urban resilience profiles; Global standards set for urban resilience; A new normative framework for monitoring urban systems globally
Key Objectives Equip urban leaders, planners and developers with tools and information they need to calibrate and measure their resilience in order to make informed governance and investment decisions; Mobilize transformational, sustainable improvements in cities to safeguard against any plausible hazards (both natural and manmade) and ensure continuity of urban processes and services; Empower cities to do more with what they have and catalyze new finance opportunities by promoting resilience as a criterion for investment; Improve accountability in local level policy and investment decisions; Provide a common, global understanding of urban resilience through the development and wide distribution of common sets of indices and standards. 12
Target Audience & Beneficiaries Target Audience: Municipalities (mayor, council members, technical staff, etc.) and other relevant actors involved in disaster risk management. Beneficiaries: Municipalities themselves, investors, development and aid organisations, businesses, civil society groups, citizen groups, etc., looking for reliable indicators to prioritize their activities, decisions and investments. Target Consumers What benefits and values? Target users (e.g. municipalities) Improving DRM strategies, redefining new urban agenda, increasing resilience Investors and businesses Development and aid organizations Civil society and citizen groups Protection and prioritization of investments Improved strategic frameworks; targeted interventions Identification of target groups and action areas 13
Business Partnership Role Advise CRPP staff and partner cities on resilience approaches; Complement CRPP s aims with new ideas; Assist capacity-building in urban areas; Contribute to CRPP strategic objectives; Leverage knowledge and expertise to advance urban resilience action plans; Foster a collaborative exchange and dissemination of data and knowledge sharing; Promote resilient business and investments decisions; Support local, national and international dialogues and policies to strengthen urban resilience. Economic losses from disasters are out of control and can only be reduced in partnership with the private sector, which is responsible for 70% to 85% of all investment worldwide in new buildings, industry and small to medium sized enterprises. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, 2013 14
The Business Case for Business ü More than 50% of the world s population now lives in cities, generating more than 80% of global GDP. ü Private sector is responsible for 70 to 85 per cent of worldwide investment in new buildings, industry and critical infrastructure. ü Every dollar spent on risk reduction saves between $5 and $10 in economic losses from disasters. ü For every $1 invested in resilience/prevention, $4 - $7 are saved in response. ü Companies with best practices managing their risks produced earnings that were 40% less volatile: Average property loss is 20X larger for companies with weak risk management practices. Best risk management practices result in losses from natural events that are 7X less costly. Every dollar invested in the creditworthiness of a developing country has the potential to leverage more than US $100 in private sector financing for low-carbon and climate-resilient infrastructure. 15
Urban Resilience Institute THREE Main Functions: 1. CRPP Operational & Technical Hub: URI will administer the operational and technical delivery of the CRPP, including development and dissemination of related resources and tools, such as the CRPT. TP4DRR, Fragile Cities Programme, 2. Training and Knowledge Exchange: In conjunction with academic and research partners, URI will offer training packages to help partners, municipal leaders and planners use the tools to develop and deliver resilience action plans (RAP s). 3. Touchstone for Best Practice: URI will serve as the clearinghouse for best practice in urban resilience, initially drawing on the experiences and information shared by you, representing the CRPP Partner Cities, but eventually collating and disseminating global urban resilience information across an open-source knowledge platform. 16
17 THANK YOU!! Dr. Faraj El Awar UN-Habitat E-mail: Faraj.elawar@unhabitat.org