Resilient Cities

In the wake of the Haiti earth­quake and the destruc­tion of Port-au-Prince, we can wonder again at what it takes to create resilient cities and commu­ni­ties. In this day and age — do we even know what it takes to become resilient ourselves and thereby prepare our commu­ni­ties and our cities? Amidst the wonder, though, is a question of resolve. Do we have the requi­site desire and the resources to do so? Haiti surely did not.

Thankfully there are those who are tackling these thorny questions. In October 2009 the 6^th Gaining Ground Summit series attracted 600 people to Vancouver, BC to learn, talk about, and build connec­tions around the theme of “Resilient Cities.”

Check out Mark Holland’s Resilient Cities Manifesto:

“I will open to the pain that I cause in the world through my ignorance and fear and the distance I seem to have from my inter­nal dignity and nobil­ity, and I will feel the pain, shock and injus­tice of partic­i­pat­ing in the death of so many, if only by accident — and then I will move past the grief to the restless seren­ity of my respon­si­bil­ity — to my planet, to my commu­nity, to my family, and to myself.”

Resiliency=f(comms)

Organizational resiliency is a function of avail­able commu­ni­ca­tions which is a direct function of your prepared­ness posture. Without commu­ni­ca­tions you are up zee creek (if there’s any water left)! Ok if there’s no water left you are really up zee creek! Better call somebody…oh darn…the phones aren’t working and the power is out! … Geez my cell phone battery is dead…oh well the cell service is down too. — Now what! … Hope I can find my car keys.

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