Thirty-three cities received a major boost of support for their resiliency plans today as the Rockefeller Foundation announced the first crop of cities to take part in its 100 Resilient Cities Centennial Challenge. The first 33 cities, which must have over 50,000 residents to qualify for inclusion, made the cut from a pool of nearly 400 cities across six continents. Under the challenge, the cities will receive technical support and resources to develop and implement plans for urban resilience over the next three years, according to the foundation.
Eleven U.S. cities made the cut: Alameda, Calif.; Berkeley, Calif.; Boulder, Colo.; El Paso, Texas; Jacksonville, Fla.; Los Angeles; New Orleans; New York City; Norfolk, Va.; Oakland, Ca.; and San Francisco. Click here for the full list of cities as well as links to each of the 33 cities’ individual challenges.
As previously reported, the Challenge is supported by Swiss Re, Palantir, Architecture for Humanity, and the American Institute of Architects. In September, President Bill Clinton announced that under the challenge, cities in the program would receive support to hire a Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) to coordinate resilience activities and ensure that they are city-wide priorities. Through the program, the CRO will receive help in developing a formal resilience plan and access to services to implement that plan’s strategies.