Enugu Named One Of Resilient Cities In The World

Enugu, the coal city, is now among the 35 cities in the world that has been invited to join the Network of 100 Resilient Cities. The announcement to the effect was made during the Rockefeller Foundation’s Urban Resilience Summit held in Singapore recently. The summit took cognisance of the advancement of information and technology operations in Enugu, the coal city. Other cities in Africa that were also nominated for the award include Kigali in Rwanda; Accra, Ghana and Arusha, Tanzania.They will join other 32 cities that won last year’s 100 Resilient Cities Challenge in forming a growing network of urban centers around the world that are ready to respond to the socio economic and physical challenges of the 21st century. 100 resilient Cites was created by an initial $100m commitment by the Rockefeller Foundation as part of their Centennial last year, recognising the trends of urbanisation and globalisation that characterise this century. “Members of the 100 Resilient Cities network are leading the world in showing that not only is it possible to build urban resilience in every kind of city, but it’s an imperative,” said Dr. Judith Rodin, President of the Rockefeller Foundation. He continued by saying; “Cities are learning that by building resilience, not only will they be better prepared for the bad times, but it also goes to show that, life is better in the good times, especially for the poor and vulnerable. It’s smart investment, and yields a resilience dividend that is a win for everyone.” As the number of people living in urban areas grows from 50% of the world’s population to an estimated 70% in 2050, cities around the world must cope with effects of rapid urbanisation, globalization, climate change, as well as natural and man-made disasters. Urban resilience is the capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses and systems to survive adapt and grow no matter what kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience. “Each city is unique, and through the 100RC network, cities are building on each other’s experiences, and learning the best resilience-building techniques,” said Michael Berkowitz, president of 100 Resilient Cities. He said; “By connecting cities with each other and to resilience-building experts, we are aiming to create a global practice of scalable resilience solutions, so that cities can respond to the challenges of this urban century more effectively and efficiently too.” The diverse list reflects the need to learn from cities of all sizes across the globe in order to adapt and innovate. The cities in the 100Resilient Cities network face myriad set of environmental and social challenges – ranging from rising threats of flooding and extreme weather, to intensifying strains on infrastructure and health systems, and deepening economic stresses– and are on different points of their journey towards building a more resilient metropolis. Each city on the network is eligible to receive grant funding to hire a Chief Resilience Officer, who will lead the analysis, planning and implementation of the city’s resilience strategy, working with different government agencies and across sectors of the society. nigerianpilot.com