|
 Sustainability has many definitions. One being "to
meet today's needs without sacrificing the needs of future generations." Sustainability
is about building a more prosperous world for all people. But this is no longer
sufficient in a world addicted to fossil fuels.
Today our planet is already facing
the consequences of climate change. The 2014 United Nations Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) draft report says that 'global warming is
already cutting grain production by several percent, causing higher seas,
devastating heat waves, torrential rains... and these problems are likely to
intensify unless greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are brought under control.'
The Rockefeller Foundation
launched the "100 Resilient Cities" campaign to
tackle this new reality. In this "new normal" we must now:
- prepare for the higher risks,
- adapt when they hit us and be able to respond
quickly and
- get the community back on its feet.
 This summer, GENI hosted 16 international students at
the World Resources SimCenter. These interns are environmental engineers who
studied this topic deeply - tackling the question: How do we build a
Resilient City – and specifically a Resilient San Diego? They developed
ideas, best practices and solutions that can be modeled by any city. You can
see this body of work: http://www.wrsc.org/content/resilientcities
We are proud of these bright students and invite you
to review the PowerPoint Presentations, read their summary statements, and
watch the videos on our Ustream Channel: www.ustream.tv/channel/wrsc. While their focus was on risks to the San Diego region,
the concepts are universal and can be the foundation for your city to engage in
the same set of questions. How would you make your city more Resilient?
It's a question for every mayor, city planner, urban designer, developer, property
owner and citizen.
In Partnership for the Planet, |
