Calgary joins ranks of 100 Resilient Cities

Calgary has just gained membership into a group of100 Resilient Cities a network that Mayor Nenshi says will help the citybetter respond to disasters, such asflood, earthquake, disease outbreaks andterrorist orcyberattacks.

The network was launched in 2013byThe Rockefeller Foundationto helpequip cities to manage acute or chronic environmental, social, and economic stresses.

• Cities 'woefully unprepared' for rising disaster risk, World Bank says

"As we've seen over the past few years, Calgary is a resilient city.Whether we are responding to the floods of 2013, adapting to the economic downturn, or taking in refugees and evacuees, we have shown the very best of ourselves," said Mayor Naheed Nenshi.

"What we learn through our participation in this network will translate into an even more resilient city for our citizens."

Nenshi said Calgary was selected in part because of its existing capacity to deal with disasters.

"They thought that CEMA and the work that we do was very, very world-leading, and they wanted us to be able to teach others."

Membership benefits

Nenshi said thisgives the city an opportunity to build upon its success by taking advantageof some of thebest planning expertise, knowledge, and analytical tools in the world.

Other membership benefits include funding for a Chief Resilience Officer for up to two years, as well astechnical support and access to about 60 private and public sector tools and services to develop and implement a resiliency strategy.

Three other Canadian cities were invited to join the global network:Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.

Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver were among the 37 cities named to the network out of roughly 350 other applicants on Wednesday, the third and final day for applicant selection.

Other international cities include:

• Mexico City, Mexico
• Amman, Jordan
• New York City
• Accra, Ghana
• Chennai, India
• Bangkok, Thailand