Tagarchief: Resilience

Thinking in Systems

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Donella Meadows, Diana Wright (ed.) | 2008

In the years following her role as the lead author of the International bestseller Limits to Growth – the first book to show the consequences of unchecked growth on a finite planet – Donella Meadows remained a pioneer of environmental and social analysis until her untimely death in 2001.

"So, what is a system? A system is a set of things—people, cells, molecules, or whatever—interconnected in such a way that they produce their own pattern of behavior over time. The system may be buffeted, constricted, triggered, or driven by outside forces. But the system’s response to these forces is characteristic of itself, and that response is seldom simple in the real world."

- Donella Meadows (2008)

Thinking in Systems is a concise and crucial book offering insight into problem-solving from personal to global scales. Edited by the Sustainability Institutes Diana Wright, this essential primer brings systems thinking out of the realm of computers and equations and into the tangible world, showing readers how to develop the systems-thinking skills that thought leaders across the globe consider critical for 21st-century life.

Some of the biggest problems facing the world, including war, hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation, are system failures. They cannot be solved by fixing one piece in isolation from the others because even seemingly minor details have enormous power to undermine the best efforts of too-narrow thinking. While readers will learn the conceptual tools and systems thinking methods, the book’s heart is grander than the methodology.

"Managers are not confronted with problems that are independent of each other, but with dynamic situations that consist of complex systems of changing problems that interact with each other. I call such situations messes. . . . Managers do not solve problems, they manage messes."

- Russel L. Ackoff (1979)

Donella Meadows was known as much for nurturing positive outcomes as she was for delving into the science behind global dilemmas. She reminds readers to pay attention to what is important, not just what is quantifiable, to stay humble, and to stay a learner. In a world growing ever more complicated, crowded, and interdependent, Thinking in Systems helps readers avoid confusion and helplessness, the first step toward finding proactive and effective solutions.

Bibliography

Ackoff, R. (1979) ‘The Future of Operational Research Is Past’. Journal of the Operational Research Society 30, no. 2: 93–104.

Meadows, D. (Wright, D. ed) (2008) Thinking in Systems. Vermont, US: Chelsea Green Publishing Co.

(Global) Resilient Cities Network

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Global Resilient Cities Network | 2019

The 100 Resilient Cities network continues its goals under the provisional name Global Resilient Cities Network (GRCN). The year 2019 has been a year of significant change.

At the Urban Resilience Summit in Rotterdam, 100 cities worldwide came together under the name 100 Resilient Cities (100RC). Rotterdam, as one of the 100 Resilient Cities, acted as the host city because of its exemplary role as a resilient city.

From medio 2019, the 100RC network will continue under the provisional name (Global) Resilient Cities Network (GRCN). GRCN is leading the global conversation on building resilient cities, or in other words, making cities resilient and future-proof, to accelerate climate action and social and economic resilience, among other things.

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Resilient Cities Catalyst

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Resilient Cities Catalyst | 2019

The mission is to help cities and communities create catalytic change to solve their most pressing challenges. Building on a legacy, RCC is an independent nonprofit organisation formed by members of the 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) leadership team, created to empower change in how cities plan and act. Between 2013 and 2019, the 100RC community of practitioners achieved a groundbreaking impact, which they hope to build upon and amplify.

In partnership with a community of urban resilience actors, RCC leverages experience and a pioneering ecosystem of partners and practitioners to apply lessons, insights, and resources to advance this critical work. RCC works with cities to build the local capacities and partnerships needed to understand, prioritise and concretely address each city’s risk and chronic stress as it pursues strategic goals or recovers from a crisis.

Urban Practitioners

RCC is a network of urban practitioners with deep experience in municipal government service design and delivery, public and private funding and financing, and philanthropic partnership development.

“Our resilience approach rests on three pillars – integrated assessment, planning and action, inclusive governance, and a forward-looking risk-based methodology.”

RCC’s resilience approach rests on three pillars – integrated assessment, planning and action, inclusive governance, and a forward-looking risk-based methodology – that build lasting capacity to address the deep-rooted problems that often impede progress at the project, neighbourhood, city and regional scales.

Their professional experiences cover a breadth of technical domains, from economic development to affordable housing to climate change adaptation to urban mobility and beyond. We know the way cities budget, the way cities plan and procure, and how cities operate.

Resilience Experts

RCC is a network of resilience experts who are pioneers in the urban resilience movement. They have collectively partnered with more than 100 cities worldwide to catalyse and support their resilience-building journeys to deliver impact for their communities.

Strategic Conveners

RCC is a group of strategic conveners who understand the importance of bringing uncommon partners and practitioners together. They have built action-oriented communities of practice and networks of diverse actors centred on complex challenges like urban migration, natural infrastructure, seismic resilience, and more.

Rotterdam Resilience Strategie

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Op 16 mei 2016 lanceerde Rotterdam haar Resilience Strategie. De holistische aanvliegroute van nieuwe doelen voor de stad is wat aanspreekt. Het is een nieuw concept van denken, dat geleidelijk aan terrein wint. Rotterdam gaat voor Resilience.

De publieke sturing dient daarmee gelijke tred te houden en afgestemd te zijn, dit om de resilience waar te kunnen maken. Veerkrachtige steden vragen dus ook om meer holistische besturingsconcepten.

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Le Plan Communal de Sauvegarde

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Dossier thématique réalisé par PRIMO France

PRIMO France | mai 2015

Le Plan Communal de Sauvegarde, communément appelé PCS, est un outil fondamental pour organiser la sécurité civile et la sauvegarde des populations à l’échelle communale. Toutefois, la mise en place de ce dispositif indispensable peut constituer une véritable contrainte pour certaines communes.

Ces dernières années, la France a connu une longue suite d’événements marquants en matière de catastrophes naturelles et technologiques : marées noires, tempêtes, canicules et explosions ont été autant de jalons entraînant une prise de conscience de la part des pouvoirs publics sur le manque de préparation du territoire face à ces incidents.

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100 Resilient Cities

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Rockefeller Foundation | 2013

The 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) initiative was pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation in 2013, as part of its Global Centennial Initiative. The initiative was built on a substantial investment from The Rockefeller Foundation, which enabled cities to hire a Chief Resilience Officer (CRO), develop a resilience strategy, access pro bono services from private-sector and NGO partners, and share ideas, innovations, and knowledge through the global network of CROs.

Over years of deep engagement with city leaders, communities and the private sector, this initiative enabled transformational change in cities by supporting resilience plans and early implementation of projects.

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