Nikola Hochholdinger, Alexandra Schantl and Thomas Prorok |KDZ
During the pandemic, the discussion about the resilience of our social system and especially of Austrian cities and municipalities is increasingly becoming the focus of political and social discourse. This working document provides a first overview of the state of scientific discussion on urban resilience, existing literature, research projects and planning tools with a focus on the local level.
In the context of cities and municipalities and public administration, the concept of resilience is primarily related to disaster management. In addition to governance, resilience management also includes other disciplines such as technical, economic, ecological, and social resilience.
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.
Stichting Civitas Naturalis bevordert het denken én handelen vanuit integrale en holistische principes van publieke sturing. Kennis over en inzicht in het begrip ‘resilience’ – van organismen en levende systemen – is daarbij essentieel.
Het begrip resilience wordt in het raamwerk Cinetone® gehanteerd om diagnose te kunnen stellen van een vraagstuk. Daarbij wordt het systeem van betrokken organisaties bestudeerd. Resilience wordt als volgt gedefinieerd:
Resilience is het vermogen van een organisme om na stress te herstellen in de oorspronkelijke toestand.
Het begrip dient volgens de stichting te allen tijde te worden gebruikt als volgt: ‘resilience van wat voor wat’. Bijvoorbeeld: ‘resilience van een samenleving in lager gelegen gebieden voor de stijging van de zeespiegel’, ‘resilience van een individuele mens voor Covid-19’, ‘resilience van een gemeenschap voor het verlies van dierbaren’, ‘resilience van een natuurgebied voor de constante instroom van stikstof’, ‘resilience van het bodemleven voor het gebruik van kunstmest en bestrijdingsmiddelen’,’resilience van een koraalrif om stijgende temperatuur van het oceaanwater het hoofd te bieden’, ‘resilience van een gemeente om financiële tegenvallers op te kunnen vangen’, ‘resilience van een stad om op economische bedreigingen te kunnen pareren voor de eigen welvaart’.
Het is in resilience waar interne krachten van het systeem en externe invloeden elkaar ontmoeten. Resilience is één van de wezenskenmerken van elk levend systeem. Het is daarin uniek.
Het begrip resilience verbindt het wezen van een levend systeem met dat van haar context, zijnde het krachtenveld vanuit haar omgeving.
Het is duidelijk dat er grenzen zijn aan de resilience van elk systeem. Soms zijn de externe invloeden zo groot en de interne krachten voor weerstand zo klein dat het systeem door het omslagpunt heengaat en overgaat in een andere fase. Sommigen systemen vallen gewoon om, storten in of verdwijnen. Tegen de grootschalige kap door de mens is geen regenwoud opgewassen. Het verdwijnt. Herstel kan wel bij bijvoorbeeld bij bossen In West-Europa, maar de tijd voor herstel is lang. De regeneratie tot een oorspronkelijk bos duurt dan 900 tot 1000 jaar.
De stichting presenteert een tweetal eenvoudige grafische impressies om het wezen van ‘resilience’ te duiden. Deze werken gaan over de stad als organisme, beschouwd als een ecosysteem. De rode stip symboliseert de stad.
Het zwarte deel is het innerlijk deel van het systeem dat weerstand biedt, zoals bijvoorbeeld, een goede geografische ligging, grote bestuurskracht, cohesie in de samenleving, goede infrastructuur of een sterk financieel weerstandsvermogen.
Het witte deel vorm het geheel van krachten en invloeden van buitenaf, die inwerken op de stad, zoals stormen, grootschalige immigratie, temperatuurstijgingen, epidemieën of overstromingen.
De werken zijn als fine art print leverbaar in diverse formaten. De opbrengst ervan gaat volledig naar de stichting. Neem contact met ons op, indien u hiervoor belangstelling heeft.
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.
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.
Building the future
The GRCN will actively work to design the future of the network in such a way that it is city-led, financially sustainable and impactful. It will also seek funders for projects that increase cities’ social and economic resilience and better protect them from climate change. In addition, work, including project funding, will come more from the cities themselves.
Urban resilience demands that cities examine their capacities and risks holistically, including through meaningful engagement with the most vulnerable members of a community. This is not easy work.
GRCN’s goals are to integrate its work towards urban resilience outcomes, measure its collective contribution to global goals, and develop various partnerships that will sustain the network for years to come.
Large scope
The scope of the 100RC network, now GRCN, is vast. It concerns not only adaptation to the changing climate, in which Rotterdam plays an exemplary role with its water squares, but also social and economic resilience, energy transition, and security. Meanwhile, many cities worldwide are convinced that the concept of a resilient city is a valuable one.
Strong network
The Rockefeller Foundation initially pioneered the 100RC network. Its contribution in recent years was to get the global network off the ground with the aim of making cities more resilient through collaboration. It has succeeded, with the city network gaining value, expanding and growing stronger. Cities recognise that they are learning from each other, and cities continue to join the network. To that end, the Rockefeller Foundation is winding down its contribution. The network is thus entering a new phase.
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, innovation 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.
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.
PRIMO Res Publica 