Barcelona, Manchester, Helsingborg and Milan, the new “resilience centers” named by the UN
Four European cities have been named by the United Nations as “resilience centers“. Barcelona, Manchester, Helsingborg and Milan were chosen for the local solutions put in place to tackle climate risks and various disasters. They will now serve as guides and mentors to encourage and support other cities to become in turn more resilient.
Climate, disasters: cities that can inspire others
On November 18, the towns of Barcelona, Greater Manchester, Helsingborg and Milan have been designated as the first four “resilience centers“Europeans. Named as part of the Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) initiative launched in January 2021, the cities will serve as a working hub to improve collaboration between metropolises and inspire other communities to follow suit.
“These ‘Resilience Hubs’ illustrate the potential of cities to show the way in disaster risk reduction and to help build a more resilient world“said Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction at the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), behind the initiative.
Why were these cities chosen?
Flood control, urban planning, green infrastructure … Politics recognized as inspiring and “proof of leadership”, notes the MCR2030.
Great Manchester , for example, paid more attention to the risk of flooding in the metropolis this year. Seeing its resilience strategy, the municipality has set up a partnership with Moors for the future, a company working on landscaping and flood prevention.
In Italy, Milan promotes the use of green infrastructure in order to fight against hot weather. The buildings of the Bosco Verticale serve as an example. “In a constantly changing world, resilience is the only possibility for a city to continue to develop in an equitable, inclusive and sustainable way.“, said the mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala.
Helsingborg, in Sweden, is using the technology to develop interactive maps that can simulate city-wide risk scenarios, such as heavy rains, rising sea levels or pollution.
An “expertise” to share
To develop and carry out resilience policies, “centers” will share their knowledge and expertise with other metropolises.
Barcelona tries to technically support cities like Tunis, Bogota or Gaza City, the United Nations noted in a statement.