Urban resilience has conventionally been defined as the “measurable ability of any urban system, with its inhabitants, to maintain continuity through all shocks and stresses, while positively adapting and transforming towards sustainability”.Therefore, a resilient city is one that assesses, plans, and acts to prepare for and respond to hazards – natural and human-made, sudden and slow-onset, expected and unexpected. Resilient Cities are better positioned to protect and enhance people’s lives, secure development gains, foster an investible environment, and drive positive change.

Climate Resilience is not about making development in a new way. It is about adding climate variability and change considerations to the planning and development framework to ensure long term sustainability and preparedness towards climate change

A resilience building process entails strengthening of:

• City systems (Infrastructure, services, sectors) – drainage, water supply, transport, health facilities etc.
• City planning (development norms, land-use planning)

How are climate-resilient cities different or better?

A resilient city is one that has developed capacities to help absorb future shocks and stresses, so as to maintain the same functions, structures, systems, and identity.

Climate-resilient cities have the capability to reduce and manage the negative impacts of climate change because these cities have planned and factored these changes in their development goals and planning by:

• Utilizing climate information (of past and future) to identify climate stressors typical to their cities/regions.
• Preparing and implementing strategies to reduce the vulnerability of population and city systems.
• Adapting to change, preparing, and responding to disasters, mitigating GHG emissions.

Source(s): TERI

Wikipedia