What is Urban Resilience?
The measurable ability of any urban system, with its inhabitants, to maintain continuity through all shocks and stresses, while positively adapting and transforming toward sustainability.
Resilience is a catalyst for sustainable urban development. It ensures development gains are not lost when cities face shocks and urban residents can flourish in a safe environment while addressing major challenges such as climate change and rapid urbanisation.
The Challenge
A resilient city assesses, plans and acts to prepare for and respond to all hazards – sudden and slow-onset, expected and unexpected – especially those stemming from climate change.
Every year, an estimated 26 million people are pushed into poverty by natural disasters (World Bank) with the poorest worst affected. In many cities, resilience building is limited by a lack of capacity, limited engagement from stakeholders, no tools or guidance tailored to local contexts and a shortage of funding. UN-Habitat is addressing these key bottlenecks.
News and Stories
Featured Stories & Videos
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Roundtable with National Statistics Office Focal Points and Other Partners Provides Insights on Integrating Quality of Life into Official Statistics
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Roundtable Hosted in Partnership with UNDP Sheds Light on Pathways to Measure and Scale Quality of Life in Cities
Featured Stories & Videos
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Initiative Convenes Virtual Dialogue on Quality of Life with Local Government and Academia
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Measuring What Matters: Defining the Methodology to Assess Quality of Life
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Urban crisis dialogue at the Eleventh Session of the World Urban Forum in Poland
Highlighted Publications
Our Work
Donors and partners
Through collaborative groups like the Medellin Collaboration for Urban Resilience and the Global Alliance on Urban Crises, we forge partnerships with all the major actors working on urban resilience, including donors, local governments and their networks, humanitarian organizations, UN agencies and academia. We aim to bring more cohesion and understanding around urban resilience thinking, practice and needs through dialogue, partnerships and research.