With more than half the world's population now living in urban areas, the role of cities in meeting basic needs and safeguarding human life, health and property, is increasingly important. As cities grapple with increasingly complex challenges, those that transcend liability and sustainability, the spotlight is cast on the unique ability of cities to lead and implement policies, programs and projects to build resilience. 

In early 2014, 100 Resilient Cities pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation partnered with AECOM to deliver agenda-setting workshops in Melbourne and Christchurch. The cities were the first in Oceania selected to receive technical support and resources to improve their urban resilience over three years, as part of the 100 Resilient Cities program.

This presentation  will discuss reflections and learnings as AECOM set out to designed and deliver a workshop program to help Melbourne and Christchurch navigate complex challenges to identify: what urban resilience means to the city; the impacts of shocks and stresses on its functions; and who and what makes a city resilient. These challenges include not only climate change, but also natural and man-made disasters and chronic stresses.  

These agenda-setting workshops laid the foundations on which these cities are now building their resilience strategy.  The learning curve will continue. Strategy building will see these cities identify resilience risks and opportunities and how to prioritise them. By its very nature, it will be a confronting task; each city will need to build a strategy as unique and diverse as its inhabitants.