European cities joining forces to improve city resilience
Cities are where the majority of the population lives, where innovation takes place and where the bulk of economic value is created. The future is hopeful and economists applaud the agglomerative effects of the city: proximity, diversity and density are considered keys to economic success.However, these are the same qualities that make cities vulnerable to the impacts of shocks and chronic stresses. In cities where stresses accumulate or sudden shocks occur, the result can be social breakdown, physical collapse or economic deprivation. In this reality, cities are not the solution but epicentres of the problem.In order for cities to live up to expectations, cities need to be able to continue to function no matter what stresses or shocks the people living and working in cities encounter. In other words: cities need to be resilient. The policy challenge facing our cities therefore is to increase our city’s resilience in order for its inhabitants to survive and thrive and for the city to successfully deliver on its potential for progress and in this way to contribute to transforming Europe into a smart, sustainable and inclusive society.We argue that it is the task of every city to lead the way in preparing their city to reorganize, adapt and regenerate urban structures and processes in the light of this resilience challenge without compromising the welfare and well-being of the citizens and the quality of social, ecological and economic services provided to them.