Publications

CUDRR+R was the main author for the Resilience Learning Module on Resilient Cities and Territories that aims to support Localization of the Sendai Framework. Tasked by United Cities Local Governments (UCLG) and developed in partnership with
UN-Habitat and UNDRR, the Module aims to support local authorities in the creation of an enabling environment for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Resilience Building. The module aims to foster learning and raising awareness about the links between local action and the achievement of the global agendas, particularly that of the Sendai Framework for DRR.

The first volume of the learning module: Fundamentals of Resilience Governance and Development, that was launched on November 2020, discusses the fundamentals of resilience building and their potential integration into local and regional governments’ (LRGs’) policy cycle, providing a base framework for LRGs to understand risk and resilience, enhance risk governance, identify available finance mechanisms and opportunities, and formulate their DRR and resilience building strategies and action plans while building capacities for implementation.

You can download the module herehttps://www.learning.uclg.org/file/resilience-learning-module-eng-0

Ebru Gencer was the Lead Author of the “Local Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies in Urban Areas” chapter of UN’s 2019 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction.

You can access the chapter here.

https://gar.undrr.org/sites/default/files/chapter/2019-05/Chapter_14.pdf

Climate Resilient Cities in Latin America Initiative published the final investigative reports of their funded projects. Please read our report: Planeamiento Participativo para la Resiliencia al Clima en ciudades de America Latina here

https://www.crclatam.net/documentos/publicaciones/72-reporte-de-investigacion-planeamiento-participativo-para-la-resiliencia-al-clima-en-ciudades-de-am%C3%A9rica-latina/file.html

New publication of the Participatory Planning for Inclusive and Resilient Urban Development in Latin America project is available at Environment and Urbanization’s 30 year special issue on Climate Change and Cities.

You can download the publication at:

https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/eaua/31/1?utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.company&utm_campaign=postfity&utm_content=postfity9142e&

New publication from CUDRR+R and partners IIED-AL and ALTERRA about the results of the Participatory Decision-Making for Climate Resilient Development Project published at the Special Issue of Medio Ambiente y Urbanizacion on Climate Resilient Cities in Latin America Initiative.

CUDRR+R and partners IIED-AL and ALTERRA have issued Policy Briefs for Climate Resilient Urban Development for the Cities of Dosqeubradas, Colombia; Santa Ana, El Salvador; and Santo Tome, Argentina as part of the Climate Resilient Cities in Latin America Initiative funded by CDKN, FFLA and IDRC.

You can read the Policy Briefs (en Espanol) here:

https://crclatam.net/documentos/publicaciones/31-informe-para-politicas-planeamiento-participativo-e-implementaci%C3%B3n-de-acciones-para-la-resiliencia-al-clima-el-caso-de-dosquebradas-colombia/file.html

Urban Climate Change Research Network’s (UCCRN) Second Assessment Report on Climate Change and Cities (ARC 3-2) was released at the IPCC Cities Science Conference in Edmonton, Canada. More than 300 scientists, including CUDRR+R’s Ebru Gencer, contributed to this important book that explored the implications of changing climatic conditions on critical urban physical and social infrastructure sectors and intersectoral concerns.

Please read the Summary for Policy Makers at:

http://uccrn.org/files/2015/12/ARC3-2-web.pdf

You can download the report at:http://uccrn.org/arc3-2/

CUDRR+R’s Ebru Gencer and Wesley Rhodes have just published a new article titled “Toward Climate Resilient Development in the USA: From Federal to Local Level Initiatives and Practices since the 2000s,” as part of the publication Urban Disaster Resilience and Security (Springer 2017). You can access the document at https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-68606-6_4

The article explores the evolving concept of disaster risk management and climate resilience building in the United States of America (USA) within the last two decades. The chapter starts by examining federal-level actions towards disaster risk management and climate adaptation and resilience and then delves into local-level actions through the case studies of Nashville, Tennessee, and Hoboken, New Jersey. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the future of climate resilience in the USA. The chapter illustrates that the availability of multiple layers of government has been an effective safety guard against any individual layer’s potential unwillingness to undertake protective risk management or climate resilience building. At state and regional levels, where political will was lacking, federal-level support, particularly in the Obama era, and the initiatives of private foundations have been very valuable. Nowhere, though, have climate resilience building actions in the USA been proven more effective than at the city administrative level. As everywhere else, local-level governments in the USA are at the forefront of disasters and the impacts of climate change and try to take the initiatives of preparing their cities for protection.

The 2017 edition of the Handbook for Local Government Leaders provides essential steps, tools and practical examples for Making Cities Resilient. It is developed to support public policy and decision-making so that local government leaders can undertake activities to reduce risk and build resilience. This contribution to the Making Cities Resilient Campaign 2010-2020 was supported by numerous partners and local governments. Further information on the report and other tools for Making Cities Resilient can be found here.

The report is available for download here, or by clicking the “Download” icon on the right of the page.

This is the first baseline study that identifies the types of authorities and capacities local governments have to undertake DRR actions and build urban resilience. The study develops benchmarks for the Ten Essentials promoted in the Making Cities Resilient campaign, and is based on research from collaborating partners and participating cities.

CUDRR+R partnered with Asian Development Bank for the report “Reducing Disaster Risk by Managing Urban Land Use – Guidance Notes for Planners.”

Read the full publication: here.

In order to reduce disaster risk through urban land use management processes, urban planners need technical capacity to interpret disaster risk information and its potential implications for a city’s landscape. Planners may require political support and practical guidance on suitable entry points to incorporates disaster risk considerations into land use management processes, while recognizing that in doing so there may be financial, social, and political implications. This guidance note series is written for urban planners for the purpose of providing such directions.

Case studies include the following cities:

Reducing Disaster Risk in Urban Areas Through Urban Redevelopment, Istanbul, Turkey

Reducing Disaster Risk Through Land use Planning in Caterbury, New Zealand

Use of Flood Modeling For Urban Development in Da Nang, Viet Nam

The Role of Building Codes and Planning Systems in Reducing Earthquake Risk in Chile

Ebru Gencer collaborated with ISOCARP President Ric Stephens and Erik Johanson from the Southern Pensylvania Transportation Authority for an article on the role of planning to increase resilience to climate change. The article was written for and published in Review 11, a publication of the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP).

This article explores climate change and action planning to increase resiliency in urban areas. It starts by describing climate change and its impacts on urban areas, and continues by discussing various levels of intervention actions on climate change ranging from intergovernmental processes to regional, national, and local level action plans. The article concludes by providing a case study from Philadelphia (USA) and summarizing what climate action plans means for resiliency and sustainability in urban areas.