Making Cities Resilient: Developing local disaster risk reduction and resilience strategies.

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Background

Over the past 20 years, disasters have affected billions of people, caused USD$ trillions of damage, and killed millions of people. Disasters have affected people living in developing countries and, in particular, the most vulnerable communities within these countries.

Particularly in the context of increased urbanization, urban risk continues to rise. The vulnerability of cities to disasters is growing especially as poor people settle in high-risk urban areas. Unfortunately, the planning and development of cities have given little consideration to the consequences of hazards such as earthquakes, hydro-meteorological risks, and others. The implication of this reality is the need for countries to focus on creating a safer world for urban dwellers and developing a series of innovative approaches to build resilience.

On the basis of these needs, UNITAR in partnership with UNDRR’s Office for Northeast Asia (ONEA) and its Global Education and Training Institute (GETI) developed the e-learning course “Making Cities Resilient: Developing Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Strategies - Accessible Edition”.

Objectives

This e-learning course aims to strengthen the capacities of government officials, especially those at the local level, and disaster management professionals to design and implement local-level plans and programs that reduce disaster risk and enhance resilience. It introduces the conceptual foundations of disaster risk reduction and urban resilience, provides examples of effective DRR practices implemented by cities around the world, and presents useful tools for resilience assessment and planning. Lessons are accessible to persons with some types of hearing and visual disabilities (audio and sign language interpretation provided).

At the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Analyse the outcome, goal and implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030
• Identify initiatives and best practices on how to integrate disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation into urban planning
• Assess the risk management situation in their cities by using the Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities
• Understand how to develop a safe and resilient country/city action plan
• Raise awareness about the Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) initiative