Mayor Mitch Landrieu has announced the hiring of the City's first Chief Resilience Officer as part of a global effort called 100 Resilient Cities, an initiative that helps communities prepare for the social and economic stresses that threaten urban areas.
Mayor Landrieu designated Jeff Hebert, the Executive Director of the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA), to serve as the City's Chief Resilience Officer (CRO). While continuing to lead NORA, Hebert will be responsible for developing and implementing a plan that addresses, "rising sea levels, strategies for flood mitigation and protection, including coastal restoration projects and improvements in emergency response planning, as well as ensuring new and existing structures and developments are able to withstand a variety of weather related events," according to the City.
100 Resilient Cities - Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation, through a $100 million commitment, provides member cities with a variety of resources including funding to hire a CRO, personnel and technical support, financial and logistical guidance, and access to global service providers in the public and private sectors including non-governmental organizations.
Over the next year, Hebert and his team will be tasked with developing an implementation strategy for resilience-building programs and initiatives by bringing together a coalition of people throughout government and all segments of the city.
"In a rapidly urbanizing world, cities cannot afford to remain crisis-driven and reactive," Rockefeller Foundation President Judith Rodin said in a statement. "Cities like New Orleans are at the forefront of fostering a resilience mindset that will be critical to proactively managing the inevitable challenges, shocks and stresses all cities will face."
There are currently 32 cities that have been chosen to join the 100 Resilient Cities network, with another round of members to be announced Dec. 3. The current members include New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Rome, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City and Bangkok.
(Adapted from nola.com)