The Resilience Strategy will enable Mexico City to plan integrated solutions that meet the challenges posed by globalization, urbanization and climate change, and their impacts at the social and economic level.
To develop the strategy, CDMX had the support of the global initiative 100 Resilient Cities - pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation -. In 2013, CDMX was selected from hundreds of cities around the world as part of its network.
The CDMX Climate Action Program 2014-2020 establishes the building resilience as a transversal axis.
MEXICO CITY, September 6 2016 - The Government of Mexico City announced the launch of "Resilient CDMX: Adaptive, Inclusive and Equitable Transformation," a strategy which seeks to implement solutions that meet the challenges posed by globalization, urbanization and climate change, and their impacts at the social and economic level.
The development of the Strategy was supported by the 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) initiative - pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation - through the Resilience Office of Mexico City within the Ministry of Environment (SEDEMA), which was initially funded by 100RC to hire the Director of Resilience for CDMX, Arnoldo Matus Kramer, among other support.
100RC is an organization that helps cities around the world meet the physical, social and economic challenges of the 21st century In 2013, CDMX was one of the first cities to join the 100RC network, which also includes a number global cities like Los Angeles, Barcelona, London, Paris, Athens, Bangkok and Rio de Janeiro, among others. As part of this Alliance, in November 2015, the Head of Government Miguel Ángel Mancera pledged 10% of the annual budget of CDMX towards actions that increase the city’s resilience.
Miguel Ángel Mancera said the Resilience Strategy is a great opportunity to continue working for an inclusive and foward-thinking CDMX. "Mexico City works to transform challenges into opportunities. With this Plan, we seek joint solutions through strategic actions that promote the social and economic development of this great city, "he said.
The Resilience Strategy of CDMX is structured around five priorities:
Regional Coordination: The plan aims to create an institutional strategy for 2030 and promote cross-cutting agenda between institutions.
Water Resilience: The main objective is to create the "Water Fund" for Mexico City, develop a culture of responsible consumption and rescue aquifer zones.
Urban and Regional Resilience: This priority seeks to promote the recovery and development of green urban areas, build green infrastructure that can drive hydrologic restoration in iconic public spaces, and provide environmental education.
Comprehensive, Safe and Sustainable Mobility: The aim is to create an integrated public transport system through increasing quality and quantity as well as promoting innovative transport models.
Innovation and Adaptive Capacity: The city will seek to drive innovation for integrated risk management.
"Mexico City appreciates the joint effort of all the institutions who worked on the development of the strategy as well as the support from the 100RC initiative. For the City Government, building resilience is a priority to improve the living conditions of our citizens. We hope that more cities will join this global initiative, "said the Head of Government, Dr. Miguel Angel Mancera.
"CDMX is home to more than 8 million people and faces significant challenges in infrastructure, seismic activity, pollution environmental degradation, and floods. The aim of this strategy is to improve the quality of life of its inhabitants through actions that promote economic and social development, " said Michael Berkowitz, President of 100RC.
During the presentation of the Strategy, Michael Berkowitz also announced the creation of the first 100RC office in the region. "As part of our commitment to the Mexico City and Latin America, we are contemplating opening our first regional office next year. This will be the first office in Latin America and the fourth in the world. This action is just one example of what we hope to achieve in the coming years, together with the governments of other Latin American cities with which we collaborate. "
Global catastrophe modeling firm RMS provided CDMX with insight on diverse shocks and stresses, including the effects of water scarcity, earthquakes and pandemics, and how to strengthen resilience by reducing risk or transferring it onto the financial markets. Daniel Stander, global managing director at RMS, said: “Mexico City understands that you cannot increase resilience without measuring resilience. We’re privileged to help Mayor Mancera empower the city with the analytics needed to achieve this”.
It should be noted that the Mexico City held the signing of an agreement for the creation of a Water Fund, through the Ministry of Environment, The Nature Conservancy - Mexico and the Promoter Group "Por el Agua de la Ciudad de Mexico" have developed the initiative “For the Water of Mexico City". This initiative contributes to the Water focal axis of the Resilience Strategy and aims to leverage financial resources to invest in restoration and protection of watersheds within the Conservation Soil of Mexico City, as well as compensate owners these lands for the conservation of water services.
The full version of the Strategy and extra material for press use are available on the online version: http://www.data.sedema.cdmx.gob.mx/resiliencia/.
100 Resilient Cities - Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation (100RC) helps cities around the world become more resilient to social, economic, and physical challenges that are a growing part of the 21st century. 100RC provides this assistance through: funding for a Chief Resilience Officer in each of our cities who will lead the resilience efforts; resources for drafting a Resilience Strategy; access to private sector, public sector, academic, and NGO resilience tools; and membership in a global network of peer cities to share best practices and challenges. For more information, visit: www.100ResilientCities.org.