S’pore chosen to join network of resilient cities

SINGAPORE — In tackling climate change, ageing and other challenges, Singapore can now tap the experiences of cities as diverse as Amman in Jordan and Santiago in Chile.

The three cities were among the second wave of 35 cities to join The Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities network, a US$100 million (S$130 million) commitment by the American philanthropic organisation to help cities around the world build resilience to economic, social and physical challenges.

Besides Singapore, six of these cities are in Asia: Bangalore and Chennai in India, Deyang and Huangshi in China, Phnom Penh in Cambodia and Toyama in Japan. Others include the major cities of London, Barcelona, Paris, Chicago and Sydney.

Some may question whether certain chosen cities need help, but 100 Resilient Cities’ president Michael Berkowitz said a mix of cities with various capacities would enable the sharing of experiences and expertise.

Speaking to reporters at the foundation’s Urban Resilience Summit held at the Raffles Hotel yesterday, Mr Berkowitz — who was here earlier this year for the World Cities Summit — said Singapore, while a relatively stable city, is not complacent about its situation.

Cities in the 100 Resilient Cities network will receive financial and logistical guidance to establish the new position of chief resilience officer, whose task as a top-level adviser to the city’s Mayor or Chief Executive is to bring together stakeholders from government and other sectors to develop a resilience strategy.

The position involves a mix of the political and technocratic, and it can sometimes take three to six months to hire the right person, Mr Berkowitz said.

Mr Khoo Teng Chye, executive director of the Centre for Liveable Cities, said discussions are ongoing with the foundation on the appointment of a chief resilience officer. Singapore has evolved from a “basket case of urbanisation” 50 years ago, with inadequate housing and sanitation challenges, to one of the more liveable cities in the world today.

“Over the next 40 to 50 years, we’ll have to deal with new challenges — climate change, ageing, social resilience. Economically, there’ll always be challenges,” he said. “We think it’s important … (to) not just look inwardly, but (to) see what other cities are doing, especially those with the best practices, those which face similar or even more difficult challenges than ourselves.”

Cities also receive technical support to develop a holistic resilience strategy that reflects distinct needs, as well as access to a platform of services to support strategy development and implementation.

The mayors of Accra (Ghana), Belgrade (Serbia) and Athens (Greece) were in town yesterday and shared challenges faced by their cities. Mr Giorgos Kaminis of Athens said he has tried to promote tourism and entrepreneurship, and to attract European funds, to address the economic, social and unemployment woes of the city, for which crisis has seemed to be the norm for the past five years.

The Rockefeller Foundation’s president, Dr Judith Rodin, said she has seen governments from last year’s batch of 32 cities re-organising themselves to give their chief resilience officers cross-functional power in the city government. Nineteen chief resilience officers have been hired and six more have been identified.

Cities are also working with one another, she said. New Orleans — hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 — is working with Rotterdam to better understand how to live with water, while Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, New York City and Bangkok are collaborating on issues such as water management and inequality.

The 35 cities this year were chosen from about 330 applications, which were reviewed by a panel of expert judges. The panel looks for innovative mayors, a recent catalyst for change, a history of building partnerships and an ability to work with a range of stakeholders.