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As part of the activities for the Community of Practice and Learning for the Regional Initiative of Resilient Cities, a webinar was held on August 3rd showcasing the experience of some cities and their participation in the initiative and the implementation of their challenges. This webinar welcomes participation from Daniela Ribeiro, Resiliency Manager of Salvador; Luciano Crisafulli, Director of Innovation of the Municipality of Cordoba; Soledad Mantero, Chief of the Resiliency Office of Montevideo; and David Groisman, Director of Resiliency in the City of Buenos Aires.
According to Daniela Ribeiro, the city of Salvador de Bahia in Brazil faces social inequalities as their main challenge, with a large portion of their population unemployed or working in the gig economy. To support these undertakings, the city has pushed for change through social initiatives that have already shown a higher social impact. This permits generation of revenue in the vulnerable populations and promotes a change in the private sector to promote new inclusive work atmospheres.
In the city of Cordoba, the Initiative of Resilient Cities has been an important contribution, says Luciano Crisafulli. They found a way to involve the private sector and articulate strengths to give their businesses support in their initial stages to grow and sustain themselves over time. In this way, they also promoted positive externalities for businesses in the city.
Soledad Mantero recognized the large contribution from the Initiative of Resilient Cities for sustainability to soon be attained in the city of Montevideo. From this participation, the city has assumed the role of spokesperson for the local government to strengthen the systems of businesses and as a facilitator, for public policies, to enable the institutional mechanisms that promote sustainable business. Through this initiative they can see each time a business enters the circular economy.
Finally, David Groisman noted how the Initiative of Resilient Cities has shown the value of innovation to generate a paradigm shift in sustainable development for the city of Buenos Aires. The government cannot solve all the city’s problems and for this reason, the initiative was a great opportunity to involve the private sector and create a community for the development of the city. On the other hand, they have affirmed the need for cooperation as much within the city as outside of it to achieve a more resilient city, a need which has been made even more apparent in the context of the pandemic.
From these presenters we learned of the influential projects in these respective cities. They spoke about the importance of training businesses, involving small and medium businesses, solutions and actors that can help them grow. We also heard about the importance of creating a common language between the public and private sectors, which can reinforce the innovative ideas found in the private sector and eliminate any limitations. And a final point emphasizing the importance of taking advantage of creative potential to create scalable and innovative projects, in hopes they will change the pattern and find solutions to common issues.
Learn more about the Community of Practice and Learning for the Regional Initiative of Resilient Cities: https://resilientcitiesnetwork.org/communities/resilient-cities-initiative/
