City of Cape Town Link

Resilience Strategy

<div class="ExternalClass981CFC98AA0E4454917E81B524B335B1"><p>We want to ensure that Cape Town becomes stronger and better prepared for future challenges. The City’s first ever <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20strategies%2c%20plans%20and%20frameworks/Resilience_Strategy.pdf" target="_blank">Resilience Strategy </a>helps improve the way we prepare for and respond to these challenges. </p> </div>

<h2 class="sectHeading">About the strategy </h2><p>Being a resilient city ensures that Cape Town is able to survive and thrive in the event of possible challenges. The City adopts an approach to resilience that acknowledges Cape Town’s interdependence on systems in other parts of the country and the rest of the world. This allows us to better prepare for risks and understand how stresses impact on the ability of the city to thrive in moments of shock.</p> <span> <div class="notification with-heading dark-copy light-blue bg-light-grey"><div class="graphic with-border"> <i class="info quickstat"></i> </div><div class="desc"><h4>Quick stat</h4><p> <b></b>Resilience is the ability for individuals, communities, institutions, businesses and systems in a city to survive, adapt and thrive, no matter the kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience.</p></div></div></span> <h2 class="sectHeading">Different types of disruptions</h2><div class="mobile-scroll"><br> <table><thead><tr><th>Shocks</th><th>Stresses</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr class="ms-rteTableOddRow-default"><td class="ms-rteTableEvenCol-default">civil unrest</td><td class="ms-rteTableOddCol-default">climate change</td></tr><tr class="ms-rteTableEvenRow-default"><td class="ms-rteTableEvenCol-default">cyber attacks</td><td class="ms-rteTableOddCol-default">crime and violence</td></tr><tr class="ms-rteTableOddRow-default"><td class="ms-rteTableEvenCol-default">drought</td><td class="ms-rteTableOddCol-default">food insecurity</td></tr><tr class="ms-rteTableEvenRow-default"><td class="ms-rteTableEvenCol-default">financial / economic crisis</td><td class="ms-rteTableOddCol-default">informal settlements</td></tr><tr class="ms-rteTableOddRow-default"><td class="ms-rteTableEvenCol-default">fire</td><td class="ms-rteTableOddCol-default">insecure municipal finances</td></tr><tr class="ms-rteTableEvenRow-default"><td class="ms-rteTableEvenCol-default">gale force winds</td><td class="ms-rteTableOddCol-default">lack of social cohesion</td></tr><tr class="ms-rteTableOddRow-default"><td class="ms-rteTableEvenCol-default">heatwave</td><td class="ms-rteTableOddCol-default">poverty and inequality</td></tr><tr class="ms-rteTableEvenRow-default"><td class="ms-rteTableEvenCol-default">infrastructure failure</td><td class="ms-rteTableOddCol-default">rapid urbanisation</td></tr><tr class="ms-rteTableOddRow-default"><td class="ms-rteTableEvenCol-default" rowspan="1">power outage</td><td class="ms-rteTableOddCol-default" rowspan="1">substance abuse</td></tr><tr class="ms-rteTableEvenRow-default"><td class="ms-rteTableEvenCol-default">rainfall flooding</td><td class="ms-rteTableOddCol-default">traffic congestion</td></tr><tr class="ms-rteTableOddRow-default"><td class="ms-rteTableEvenCol-default" rowspan="1"></td><td class="ms-rteTableOddCol-default" rowspan="1">trauma</td></tr><tr class="ms-rteTableFooterRow-default"><td class="ms-rteTableFooterEvenCol-default" rowspan="1"></td><td class="ms-rteTableFooterOddCol-default" rowspan="1">unemployment</td></tr></tbody></table></div> <span> <div class="notification with-heading dark-copy light-blue bg-light-grey"><div class="graphic with-border"> <i class="info fastfact"></i></div><div class="desc"><h4>Fast fact</h4><p> <b></b>As of 2020, approximately 85 cities in the world have resilience strategies. In August 2019, Cape Town became the third city in Africa to approve a resilience strategy. </p></div></div></span> <p>The Resilience Strategy includes five pillars, 20 goals and 75 actions. Some of these already exist, others are new and some have been piloted.</p><p> <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20strategies%2c%20plans%20and%20frameworks/Resilience_Strategy.pdf" target="_blank">Read the Resillience Strategy </a></p><h2 class="sectHeading">The five pillars</h2><p>The five pillars of the Resilience Strategy are as follows: </p><div class="mobile-scroll"><br> <table><tbody><tr><th>Pillar one</th><td>A compassionate, holistically-healthy city</td><td>Feeling welcome, safe and accepted in our city.</td></tr><tr><th>Pillar two</th><td class="ms-rteTable-default">A connected, climate-adaptive city</td><td class="ms-rteTable-default">Working together to create place-based response.<br></td></tr><tr><th>Pillar three</th><td class="ms-rteTable-default">A capable, job-creating city</td><td class="ms-rteTable-default">Turning resource constraints and the challenges of rapidly evolving technology into new opportunities.</td></tr><tr><th>Pillar four</th><td class="ms-rteTable-default">A collectively, shock-ready city</td><td class="ms-rteTable-default">Preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters.</td></tr><tr><th>Pillar five</th><td class="ms-rteTable-default">A collaborative, forward-looking City</td><td class="ms-rteTable-default">Working collaboratively to mainstream applications of resilience.</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p> <br>Everyone, including government, businesses, community-based organisations and residents can contribute to building resilience in Cape Town.</p><p> <strong>Encourage your organisation or community to do the following: </strong></p><ul><li>clarify your role in helping build Cape Town’s resilience;</li><li>develop an action plan for your organisation and adopt some or all of the above pillars;</li><li>engage with other people in the city who are most impacted by your actions; </li><li>investigate and understand how shocks and stresses create based risks for your community or organisation;</li><li>take part in training to help build capacity </li><li>undertake actions and investment to strengthen resilience</li></ul><h2 class="sectHeading">Contact us</h2><h4>Shehnaz Cassim Moosa</h4><p> <em>Telephone: <br><a>021 400 6052</a><br><br> Email:<br><a href="mailto:Shehnaz.CassimMoosa@capetown.gov.za" target="_blank">shehnaz.cassimmoosa@capetown.gov.za </a></em></p>

Our Resilience Strategy aims to ensure that Cape Town becomes stronger and better prepared for future challenges.