Caroline Field, Head of MMI’s Resilience Practice, has recently been appointed Chair of the British Standard Institute (BSI) City Resilience Committee.
Resilience is defined as “the ability to absorb and adapt in a changing environment”. In cities, this describes their ability to manage shocks and continue through disruption in the short term, and to adapt to stresses and other challenges that will present themselves in the longer term. More resilient cities will be better able to realise their strategic ambitions, through protecting their critical resources, creating and sustaining opportunities for enterprise, and empowering individuals, communities and places not only to survive, but also to prosper.
The committee is drafting two documents; the first is a leadership guide to city resilience, which will take a white paper format and provide information describing city resilience, its benefits and guiding principles; and the second is a management guide to city resilience, which will take a more traditional format and cover a broad methodology for achieving city resilience.
Richard Look, Senior Resilience Consultant at MMI, is also taking a key role in developing this standard alongside the Cabinet Office, 100RC, local city authorities and resilience practitioners.
Caroline is looking forward to producing clear guidance that informs and provokes action at all levels in the area of city resilience.