Urban Resilience: how to adapt, survive and thrive in challenging times

People are at the heart of all cities

Thursday 12 July 2018 | 1:30-3:30 | Cairns Institute D3.054 | All welcome

We are living in unprecedented complex times where the challenges facing our urban environments range from rapid population growth, urban expansion, cyber-attack and growing social inequity to name a few. Globalisation, urbanisation and climate change are significant global trends being experienced locally where solutions are often applied in an isolated and reactive manner.

How can we work differently and more effectively across diverse sectors to respond to future challenges in a strategic and collaborative manner? Being reflective and learning from past mistakes is fundamental to designing our future urban environments with people at the heart.

Maree Grenfell has been working alongside Melbourne’s Chief Resilience Officer for the past 3 years as part of the global 100 Resilient Cities program – pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation, which is dedicated to helping cities around the world become more resilient to the physical, social and economic challenges that are a growing part of the 21st century.

Maree will share her knowledge and experience of this global network and provide the opportunity to apply some of the frameworks and tools locally to identify resilience building opportunities in the Cairns region.

Topics covered

Presentation

• Urban resilience explained
• Global trends experienced locally
• Shocks and stresses and the interplay between them – preparing for the unexpected
• Resilience to what, for whom, by when
• Strategic approaches in frameworks, programs and action (global and local)
• How can we do things differently?
  • Collaboration: engagement, participation, involvement (LG Act)
  • Systems thinking
  • Leadership, trust
• Case studies:
  • Community democracy (Melbourne Water Community Assembly), deep democracy processes, citizen juries
  • Various cities in the 100RC network

Workshop

• Opportunities for driving resilience across various urban systems
• Acute shocks and chronic stresses in Cairns region
• Interactive exploration of the City Resilience Framework (CRF)
• Applying the CRF (in groups)
• Qualities of Resilience – the characteristics of resilient systems
• Applying the qualities of resilience
• Bringing together shocks, stresses, drivers and qualities for Cairns region to identify opportunity

Maree Grenfell | Resilient Melbourne Learning and Network Manager, City of Melbourne

For the past three years Maree has been Melbourne’s Deputy Chief Resilience Officer for the 100 Resilient Cities program – pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation, developing and now implementing Melbourne’s first resilience strategy.

Maree is an accomplished change strategist with a track record of achievement across the community, private and government sectors. Her work focuses primarily on complex multi-stakeholder initiatives and pioneering projects to build capability, confidence and collaborative capacity at a community, city and national level.

A strategic and creative thinker, she brings a new mindset to old themes. She draws on an eclectic background in urban design, sustainability, social psychology and economic impact to create and deliver transformational programs that shift mindsets and practice around inclusive communities and resilient environments.

Her signature strength is working with people, identifying and resolving barriers, bringing clarity and purpose to projects while injecting creativity and enthusiasm. Her goal is a community-centered future in which cities and human wellbeing are interdependent.

Image courtesy johnpotter |pixabay.com/photo-193357