Bristol is one of only two UK cities and four from Europe to be invited to join a new global network of 100 ‘resilient cities’ run by the Rockefeller Foundation in the US.
As a result it will gain access to vital support and potential funding to help develop a ‘resilience plan’ for the city and the wider West of England. 
Bristol was one of nearly 400 cities across six continents to apply for the 100 Resilient Cities Challenge. Bristol’s success in being among the first 33 cities to be named out of the 100 was announced at the Foundation’s third annual Innovation Forum titled, Building Resilient Cities held in partnership with the Financial Times in New York City on Tuesday.
The remaining two thirds of cities will be named over the next two years. Glasgow is the only other UK city to be invited in to the network.
Resilience planning is about making Bristol a better place to live, work and play through robust emergency planning, resilient infrastructure, protecting vulnerable people and addressing long-term threats to energy security, food systems, public health and the city region’s economy.
Bristol Mayor George Ferguson said: “This is a great outcome of my discussion with Rockefeller during a recent visit abroad, and is yet another example of Bristol’s increasing prominence and leadership on the world stage, something which everyone in the city should be proud of.
“One of the biggest challenges facing cities today is that no single organisation has complete control over the solutions to increase our resilience to emergencies. Partnership will be vital in Bristol’s approach. By being part of the 100 Resilient Cities Network we want to learn from the best in the world on how to create technical, societal and financial ways to be more resilient to all the problems the world can throw at us. We want to speak directly to people who are making real changes and hear the stories of success and failure: Mayor to Mayor, business to business, citizen to citizen.”
As a winning city Bristol will receive membership of the newly formed 100 Resilient Cities Network, which will provide support to member cities, provide exclusive access to peer knowledge, promote successful resilience practices and accelerate local plans. This network will provide vital resources to bring stakeholders together across the city region, including businesses, public bodies and communities, to create and implement even stronger local resilience plans.
Rockefeller Foundation president Judith Rodin said: “We congratulate Bristol on being named one of the 100 Resilient Cities.
“Along with 32 other cities across six continents, your city will be able to better prepare for, withstand, and bounce back more effectively in the face of shocks, stresses and other vulnerabilities. Bristol is now part of a global network of urban areas focused on building resilience, to share best practices and lead by example for cities throughout the world.”
In response to global threats such as climate change and a growing recognition that disasters in urban areas can impact millions of people, supply chains and affect entire economic systems, the 100 Resilient Cities Centennial challenge is a $100 million dollar fund pledged by the Rockefeller Foundation to build urban resilience around the world. City leaders at the recent COP19 climate talks in Warsaw emphasised the importance of cities reducing greenhouse gas emissions and becoming more resilient to climate change.
