Resource information
Building Urban Resilience in East Asia
is a World Bank program that aims to increase the resilience
of cities to disasters and the impacts of climate change by
using a risk-based approach to making public investment
decisions. The objective is to demonstrate a scalable
methodology and practical tools for risk assessment that can
be used for city-level investment decisions. Working closely
with the stakeholders involved in land use planning and
infrastructure development, phase one of this program
identified the major challenges facing urban decision makers
in terms of risks from natural disasters and climate change
and now offers open-source risk assessment tools that can be
used by city-level institutions, other communities, private
investors, and planners of infrastructure services. Phase
two explores different investment options, management plans,
and capacity building needs. The goal is to formulate a
strategy in which flexible and 'low-regret'
measures can be cost-effective even when risks are
uncertain. Taking into account future risks and
uncertainties, resilience relies on redundancy. Cities
facing difficult decisions about scarce resources and
investments strive for efficiency. Financial approaches to
urban disaster resilience should reduce the negative impacts
of disasters on individuals and communities, the private
sector, and public entities.
