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                    City resilience

                    Woman, man and child walking in city park
                    Resilience is the ability of a city to adapt, survive, and thrive in the face of shocks and stresses, both acute and chronic.

                    ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Acute shocks are sudden events, such as storms, heatwaves, or acts of terror. Chronic stresses are long-term challenges, such as mental health problems, increasing inequality, or sea level rise.​

                    By strengthening the underlying fabric of our city and deepening our understanding of the risks that we face, we can i​​mprove our overall resilience and well-being. We can prosper in spite of rising challenges.

                    Global trends

                    There are a number of global trends that are increasing the likelihood and severity of shocks and stresses. These include:

                    • Globalisation: Cities are becoming more interconnected than ever before. This makes them more vulnerable to shocks that occur in other parts of the world.

                    • Urbanisation: As cities grow, they become more reliant on complex infrastructure systems. The failure of one system can have a cascading impact on others.
                    • Climate change: Climate change is already having a significant impact on cities. Heatwaves, floods, and other extreme weather events are becoming more common.

                    City of Melbourne's efforts

                    The City of Melbourne is working with communities and across the organisation to build resilience to future challenges. The City Resilience and Sustainable Futures team is leading a four-year project called 'Prepare Melbourne'. This project aims to engage and prepare residents and communities to enhance their resilience to hazards, disasters, and the health impacts of climate change.​

                    There are six program streams currently underway:

                    • Climate Justice Project: Enable deeper and more deliberative collaboration between disadvantaged communities and City of Melbourne to address climate justice issues
                    • Community Resilience Assessment: Better understand and respond to the physical and social vulnerabilities communities face to disasters in our neighbourhoods.
                    • Staff Capacity Building Program: Build staff knowledge and capacity in resilience to better support our community to prepare for disasters.
                    • Community awareness program: Deliver communications and awareness program to communities, to build capacity to prepare for specific priority hazards.
                    • Technology solutions: Pilot humanity-first technology solutions to support planning and delivery of initiatives that better prepare our community for disasters.
                    • Heat Lab: A new model to incubate, iterate and evolve resilience concepts in response to extreme heat risk and vulnerability in the City of Melbourne.​​​​​

                    Community resilience assessments

                    ​We are conducting community resilience assessments at a neighborhood scale to learn about the resilience priorities of local communities. 

                    These assessments will help us to identify the strengths and weaknesses of our communities, as well as the opportunities for improvement. 

                    Read more about the workshops and how you can get involved​.​

                    Climate justice

                    With funding from the Climate Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA), the City of Melbourne worked with the Kensington Climate Justice Partnership (Jesuit Social Services’ Centre for Just Places, Kensington Neighbourhood House, Living Learning Australia, Transition Town Kensington, Unison and The Venny Inc.) to to initiate deeper and more deliberative collaboration on climate justice projects in the municipality.

                    The City of Melbourne is committed to climate justice. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to thrive, regardless of their income, race, or location. That's why we are working with the Kensington Climate Justice Partnership to create a more just and equitable city. 

                    Read more about our climate justice work.

                    Resilient Melbourne

                    ​The work of the City Resilience and Sustainable Futures team continues the efforts of Resilient Melbourne, a program auspiced by the City of Melbourne in collaboration with the 32 metropolitan Melbourne councils, and associated partners. This program occurred between 2014 and 2020, led by Melbourne’s Chief Resilience Officer. 

                    Resilient Melbourne was part of the 100 Resilient Cities initiative funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, dedicated to helping cities around the world become more resilient to the physical, social and economic challenges of the 21st century. ​

                    Resilient Melbourne Strategy

                    Melbourne’s first resilience strategy was endorsed by the City of Melbourne’s Future Melbourne Committee on 17 May 2016​

                    The Resilient Melbourne Strategy was the culmination of work by people from across sectors, council boundaries and community groups, coming together to consider a shared challenge: what can we do to protect and improve the lives of Melburnians, now and in the future?

                    The strategy’s four action areas included:

                    • Adapt – reduce our exposure to future shocks and stresses.
                    • Survive – withstand disruptions and bounce back better than before.
                    • Thrive – significantly improve people’s quality of life.
                    • Embed – build resilience thinking into our institutions and ways of working.

                    Read the strategy:

                    Legacy work

                    ​​Living Melbourne – Our Metropolitan Urban Forest Strategy

                    Living Melbourne is the cumulative result of over two​ years of collaboration to develop the evide​nce base and actions required to connect, extend and enhance urban greening across the Melbourne metropolitan area. In an unprecedented effort, Living Melbourne was endorsed by 41 organisations. Living Melbourne is now hosted by Greater Western Water.

                    Resilient co​mmunities in residential and mixed-use developments

                    The City of Melbourne partnered with five residential and mixed-use development sites in metropolitan Melbourne to plan strong, connected, and resilient communities. The goal of the program was to test the hypothesis that involving residents in shaping their buildings and neighborhoods can lead to stronger levels of community cohesion and resilience.

                    The Resilient Communities Action aligned with the objective of Plan Melbourne 2017-2050 to foster 'inclusive, vibrant, and healthy communities' through participatory development.

                    The five development sites were:

                    • Assemble's 393 Macaulay Road apartment building in Kensington (City of Melbourne)
                    • Beveridge North West precinct (Mitchell Shire)
                    • Mambourin, a Frasers greenfield development in Wyndham Vale (City of Wyndham)
                    • Olivine, a Mirvac greenfield development in Donnybrook (City of Whittlesea)
                    • Urban Coup's 'Near and Tall' co-housing apartment building in Brunswick (City of Moreland)

                    Each of the five sites represents an innovative approach to conventional urban infill and greenfield planning and housing development models, all with the goal of creating strong community connections and community-level resilience.

                    A consortium of academics from multiple institutions is conducting research on the Resilient Communities sites to understand and capture lessons from the participatory development models.​

                    Research outputs

                    Governance of participatory planning for resilient communities, 2021

                    A team from RMIT University, the University of Melbourne and Resilient Melbourne conducted research on the governance models applied by the five Resilient Communities sites.​

                    This report considers key questions on the governance of participatory development, including who participates and how, and what implications for community resilience emerge as a result of different approaches taken. 

                    The research was funded by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

                    Read the report: 
                    Governance of participatory planning for resilient communities.

                    Living Locally – Creating resilient 20-minute neighbourhoods in greenfield growth areas, 2020

                    This report draws on research and practical experience to understand the challenges and opportunities associated with achieving 20-minute neighbourhoods in new greenfield suburbs.

                    The report outlines opportunities for collaborative approaches to create local environments that support ‘living locally’ and, with that, stronger social connections and community resilience. 

                    This work was funded by the Victorian Government.

                    Read the report:
                    Living Locally – Creating resilient 20-minute neighbourhoods in greenfield growth areas (PDF 6.7 MB)

                    Living Locally – Beveridge North West Volume 1: A review of key literature on precinct structure planning and 20-minute neighbourhoods in greenfield areas, 2020

                    To increase understanding of the feasibility of 20-minute neighbourhood outcomes in greenfield settings, RMIT University undertook a literature review of development patterns and challenges to ‘living locally’ in outer suburbs of Melbourne.

                    This report reviewed retail models, density patterns and community infrastructure staging that must be considered to increase the prevalence of 20-minute neighbourhoods in new residential and mixed-use settings on Melbourne’s fringes. 

                    This research was funded by the Victorian Government.

                    Read the report:
                    Living Locally – Beveridge North West Volume 1: A review of key literature on precinct structure planning and 20-minute neighbourhoods in greenfield areas (PDF 3.3 MB)​

                    Living Locally – Beveridge North West Volume 2: Scenarios for achieving 20-minute neighbourhoods in Beveridge North West

                    Building on its Volume 1 literature review, RMIT University collaborated with the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Mitchell Shire Council, the Victorian Planning Authority and Yarra Valley Water to explore four scenarios that could provide foundational frameworks for realising 20-minute neighbourhoods in Beveridge North West. 

                    This work highlighted the multi-faceted nature of 20-minute neighbourhoods, but also the opportunity to use urban greening, employment clusters, transport provision and density as key levers for achieving positive resilience outcomes at a precinct scale.

                    Read the report:
                    Living Locally – Beveridge North West Volume 2: Scenarios for achieving 20-minute neighbourhoods in Beveridge North West (PDF 3.3 MB)​

                    20-minute neighbourhood – Living Locally (Mambourin), 2019

                    In partnership with the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Frasers Property and the City of Wyndham, Monash University explored the feasibility and benefits of supporting 20-minute neighbourhood outcomes in greenfield settings through staging of community infrastructure and provision of temporary activation. 

                    These approaches drew on case studies from Australia and the United States as a way to ‘fast track’ community development and embed patterns of local living in the face of long construction timelines in new developments. 

                    This research was funded by the Victorian Government.

                    Read the report:
                    20-minute neighbourhood –​ Living Locally research (PDF 9.2 MB)

                    Academic Literature Review of Resilient Communities, 2019

                    Resilient Melbourne commissioned the University of Melbourne to research connections between participatory planning and social cohesion.

                    The report highlights that the value of participatory planning is well-documented, as is the importance of social cohesion in increasing community resilience.​

                    The research suggests that the Resilient Communities projects can provide important local case studies to draw connections between participatory development and social cohesion in residential neighbourhoods. 

                    This research was funded by the City of Melbourne.

                    ​​Resilient Cities Network (formerly 100 Resilient Cities Network)​

                    The Resilient Cities Network continues the work of 100 Resilient Cities. The network is a global city-led non-profit organisation that brings together knowledge, practice, partnerships, and funding to empower cities to help them build a safe, equitable and sustainable future for all.

                    As a city-led network, the organisation works together with member cities, mobilising communities, city governments, urban practitioners, and partners to deliver impact-driven resilience strategies and projects. 

                    The Resilient Cities Network comprises 98 member cities in 40 countries of the former 100 Resilient Cities initiative. Regional offices are based in Singapore, London, Mexico City and New York. The network is funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and partners.

                    Resilient Cities Network

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