Introduction to Urban Resilience

This introductory course includes an overview of the main concepts, principles, approaches, and tools for building resilient cities and towns. The course aims to equip participants with a holistic understanding of resilience-building in urban contexts and what can be done to make resilient cities and towns. It paves the theoretical ground for all follow-up modules. The course prepares participants to recognise the importance of community engagement, collective visioning, and acquiring knowledge for better planning, managing, and evaluating urban resilient cities and towns. The critical questions to be discussed during the course are:

• What is urban resilience? How urban resilience can help towns to withstand external and internal shocks?
• What is the role of disaster risk assessment in building urban resilience?
• How to manage urban resilience building? What are the main dimensions and building blocks of planning urban resilience?

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

LO1: demonstrate knowledge about the concept of urban resilience by defining its key characteristics and building blocks

LO2: explain how risk and resilience assessment can help to protect a town from shocks

LO3: give examples of the local government responsibilities related to urban planning and building of urban resilience

The resources below are intended to support the delivery of the course and include the full syllabus, instructor guidance, evaluation tools, teaching materials, and other resources needed to plan and facilitate the programme.