Pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation, 100 Resilient Cities are actively planning now to become more resilient to the physical, social and economic challenges that are a growing part of the twenty-first century. These are not just the shocks – earthquakes, fires, floods – but also the stresses that weaken the fabric of a city on a day-to-day or cyclical basis: high unemployment; an overtaxed or inefficient public transportation system; endemic violence; or chronic food and water shortages. Speakers from Rotterdam (Wynand Dassen), Glasgow (Julie Robertson) and Bristol (Sarah Toy) talk about their resilient city plans. They are joined by Ann Cousins (Arup).

Speaker biographies:

Ann Cousins is a senior consultant with the global built environment consultancy Arup. Her work is predominantly focused on research, policy and strategy for the public sector, bringing together economic, social and environmental objectives in a wider place-based context. She is currently part of the Arup team working on developing resilience strategies with cities around the world, including places such as Bristol (UK), Milan (Italy), Santiago (Chile), and Byblos (Lebanon).

Julie Robertson is Assistant Manager at Sustainable Glasgow, Glasgow City Council.

Sarah Toy is Bristol’s Strategic Resilience Officer. She is a chartered civil engineer, with 24 years of experience delivering transport and public health related projects. She was previously Head of Smarter Choices at Sustrans. Sarah has also worked for the University of the West of England on behalf of Bristol City Council and the NHS, developing a practical guide to the social marketing of 20mph limits, and as Senior Sustainability Advisor at Arup. Prior to that she worked on a wide range of infrastructure projects, from motorways and flood defences to low cost and emergency water and sanitation systems, in Africa, Asia and South America.

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