Natalie Bicknell notes several deficiencies in the roadmap that resulted from Seattle's participation in the Rockefeller Foundation's now-defunct 100 Resilient Cities program.
When the Rockefeller Foundation pulled the plug on its much-vaunted 100 Resilient Cities program earlier this year, Seattle was still in the middle of its process. "As a result, in comparison to the work achieved by other cities, Seattle's Resilience Roadmap feels rushed and strangely backward looking. Reading through it, I was struck by how the material resembles a laundry list of achievements accomplished by current Mayor Jenny Durkan's administration," Natalie Bicknell writes.
In addition to a generally retrospective focus, the roadmap is also light on details when it comes to weathering natural disasters and climate change. That is, the reasons why resilience became part of the conversation in the first place.
"Seattle's report contains only one slim section devoted to its current strategies for combatting climate change," Bicknell says. And "for a city as threatened by earthquakes as Seattle is, the even shorter shrift given to natural disaster preparedness is a major weakness of the report."
Despite the Seattle roadmap's shortcomings, Bicknell concludes with a word of praise for the erstwhile program. "What 100RC seemed to understand is that cities are complex ecosystems. Establishing urban resilience doesn't result from disconnected programs and policies; instead it arises when the interconnected nature of urban and environmental challenges is acknowledged."
FULL STORY: Seattle’s Resilience Roadmap Lacks a Cohesive Vision for the Future
Five Years of 100 Resilient Cities
It's been five years since the Rockefeller Foundation launched the 100 Resilient Cities initiative. A new analysis by the Urban Institute evaluates the accomplishments of 100 Resilient Cities so far.
More Detail on What Happened to 100 Resilient Cities
The Rockefeller Foundation has cited costs and a new strategic direction to explain why it abruptly cut off the program this year. While the work may live on in some form, the move underscores the risks of relying on private funding.
Plug Pulled on the 100 Resilient Cities Program
The largest privately funded climate-adaptation program in the United States, 100 Resilient Cities, will conclude in July.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association