BEYOND RESILIENCY

We often discuss climate change in relation to rising temperatures, storm surges and sea level rise and the impacts these will have on where and how we live. This brings to bear the specific, localized environmental and urban challenges that we face, and gives transparency to issues such as the localized inequities affecting low socioeconomic groups and under-represented communities.

Resiliency is a common topic foregrounding many discussions within the government sector, non-profit organizations and university research groups. Many are tackling issues of risk and resiliency through the modelling and simulation of the possible effects of climate change, the adoption of policy changes across various sectors and levels of government, and the staging of design competitions that open a dialogue around issues at play while catalysing the development of new and innovative design approaches and technologies as a means of investigation.

We need to think beyond fortifying our coastlines and retrofitting failing infrastructures to consider alternative urban models, ways of living and ideas for the public realm that have the ability to evolve and respond to an unpredictable near future.

Rosalea Monacella spoke to Chris Reed from Stoss Landscape Urbanism (Boston), Lisa Switkin and Richard Kennedy from James Corner Field Operations (New York), Bryna Lipper of 100 Resilient Cities (New York), and Sacha Coles of Aspect Studios (Sydney) about adaptive cities, landscape