The objective of this course is to equip participants with the strategic tools and methodologies for planning for and achieving urban resilience and effective disaster recovery. Upon completion, participants will be able to:

• Define urban resilience and distinguish between shocks and chronic stresses.
• Conduct comprehensive hazard, vulnerability, and risk assessments for critical urban systems.
• Develop and integrate resilience strategies into municipal planning (e.g., land use, infrastructure).
• Structure an equitable and effective long-term disaster recovery planning process.
• Apply principles of 'Building Back Better' to post-disaster reconstruction.
• Analyze the interdependencies of critical infrastructure and potential for cascading failures.
• Develop a finance and governance framework for resilience investment and disaster funding.

• Urban Planners and Policy Analysts
• Emergency Management and Disaster Recovery Staff
• Municipal Public Works and Infrastructure Managers
• Climate Change and Environmental Policy Analysts
• Public Health and Social Service Administrators
• Risk Management and Insurance Professionals
• Students in Planning or Homeland Security programs

• Case Studies of disaster recovery efforts (e.g., New Orleans, Hurricane Sandy, Christchurch)
• Group Activities: Conducting a simulated hazard vulnerability assessment for a neighborhood
• Scenario Planning: Developing an initial 72-hour and 6-month response plan for a major shock
• Individual Exercises: Analyzing a municipal budget for resilience-focused investment
• Expert discussions on the legal and political complexities of federal disaster funding
• Workshops on integrating social equity criteria into recovery resource allocation

Unit 1: Foundations of Urban Resilience

• Defining resilience: absorption, adaptation, and transformation capacities
• Distinguishing between urban shocks (e.g., natural disasters) and chronic stresses (e.g., scarcity, inequity)
• The resilience dividends: identifying co-benefits of resilience investments
• Comparative analysis of major international resilience frameworks (e.g., 100 Resilient Cities)

• Methodologies for hazard mapping and threat identification (e.g., flood, seismic, cyber)
• Conducting vulnerability assessments for physical infrastructure and social populations
• Calculating urban risk (Hazard x Exposure x Vulnerability) and prioritizing interventions
• The role of modeling and simulation in understanding failure pathways and cascading effects

Unit 2: Resilience Planning and Mitigation

• Integrating hazard mitigation and resilience into comprehensive plans and zoning ordinances
• Land use strategies for managing high-risk areas (e.g., discouraging development in floodplains)
• Designing for climate adaptation: heat islands, sea-level rise, and water scarcity
• Developing building code updates and retrofitting programs for structural hardening

• Planning for redundancy, decentralization, and distributed infrastructure (e.g., microgrids, decentralized water)
• Strategies for hardening critical facilities (e.g., hospitals, power stations, communications)
• Designing green infrastructure and nature-based solutions for coastal and stormwater resilience
• Analysis of infrastructure interdependencies and failure domino effects

Unit 3: Disaster Recovery Planning

• The rationale and components of a pre-disaster recovery plan (PDRP)
• Establishing a recovery governance structure and inter-agency coordination protocol
• Inventorying long-term housing options, temporary shelter, and business continuity resources
• Developing communication strategies for the immediate and long-term aftermath

• Immediate post-disaster activities: damage assessment, debris management, and rapid permitting
• Structuring the long-term recovery planning process: public involvement and visioning
• Coordinating federal/national disaster funding streams (e.g., FEMA, CDBG-DR) and compliance
• The challenge of managing conflicting priorities (speed vs. equity vs. mitigation)

Unit 4: Social Equity and Building Back Better

• Analyzing the disproportionate impacts of disasters on vulnerable and low-income populations
• Implementing a recovery process that prioritizes fair access to resources and services
• Strategies for preventing post-disaster gentrification and displacement
• Linking recovery planning to pre-existing social and economic development goals

• Principles and policy levers for incorporating higher mitigation standards into reconstruction
• Financing mechanisms and regulatory tools to encourage B3 (e.g., insurance incentives)
• Case studies of successful B3 implementation in cities following major disasters
• The role of data and performance metrics in monitoring long-term recovery success

Unit 5: Governance and Finance for Resilience

• Establishing a Chief Resilience Officer or equivalent leadership function
• Building a culture of resilience across municipal departments and external partners
• Coordinating with regional and private sector entities on shared risk reduction goals

• Economic justification for resilience investment (avoided losses, resilience dividends)
• The role of catastrophe bonds, municipal insurance, and other risk-transfer mechanisms
• Developing a resilience-focused Capital Improvement Program (CIP)
• Innovative financing for private property resilience improvements