TODAY COLOMBIA – Cali has one of the fastest-growing economies in Colombia, and a burgeoning population to match, due in part to thousands who have been forcibly displaced by armed conflict.
Many of these new residents are concentrating in high-risk, informal settlements, with limited access to health and other basic public services.
These settlements often face increased exposure to flooding due to the vulnerability of the Cauca River dike.
To protect and integrate these residents, officials have relocated thousands of households. The national government has provided funding to improve the waterway containment infrastructure.
Cali is also working on methods to increase equitable access to affordable housing as part of an effort to address crime, violence, and inequality.
Cali has also been added to the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities Network that revealed 35 New Additions.
To be considered for eligibility to the Rockefeller Foundation, a city must present a list of resilience challenges and ways it plans on minimizing its potential threats, such as floods or terrorist attacks, and becoming less susceptible to falling short while facing the latter. Once the city is adopted to the list, the 100 Resilient Cities network provides necessary resources to establish a protocol to resilience, in turn facilitating a methodical defense network between governments, businesses, and citizens.
The other Latin America and Caribbean cities added to the Rockefeller Foundation list is: Juarez (Mexico), San Juan (Puerto Rico), Santa Fe (Argentina), Santiago de los Caballeros (Dominican Republic), and Santiago, Metropolitan Region (Chile)
The 100 Resilient Cities Challenge seeks to find 100 cities that are ready to build resilience to the social, economic, and physical challenges that cities face in an increasingly urbanized world. Is your city ready to become resilient?
Sources:
- www.100resilientcities.org/cities/entry/cali
- www.architectmagazine.com/design/urbanism-planning/rockefeller-foundations-100-resilient-cities-network-reveals-35-new-additions_o
