Mayor Slay and 100 Resilient Cities - Pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation,  Launch ‘Resilient St. Louis’ at Workshop with Key Stakeholders to  Begin Blueprint to Build Resilience

ST. LOUIS -- The City of St. Louis and Mayor Francis Slay, joined by 100 Resilient Cities - Pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation (100RC), is beginning to undertake efforts to become more resilient to the shocks (sudden, catastrophic events) and stresses (underlying social and physical challenges) that are increasingly part of 21st century life. The City of St. Louis was named part of the 100RC network in December 2014, along with cities like London, New York, Bangkok, and Rio de Janeiro –and was selected from more than 700 applicants from around the world.

"Together with our community partners, we will build a Resilience Strategy to help our City better respond to the shocks and lessen the stressors," said Mayor Francis Slay. "Too many of our neighbors live in neighborhoods with high poverty and high crime rates, which reduce community safety and inhibit investment and growth. We also recognize that building resilience will involve addressing our aging infrastructure, response to natural disasters, deficits and disparities in education and public health, and economic disparities to help reduce social tensions citywide. While we are proud of the progress we've made on these fronts, we are very eager to do more with the generous resources of 100RC."

"City governments are on the front line of dealing with acute shocks and chronic stress. The City of St. Louis is part of a group of cities leading the way on resilience to better prepare for, withstand, and recover more effectively when disruption hits," said Rockefeller Foundation President Judith Rodin." Through this type of inclusive resilience planning cities can be better prepared for the unexpected. They can also realize the resilience dividend, the economic and competitive advantages that come from taking a resilience mindset. Your commitment to resilience thinking, planning and action will set a global example."

The Resilience Agenda-Setting Workshop is the City's first engagement in its partnership with 100RC. The workshop brings a diverse set of stakeholders from across city government and the private sector, non-profits, universities, business and community groups into the planning process. It seeks to uncover all the threats the City is facing, including those previously unknown, while unveiling resilience building tools and plans to address those threats. Following the workshop, the City of St. Louis will name a Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) –an innovative new position in city government, funded by 100RC. The CRO will lead the City's resilience efforts and continue to engage stakeholders, resilience experts, and 100RC staff in drafting a comprehensive Resilience Strategy.

"The City of St. Louis is helping fuel global momentum around building urban resilience, and leading by example," said Michael Berkowitz, President of 100 Resilient Cities. "The agenda workshop will clarify the City's needs, surface innovative thinking, and give us a blueprint for engaging partners from across sectors to bring the City the tools and resources needed to become more resilient."

The City of St. Louis was selected as one of 67 members of what will ultimately be a 100-city global network, and will receive technical support and resources to develop and implement a Resilience Strategy. Each city in the 100RC network receives four concrete types of support: