Vancouver now officially 'resilient' with new Chief Resilience Officer

With “global uncertainty, climate change, and growing local pressures,” life in Vancouver can sometimes seem stressful and tough.

However, residents can rest easy now, as the city hopes to mitigate those worries with the creation of its first ever Chief Resilience Officer.

In a release, the city said it created the position to oversee the city’s strategy around withstanding “major shocks and stresses” to Vancouver.

On Tuesday, Mayor Gregor Robertson announced that Katie McPherson, who has worked for the city on disaster management for several years, will take on the new role.

The role is part of the 100 Resilient Cities program, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation.

City ‘proud’ to launch partnership

“The City is proud to launch this partnership with 100RC to build a stronger resiliency strategy tailored to the issues and challenges our residents care about most,” said Robertson.

“With 100RC support… we’ll be in an even better position to tackle our most pressing challenges – like housing affordability, emergency preparedness, climate change, and social connectedness.”

Vancouver is part of a “global movement of cities focused on building urban resilience,” said 100 Resilient Cities President Michael Berkowitz in the release.

“The launch of the city’s resilience agenda… will provide the City of Vancouver with a starting point to clarify the city’s needs, surface innovative thinking, and give us a blueprint to bring Vancouver the tools and resources needed to become more resilient.”

Global network of ‘resilience’

For her part, McPherson called the move “an important opportunity for our city.”

Vancouver was named part of the 100RC network in 2016, joining cities such as London, New York, Bangkok, and Buenos Aires – and was selected from more than 1,000 applicants from around the world.

Each city in the 100RC network receives a variety of support:

1. Financial and logistical guidance for establishing an innovative new position in city government
2. Technical support for development of a robust Resilience Strategy
3. Membership in a global network of member cities who can learn from and help each other.