Abstract | Wellington resilience strategy: Sustainability, resilience or both?

Wellington has just launched a new urban resilience strategy based on a global framework developed for the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities programme (100RC). The framework consists of a number of tools aiming to address challenges of globalisation, urbanisation and climate change in cities. The 100RC framework uses systems thinking to identify intervention points throughout the city system – people, places, networks and knowledge - and to increase their ability to cope and recover in a face of a shock or a stress by making the system more flexible, integrated, robust, resourceful, reflective and inclusive.

This paper outlines how Wellington applied and adapted this global framework to analyse local shocks and stresses and to develop 30 interventions in collaboration with key city stakeholders.

Particular focus is given to issues related to climate change and population growth and how these relate to water and ecosystem services in Wellington. The paper explores the relationship between concepts of resilience and sustainability, reviewing their origin and application and outlining key differences and similarities.

The conclusions in the paper outline and build on experience from other 100RC cities in the region: Christchurch, Melbourne and Sydney. Mike Mendonҫa, Wellington Chief Resilience Officer and Sam Kernaghan, Regional Manager for 100RC, have also contributed to the paper.

Bio | Marta Karlik-Neale

Marta is a sustainability and environmental management consultant with 15 years’ experience in Europe and New Zealand. She leads AECOM’s Sustainability and Resilience practice for New Zealand, specialising in environmental accounting (carbon footprints, LCAs etc.), infrastructure sustainability and climate change and resilience.

She studied economics and management in Poland, where she worked in communication and marketing. She also completed a Masters in Environmental Science with London University.

For the last year and a half Marta managed the development of the Wellington Resilience Strategy working closely with Wellington’s Chief Resilience Officer, Mike Mendonҫa and various 100RC experts.