100 Resilient Cities (100RC), pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation, announced a new partnership with MWH Global, which will provide advisory and technical support services to improve water and wastewater systems and address other water-related risks in 100RC member cities. MWH is joining 100RC’s “Platform Partners”—a group of organizations from the public, private and nonprofit sectors that provide critical tools to help cities around the world become more resilient to the shocks and stresses that are a growing part of the 21st century.
“A focus on access to clean drinking water, flood mitigation and effective wastewater systems is something shared by many of our cities around the world,” said Michael Berkowitz, president of 100 Resilient Cities. “Through our partnership with an industry leader like MWH Global, our member cities will become more resilient by planning for and addressing the impacts of these shocks before they even occur.”
“We are excited to be part of such a globally significant initiative,” said Loren Labovitch, director of emerging market growth for MWH Global. “We look forward to working with 100RC and the other platform partners to help cities throughout the world develop and deliver effective resilience strategies.”
With experience working in cities such as Toowoomba, Australia and Lyons, Colo., on the assessment, planning and execution of flood prevention strategies, the partnership with MWH Global will be dedicated to helping cities reduce their vulnerability to water-related risks, strengthen institutional capacity and promote integrated planning. Bringing a range of expertise to the 100RC program, from risk and resilience specialists and management consultants to urban planners and engineers, MWH will provide individualized guidance to help cities develop solutions that are tailored to meet their unique needs.
Through the 100RC Network, cities partnering with MWH will receive:
- Assistance with assessing and prioritizing water and wastewater infrastructure-related challenges and enhancing flood management systems and integrated community development;
- Aid in improving the function of man-made and natural assets that are important to reducing vulnerability and ensuring success of critical systems;
- Support in developing tactics to counter water-related risks through urban planning, infrastructure and economic development priorities; and
- Guidance on a range of institutional and financial issues important to 100RC cities, to help design and implement the cities’ long-term resilience strategies.
Platform partners are dedicated to providing 100RC Network cities with solutions that integrate big data, analytics, technology, resilience land use planning, infrastructure design and new financing and insuring products. These partners are a vital component of 100RC’s efforts, both helping provide cities with tools they need to build resilience, and also influencing the market as other resilience tools are developed. Other 100RC Platform Partners include Swiss Re, Palantir, the World Bank, Cities Alliance, the American Institute of Architects and Microsoft. A full list of platform partners can be found here.
Source: MWH Global
