‘The draft Resilience Strategy is now available for public comment. It focuses on the need to create partnerships across government, business, community organisations, academia and households to build our collective resilience. The recent drought tested the resilience of our city and residents and it was only through a comprehensive societal response and the heroic efforts of households and businesses to reduce consumption, that we’ve avoided the worst outcome.

‘We’ve used this experience to reflect and learn from it. We’ve consulted with other cities around the world, as well as with thousands of Capetonians over the past 18 months in devising the strategy. I now call on all who live and work in Cape Town to comment on this strategy which is aimed at protecting our future and ensuring that we’re able to adapt to and make use of the opportunities that unforeseen shocks and challenges may bring in the years ahead,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Corporate Services, Councillor Sharon Cottle.

The strategy describes resilience as the capacity of individuals, households, communities, institutions, businesses and systems within Cape Town to survive, adapt, and thrive, no matter what kind of chronic stresses and acute shocks we experience. 

Cape Town is facing chronic stresses as a result of the legacy of apartheid, among which inequality, spatial divides and a lack of social cohesion. Being at the tip of Africa, and with a coastline of 307 km in length, Cape Town is exposed to extreme weather. As climate change intensifies, the city will become increasingly vulnerable to weather-related shock events such as increased heat and decreased rainfall, and the chronic stresses of inequality, spatial divides and a lack of social cohesion will exacerbate the effects of these shocks when they occur.

The strategy identifies a range of resilience-building actions that are needed and makes the case that these actions need to be owned by a multitude of partners across the city, from individuals, to communities and institutions, to business, and the City government itself.

The strategy is based on five pillars with 20 goals and 65 actions:

• Building a compassionate, holistically-healthy city: Capetonians face a high level of trauma due to the legacy of apartheid, high crime rates, substance abuse and poverty. This pillar focuses on a collaborative and holistic approach to building a healthier city by improving access to mental health services and nutritious food, strengthening social cohesion and preventing the intergenerational transfer of trauma.
• Building a connected, climate-adaptive city: Cape Town’s unique geography makes it vulnerable to climate change. Poverty, inequality, food insecurity and a lack of social cohesion can exacerbate the impact with residents in informal settlements and backyards often being the most vulnerable. This pillar focuses on overcoming spatial legacies through partnerships across communities, the city, and the region so that we can enact climate adaptive measures to building urban resilience that include improved mobility, place-making, and social cohesion.
• Building a capable, job-creating city: Apart from resource constraints, shock events can affect supply chains and productivity. Rapid technological change can exclude more work seekers, while attracting new investment becomes more competitive due to globalisation. The city must be able to sustain and grow new opportunities despite of and in the midst of constant change. A resilient Cape Town can overcome risks and turn these into new market advantages, making the city more attractive for growth and investment.
• Building a collectively, shock-ready city: Cape Town is facing a rapidly changing urban environment due to climate change, urbanisation, rapid technological change and globalisation. The shocks are varied beyond what we are commonly prepared for and the scale and impact of the shocks are more complex. This pillar focuses on building the capacity of individuals, households, and communities to respond to shocks with a particular focus on vulnerable households and communities.
• Building a collaborative, forward-thinking City of Cape Town administration: Shocks and stresses can affect the City government’s ability to deliver services and meeting its transformation goals. This pillar focuses on how the local government will work with other spheres of government, data providers, technology partners, modellers and researchers to improve key City systems and to mainstream resilience as part of our planning and decision-making processes.

Furthermore, the draft Resilience Strategy responds to a list of prioritised shocks, namely: drought, fire, financial and economic crises, heat waves, infrastructure failures, power outages, flooding due to rainfall, and civil unrest. It also responds to a list of prioritised stresses, namely: climate change, crime and violence, food insecurity, insecure municipal finances, informal settlements, a lack of social cohesion, rapid urbanisation, substance abuse, traffic congestion, trauma, and unemployment.

The strategy also provides a City Resilience Index (CRI) which is a baseline understanding of resilience in Cape Town at the moment, and an indication of where we should focus our attention on improving future resilience, namely livelihoods and employment; empowered stakeholders, security and rule of law; and a lack of a collective identity and community support.

The strategy describes a resilient Cape Town as a compassionate, connected, and capable city where Capetonians collaborate across households, communities and institutions, to build collective responses to the current and future social, environmental and economic challenges.

The strategy combines input from other resilience-oriented cities around the world. In May 2016 Cape Town was selected to be part of the 100 Resilience Cities (100RC) network of 100 cities across the world that are committed to building resilience around the social, economic and physical challenges of the 21st century. The 100RC network supports cities with financing and technical assistance, and as a member of this network Cape Town is continuously exchanging ideas with cities worldwide about the most effective ways to build resilience.

The City has also engaged with a number of local stakeholders. Up to 11 000 face-to-face interviews were conducted with Capetonians in informal settlements and backyards and nine focus groups were held with no less than a 140 experts across nine focus groups, inclusive of community conversations.

‘Capetonians are at the heart of building our city’s resilience. There is much work to be done, especially with overcoming divides and building social cohesion. We will be much better prepared and equipped to respond to shocks and stresses if we have stronger social cohesion in the city,’ said Councillor Cottle.

It is important to understand that building resilience is a process, and one that will require constant review and adaptations as new challenges arise. Planning for disruptions even if they do not occur, can create new opportunities with social, environmental, and economic benefits.

‘Apart from individuals and communities, we are also calling on all spheres of government, business, academia and community-based organisations to build their own capacity to understand and manage vulnerabilities, interdependencies, and risks for everybody in Cape Town. We need them to be innovative, and to take the lead in improving the wellbeing and prosperity of our city and residents,’ said Councillor Cottle.

The draft strategy is available for public comment until 14 June 2019, and can be accessed as follows:

• Online, at www.capetown.gov.za/haveyoursay
• At the 24 subcouncil offices
• At all City libraries

Written submissions can be posted to the Public Participation Department; 3rd Floor, Foyer H; Podium Block; 12 Hertzog Boulevard; Cape Town; 8001.

‘The City is applying new knowledge and innovative solutions to absorb and overcome future shock events, but in the end, it will be the collective resilience of our residents and society at large, that will pull us through and let us thrive. The strategy is our invitation and commitment to partner with each Capetonian to building a more resilient future,’ said Councillor Cottle.

End