ECPA Ministerial Dialogue Series: Building Urban Resilience
Latin America and the Caribbean is the world’s most urbanized region, where about 80 percent of the population lives in cities. By 2050, UN-Habitat predicts that the cities in the Americas will include 90 percent of the region’s population. As urbanization expands, cities are faced with a broad range of challenges that become more complex in the face of extreme events such as fires, droughts, hurricanes and floods. Strengthening the capacity of cities to respond to these threats can improve their ability to prepare for and anticipate hazards, adapt to changing conditions, withstand adverse phenomena and rapidly recover from disruptions.
This Ministerial dialogue will provide a space to discuss the economic, social and environmental challenges of building resilient cities based on the region’s best practices and lessons learned.
Welcome and Introduction
Juan Cruz Monticelli
Section Chief, Sustainable Energy
Department of Sustainable Development
Organization of American States (OAS)
Keynote speaker
Dr. Howard H. Harary
Director, Engineering Laboratory (NIST). See presentation, here.
Panel Discussion: Building Urban Resilience
Moderator: Dr. Arnoldo Matus Kramer, Co-Founder and Partner, Ithaca Environmental and Former CRO 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) Mexico City.
- Dr. Therese P. McAllister, Community Resilience Group Leader and Program Manager – NIST. See presentation, here.
- Dr. Judith Mitrani, Director of Disaster and Failure Studies -NIST. See presentation, here.
- Dr. Felipe Machado, Director, Chilean Institute for Disaster Resilience, Itrend -Chile. See presentation, here.
- Eng. María G. Benítez, Deputy Director, National Unit for Disaster Risk Management, UNGRD, Col. See presentation, here.
- Eng. Gilliard Terrence, Chief Energy Science and Technology Officer, Department of Infrastructure, Ports and Energy, Saint Lucia. See presentation, here.
