El Salvador—Neighbors cleaning the mud and debris left by tropical storm Amanda. Pho: Carlos Diaz / Alamy Stock Photo Urban Resilience in the GFDRR Portfolio The importance of strengthening the resilience of cities is more for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International critical than ever, as unprecedented urbanization is transforming Development Association (IDA) resources. the planet and the way we live. The international development GFDRR conducted a comprehensive review of its urban resilience community has a unique window of opportunity to make cities grant portfolio from FY10-FY20 to systematically identify and and the urban poor more resilient. Sustainable Development Goal analyze urban resilience grants. Since 2010, GFDRR has funded No. 11 calls on the world to “Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient close to $200 million in grant resources (or 24% of total amount and sustainable.”  COP 21 highlighted the key role that urban areas of its FY10-20 grant financing), leveraging over US$12.7 billion play, not only in mitigating emissions but also in adapting to a in lending. This funding includes resources provided by the City changing climate.  The UN-Habitat III Conference in October 2016 Resilience Program (CRP), a partnership between GFDRR and in Quito, Ecuador also underscored the importance of resilience the World Bank which helps cities mobilize private capital for for the socio-economic and spatial development of cities and the resilience, drawing upon technical assistance, including rapid well-being of their citizens, especially the urban poor. capital assessments, financial advisory services, and access to The Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) is experts from the private sector. a major supporter of urban resilience globally, through the provision The analysis categorizes grants by resilience type, showcasing and funding of technical assistance, research and analytics, trends over the years to gain a deeper understanding of which knowledge management, and partnership building. GFDRR provides sources of GFDRR funding have been accessed and assess how urban resilience-related technical and financial support across these grants contribute to urban resilience. This brief note all regions served by the World Bank Group and has been able to provides a snapshot of the findings of the review and highlights inform lending operations, provide policy guidance, and leverage select GFDRR engagements which are illustrative of the Facility’s financing for urban resilience programs from International Bank work in urban resilience. GFDRR Urban Resilience Portfolio: By the Numbers F rom FY10-20, GFDRR urban resilience grants have been implemented in more than 88 countries as well as in more than 180 cities worldwide. The Africa region had the largest number of urban resilience grants, followed by East Asia and Pacific (EAP) and Latin America and Caribbean (LAC).➊ The Africa region also had the largest share of funding which accounted for approximately 31% of the total GFDRR funding, followed by global grants (18%), and EAP (18%). Interestingly, all regions allocated at least 25% of their regional allocation from GFDRR to urban resilience programs. Middle East and North Africa (MNA) allocated the largest share (47%) of its total GFDRR funding for urban resilience compared with other regions, followed by EAP (38%) and South Asia (32%). Urban resilience grants primarily funded and exchange; and (iii) post disaster (45% of the total number of grants) technical assistance and knowledge needs assessments (PDNA). Data and risk whereas 45% percent of the grants were and analytics. The analysis showed that assessment grants had the largest share linked to lending. The overwhelming there were 248 Technical Assistance with the total number of 43 grants and majority of these grants were linked to grants and 85 Knowledge and Analytics US$25.2 million in funding. investment project financing (IPF) (37% of grants amounting to US$153.5 and US$46 the total number of grants). million in funding respectively. Technical Urban resilience grant allocations trend Assistance grants were categorized into higher over time. Over the ten-year ➊ The desk review employed a three-tiered 6 types: (i) institutional resilience; (ii) period of the assessment, the amount system of categorizing 1,363 grants awarded by awarded for urban resilience grants GFDRR between FY10-20 seeking to understand physical resilience; (iii) social resilience; the degree of their contribution to scaling (iv) financial and economic resilience; (v) moved progressively upward. During the up urban resilience. 333 Tier 1 grants were emergency preparedness and response last 5 years (FY15-20), allocations for identified that that directly relate to urban (EP&R); and (vi) environmental resilience. urban resilience grants averaged US$29 resilience. These grants were selected based Grants supporting the institutionalization million per year, with a minor reduction on explicit mentioning of key words included in FY20 due to the closure of three major in grant titles and objectives: urban, city(ies), of urban resilience accounted for the municipalit(ies), local government, housing, largest share with 105 grants across the sources of funding. The upward trend was building regulations, territorial development, regions followed by physical resilience particularly noticeable for the Africa and and land use planning. The data also included grants (37) and social resilience grants LAC regions. However, in MNA, the funding 5 City Resilience Program (CRP) grants. (34). Grants supporting institutional allocation decreased over time. Activities flagged in the 2019 Urban Resilience Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) report resilience accounted for the highest Grants supported policy dialog and were considered following an evaluation of amount of funding as well, with the total grant objectives. Similarly, for the GFDRR grants lending for urban resilience. A little of US$71. 5 million. active between FY18 to FY20, grants which more than half of the urban resilience indicated a coverage level of sub-national, Knowledge and Analytics grants were grants (55%) were linked to non-lending municipal/city and local/community in the divided into three types: (i) data and risk activities, with advisory services and GFDRR M&E platform template were screened assessments; (ii) knowledge products analytics (ASAs) having the largest share following a review of grant objectives. Urban Resilience Grant by Type GFDRR Allocation to Urban Resilience Per Region ● Technical Assistance grants 248 (74%) ● GFDRR total allocation per region ● Knowledge and Analytics grants 85 (26%) $208.8 ● GFDRR allocation to urban resilience per region $184.8 $92.7 $61.8 $78.5 (30%) $64.7 $36.6 $35.5 $55.1 (20%) (38%) $18.9 $20.2 $20.5 $16.1 (26%) (32%) $8.9 (29%) (47%) Africa Global East Latin South Europe Middle Asia and America Asia and East and Pacific and the Central North Caribbean Asia Africa GFDRR Urban Resilience: Highlights We take a deep dive into several GFDRR engagements which are illustrative of our work in urban resilience. Developing comprehensive urban In Focus resilience strategies for Fez and Mohammedia, Morocco GRANT TYPE Institutional Resilience Rapid urbanization has fundamentally transformed Morocco’s Aerial view of Fez. Photo: Olena_Z society and economy. Today, 60 percent of Moroccans reside in urban areas, compared with 35 percent in 1970. At the same time, cities represent an even more outsized share of the country’s economic activities, and they now account for three- quarters of Morocco’s gross domestic product. In view of these demographic and economic trends, fortifying the resilience of Morocco’s cities to shocks and stresses will was to conduct in-depth diagnostic studies of the shocks and be key to advancing the country’s development prospects. In stresses associated with intensifying disaster and climate risks partnership with the World Bank and under the auspices of in Fez and Mohammedia. The team analyzed the intensity and the Japan–World Bank Program for Mainstreaming Disaster frequency of hazard events, appraised the sensitivity and coping Risk Management (DRM), GFDRR has supported communal and capacity of people and assets, and examined the institutional prefectural authorities in developing comprehensive resilience and regulatory framework for DRM in each urban center. A strategies for two of Morocco’s major urban centers, the major finding from the diagnostic studies for both Fez and Commune of Fez and the Prefecture of Mohammedia. Mohammedia is that there is a need for better coordination between the various agencies involved in disaster response, Drawing on several rounds of data collection and in-depth including civil protection and the communal and prefectural interviews with communal and prefectural officials and authorities. representatives from urban, hydraulic, education, health, and civil protection agencies, a key first step for the technical team The diagnostic studies have informed the development of resilience strategies by the Commune of Fez and Prefecture of Mohammedia, work that has since been completed. Both “There are a number of lessons learned from this exercise: the need for a shared territorial diagnosis, the importance strategies outline priority urban resilience actions as well as a to take into account risks in any new city building, and timeline, barriers to implementation, potential funding sources, prevention and preparation prior to a disaster cost less and a monitoring and evaluation plan. Some of the priority than recovery and reconstruction. In brief, it is crucial to urban resilience actions outlined by the Commune of Fez in its have the ‘culture of urban resilience’ as part of any decision resilience strategy include the launch of a climate adaptation affecting the urbanization of the city.” plan and support for capacity-building on nature-based solutions —Yahya Grari, Prefecture of Mohammedia, Morocco for DRM. Meanwhile, actions outlined by the Prefecture of Mohammedia include the development of a local strategic Urban Resilience Grant Allocations (FY10-FY20) $37.3 $33.4 $30.8 $28.6 $25.7 $16.4 $8.9 $9.0 $4.9 $2.9 $1.6 FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 Photo: zhudifeng GFDRR Urban Resilience: Highlights framework for flood risk and coastal erosion management and In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has not spared the integration of disaster awareness and risk training into the Morocco, the team rapidly adapted its engagement to support education curriculum. communal and prefectural authorities in ensuring that the strategies are fully responsive to the current health emergency, At a national level, the comprehensive urban resilience as well as to a future pandemic situation. As part of these efforts, strategies for Fez and Mohammedia are expected to inform the the team developed a knowledge note highlighting best practices Moroccan government’s policies, planning, and investment for and tools for health emergency response and preparedness resilience and DRM. In keeping with the government’s integrated in the urban resilience context of Morocco. One of the key DRM framework, it also anticipated that other urban centers will urban resilience actions outlined by the Commune of Fez in its look to the example set by Fez and Mohammedia in developing resilience strategy is to integrate lessons from the COVID-19 their own locally tailored urban resilience strategies. crisis into future urban development actions. Building In Focus urban resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa GRANT TYPE Institutional Resilience, Data and Risk Assessments Saint Louis, Senegal. Photo: Claudiovidri The world’s fastest urbanizing region, Sub-Saharan Africa, is home to over 30 cities, each with a population exceeding 2 million people. The population of cities across the region is growing at over 4 percent per year, about twice the global average. Yet, while urban growth is a key driver of economic progress in Sub-Saharan Africa, it is also bringing new challenges to the region’s development. For example, as cities expand without adequate planning, many have sprawled into that agenda forward, including the need to strengthen the solid river deltas, low-elevation coastal zones, and wetlands— waste management framework. And in Saint Louis, Senegal, areas that are highly prone to natural hazards such as floods, young academics—half of whom are women—have taken the landslides, and cyclones. Even in cities where adequate plans lead in collecting and analyzing geospatial data as part of Open exist, gaps in enforcement and investment mean that the risk of Cities Africa, an effort that is informing initiatives to reduce local sprawl into high-risk areas persists. communities’ exposure to natural hazards. Working in partnership with governments, the private sector, and Across the participating cities, technical teams are engaged civil society, GFDRR is providing support to nearly 30 cities in Sub-Saharan Africa to prepare for and adapt to the shocks and directly with both national and local officials to provide training stresses of rapid urbanization in a changing climate. In spite of and guidance to help leverage these insights into resilience- the unique set of challenges faced by coastal cities such as sea building policies and strategies. For instance, in Ethiopia, 50 level rise, erosion, and coastal flooding, over half of these cities city, regional, and federal officials attended training sessions that are on Africa’s coastline. Recognizing the increasing complexity featured real-world simulations for implementing the emergency of the disaster and climate risks confronted by cities, a key contingency plans informed by the analytical work. These sessions priority for GFDRR’s engagement is to support analytical work that were adapted to a virtual environment following the emergence provides a comprehensive picture not only of these risks, but also of COVID-19. In November 2019, technical teams engaged of the relevant legal, regulatory, and institutional frameworks for with experts and practitioners from 30 African countries at the addressing these risks—with an eye to driving resilience-building Understanding Risk (UR) West and Central Africa Conference in policies and strategies at both a national level and a local one. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, covering key challenges in urban resilience To cite just a few examples: in Gondar and Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, a ranging from disaster risk financing to coastal adaptation. technical team used a scalable methodology to conduct multi- The analytical work made possible through GFDRR’s support is hazard assessments that have informed the development of already informing close to a dozen World Bank lending operations emergency contingency plans in the two cities. in Africa. Among them are the $500 million, IDA-funded Kinshasa In Comoros, a team engaged with nearly 300 stakeholders Multisector Development and Resilience Project; the $315 million, on a comprehensive urbanization review that unpacked the IDA-funded Urban Resilience and Solid Waste Management Project challenges and opportunities in the national government’s urban in Côte d’Ivoire; and the $265 million, IDA-funded Mozambique resilience agenda and offered seven recommendations to take Disaster Risk Management and Resilience Program. GFDRR Urban Resilience: Highlights Managing transport In Focus assets for resilience in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Ulaanbaatar. Photo: Jaturun Phuengphuttharak GRANT TYPE Physical Resilience Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, is a dynamic urban center in one of the least densely populated countries in the world. The city has seen marked population growth over the past decade, buoyed by a steady stream of internal migrants who are drawn to the opportunities of living and working in the country’s political, financial, and economic hub. Since 2010, over 125,000 people have arrived in Ulaanbaatar, bringing its total population to 1.4 million. traffic signals and signs, pedestrian facilities, and bridges. This A linchpin of the city’s economic development, Ulaanbaatar’s inventory will help officials track the location and condition of transport system is facing increasing stress from its rising these assets, and maintain them and invest accordingly. population, which is likely to be exacerbated by the impacts of climate change. Despite improvements in recent years, its As a first step, this initiative piloted a crowdsourced mapping transport infrastructure still faces major challenges in access campaign, which mobilized residents of Ulaanbaatar to take and connectivity, including in its underdeveloped road network. street-view images of their city. Combined with the efforts of hired drivers, the public campaign mapped all 1,100 kilometers of paved streets in Ulaanbaatar and collected 340,000 street- “In recent years, the Municipality of Ulaanbaatar view images. has initiated and implemented a number of transport infrastructure investment projects. With the harsh climatic Following the mapping campaign, a technical team is partnering conditions and increasing frequency of climate-related with a consulting firm to build a tool to automate the process disasters, the existing infrastructure is prone to rapid degradation. The World Bank support in this regard is timely of classifying the conditions of these transport assets using and will benefit both public officials managing the city’s street-view images. The city will be able to use the tool in the transport assets and residents who rely on them daily.” future to update the conditions of assets in the inventory with —J. Togtokhbayar, Director of the Road Development Authority transparency and little cost. of Ulaanbaatar In conjunction with this work, the technical team is also helping the municipality develop its first-ever transport asset Both the central government of Mongolia and the Municipality of management plan for climate resilience. This plan, of which a Ulaanbaatar strongly recognize the importance of bolstering the first draft has been completed, will help municipal authorities long-term resilience of the city’s transport infrastructure. GFDRR optimize the use of financial resources in the maintenance and is supporting the municipality in building the city’s first-ever repairs of their transport assets, thus minimizing risks and comprehensive inventory of transport assets, such as roads, losses in the transport sector from climate-related disasters. Understanding and tackling to strengthen resilience at the municipal level is underway in In Focus Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama. disaster risks in Central American These efforts include development of disaster risk management municipalities frameworks and draw upon the Central America Urbanization Review, which provided a comprehensive assessment of country- GRANT TYPE Institutional Resilience level strategies and priorities. Well above half of Central America’s people now reside in urban National and local authorities across the region are increasingly areas, and that figure is projected to rise to 7 out of 10 people within taking action toward assessing and understanding disaster a generation. This rapid process of often unplanned urbanization, risks. Examples include a pilot study of landslide hazards in compounded by the impacts of climate change, is leaving more metropolitan Guatemala City and a flooding risk analysis of the people and assets exposed and vulnerable to natural hazards. Tocumen River watershed in Panama. In Honduras’s Sulla Valley, municipal authorities are undertaking a risk analysis which Funded through the Japan–World Bank Program for considers the hazards that affect indigenous populations, an Mainstreaming DRM, assistance for national and local authorities approach which could be replicated elsewhere in the region. GFDRR Urban Resilience: Highlights Guatemala City. Photo: Oliver Wintzen The development of municipal risk information is driving 1,000 officials and other key stakeholders from the private policy planning and dialogue for resilience at every level sector and civil society have participated in training activities of government. In Guatemala, the pilot study of landslide on risk assessments and methodologies. In both Honduras and hazards in Guatemala City is beginning to inform land use Guatemala, these activities have proved critical to ongoing and risk reduction planning by the Mancomunidad del Sur, an efforts to institutionalize minimum standards for assessing local association of six municipalities. At the same time, the pilot risks at the municipal level. study has also helped cast the spotlight on the importance of GFDRR funding for this initiative has informed the following understanding risk at the municipal level, informing ongoing World Bank lending operations: an IBRD-funded Disaster Risk discussions around proposed reforms to the country’s disaster Management Development Policy Loan with a Catastrophe risk management law. Deferred Drawdown Option (Cat DDO) for Guatemala, the Technical assistance and training activities are also helping IDA-funded Honduras Disaster Risk Management Project, and national and local leaders improve risk assessment and the IBRD-funded Panama City Waterfront Redevelopment and territorial planning, and to make better use of the information Resilience Program. collected in order to advance municipal resilience. Nearly www.gfdrr.org