The OECD Blue Cities Project Building a sustainable blue economy in cities through the RISC-proof approach

Contents The OECD Blue Cities Project ................................................................................................................... 1

What is the issue?................................................................................................................................... 2

Why now? .............................................................................................................................................. 4

What should cities aim for? ..................................................................................................................... 5

At which scale?....................................................................................................................................... 8

How? Water governance as a means to an end ........................................................................................ 9

Moving forward.....................................................................................................................................10

Annex A. List of cities interviewed ..........................................................................................................12

What is the issue? Within the blue economy, water is a vector for economic growth, social well-being and ecosystem

preservation. While increasing attention has been paid to the blue economy over the past decades, no

universal definition has been agreed upon. Nevertheless, many definitions tend to comprise all economic

activities related to oceans, seas and coasts , covering a wide range of interlinked sectors , and include non-marketed economic benefits, such as carbon storage, coastal protection, cultural values and biodiver sity.

The blue economy is still an emerging concept for many countries, but it holds great potential for economic

value and job creation. According to the European Commission, if the global blue economy were a country, it

would be the seventh-largest in the world, and the ocean as an economic entity would be a member of the G7

(European Commission, 2021). In Europe alone, the ocean economy provides 4.5 mill ion direct jobs. The

worldwide ocean economy was conservatively valued at around USD 1.5 tril l ion per year in 2010 (OECD, 2016). In a business-as-usual scenario, ocean-based industries were anticipated to employ more than 40 million

people (around 1% of the global workforce) by 2030. However, the COVID-19 pandemic had a strong impact

on job growth in key blue economy sectors such as coastal tourism, transport and trade. The green recovery

from COVID-19 provides a unique opportunity to rethink the role of both freshwater and the marine

environment as a driver for sustainable development.

Extreme water-related events are increasingly putting economies at risk, while water pollution from land-

based sources, such as waste and sewage disposal, negatively affects human health and ecosystems. Over

70% of the consequences of climate change manifest themselves in water . By the 2030s, in the absence of

adaptation, coastal flood risk is projected to increase by a factor of four, while fluvial flood risk could more than

double (Sadoff et al., 2015). By 2050, the number of people l iving in severely water-stressed areas will double

to 3.9 bil l ion people, intensifying competition over water allocation across users (OECD, 2012). Moreover, the

lack of clean water l imits economic growth by one-third (World Bank, 2019), and polluted marine environments

directly affect bil l ions of people worldwide that rely on the ocean to provide jobs and food (World Bank, 2016).

Many of these water risks occur in cities and will be exacerbated by climate change, demographic growth

and rampant urbanisation. With a projected world population of 9.7 bil l ion by 2050, of which 55% will be l iving

in cities, demand for water is set to rise by 55% due to growing demand from manufacturing (+400%), thermal

electricity generation (+140%) and domestic use (+130%) (OECD, 2012). Megacities, which will rise from 33 to

43 in 2030, are mostly located in coastal zones with generally higher population dens ities (UN DESA, 2018). By

2050, over 570 low-lying coastal cities will face projected sea level rise by at least 0.5 metres, putting over 800

mill ion people at risk. Annual flood damage to urban property alone amounts to over USD 120 bil l ion annually,

of which around half in North America (Sadoff et al., 2015). The costs of sea-level rise could rise to tril l ions of

dollars a year in damages by 2100 (C40 Cities, 2018). In addition, 50% of solid waste comes from cities and an

estimated 60% of plastic marine debris derives from urban centres. Water pollution was identified as a

challenge for 75% of 48 cities surveyed by the OECD (2016), despite progress on water quality. On the other

hand, almost EUR 500 bil l ion worth of ecosystem services are generated within a 10 km coastal zone in the EU

alone (European Commission, 2021).

Cities have a key role to play in fostering a sustainable blue economy. First, a wide range of blue economic

activities such as tourism, fishing and aquaculture take place and provide employment at the local level.

Second, how cities build resil ience to water-related risks directly impacts their ability to carry out blue

economic activities: for example, nature-based solutions can restore the natural drainage capacity of cities,

avoiding urban flooding. Third, core city competences such as land use, spatial planning and waste

management, among others, greatly affect the level of water security and quality which, in turn, affects the

blue economy. For instance, habitat degradation from sand harvesting, mangrove deforestation, coastal

development and poor land use practices, as well as litter and especially plastics, damage marine environments and the ecosystem services that they provide.

Three main issues hinder the “localisation” of the blue economy:

► The traditional approach to the blue economy has been extensively applied nationally and

internationally, with little consideration for local aspects. Despite the relevance of a localised

approach to the blue economy, l ittle attention has been paid to the blue economy in cities. First

raised at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in 2012, the blue

economy gained traction with the dedication of a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 14) to

“conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources ”. In 2017, the UN declared a

Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) to support the blue economy

among other objectives. The new EU approach to a sustainable blue economy “Transforming the EU's

Blue Economy for a Sustainable Future” (European Commission, 2021), mentions that coastal cities

should be supported in the recovery from COVID-19. Recently, UN-Habitat (2018) recognised cities

as being at the forefront of the blue economy. However, dedicated strategies and frameworks are

lacking at the local level.

► Blue economy definitions usually refer to the marine environment, but more recent approaches

encompass all waterbodies, highlighting the need for a functional city-basin approach to ensure

both economic growth and environmental preservation. While the OECD has specifically focused on

the ocean economy (OECD, 2016; OECD, 2020), the World Bank1 and European Commission2

definitions of the blue economy englobe oceans, seas and coasts. The term is generally used to

describe a sustainable development approach to coastal resources. This can include a wide range of

economic sectors, from the more conventional fisheries, aquaculture, maritime transport, port

activities, and coastal, maritime and fluvial tourism, to emerging activities such as tidal energy,

marine ecosystem services (e.g. blue carbon), seabed mining and desalination. UN-Habitat (2018)

suggests to expand the concept to all waterbodies, including lakes and rivers. This approach seeks to

“promote economic growth, responsi ble production and consumption […] through the circular

economy”. As such, a functional approach is key to addressing l inkages between coastal and inland

urban areas, where most people l ive, and the surrounding environments (rural and watersheds) that

sustain them.

► The logic of “water for water policies” hinders a holistic approach to water in relation to economic

growth and climate change. At local level, water policies focus on providing access to safe drinking

water and sanitation services, and managing water resources to ensure adequate quantity and

quality to users. However, water policies are often developed in a silo that is disconnected from the

urban economic growth and climate agendas. Water policy often lacks a proactive approach, and only

gains prominence on the political agenda as response to extreme water-related events. This reactive

approach fails to consider the reciprocal relationship between climate change mitigation measures

and water: measures in sectors such as energy and agriculture have an impact on water resources

and, conversely, water management policies can influence greenhouse gas emissions associated with

different sectors (IPCC, 2018). The IPCC (2021) highlights the link between land use and the water

cycle at global and local level, since land-use change is responsible for about 15% of CO2 emissions from human activities, affecting precipitation, evaporation, and plant transpiration.

1 According to the World Bank, the blue economy is the “sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystem”. 2 The European Commission defines the blue economy as “a l l economic activities related to oceans, seas and coasts”.

Why now? There is increasing momentum for cities to take action towards a blue economy.

► In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the blue economy has significant potential to contribute to the

green recovery (European Commission, 2020). Although sectors such as coastal and marine tourism, as

well as fisheries and aquaculture are severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, the green recovery

can “improve resil ience, boost economic activity, generate income, create jobs, and reduce inequalities”

(OECD, 2020). However, water is poorly represented in recovery packages, accounting for around 8% of

environmentally positive funding and measures (OECD, 2021). Governments have allocated USD 336

bil l ion to environmentally positive recovery measures, but this amount is close to evenly matched by

measures with negative or mixed environmental impacts.

► Water has an essential role to play in achieving Paris Agreement temperature targets at the local level.

The use, storage, distribution and treatment of water and wastewater contributes to about 10% of global

greenhouse gas emissions (GIZ, 2020). The world’s oceans increasingly act as a carbon sink, absorbing at

least 25% of global CO2 emissions, but this negatively affects marine ecosystems via ocean acidification.

By shifting to circular water systems that mitigate GHG emissions and pollution, cities can ensure that

freshwater becomes a source of net-positive renewable energy and that oceans continue delivering the

ecosystem services needed for climate mitigation and adaptation.

► Cities can significantly contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. At least

105 of the 169 SDG targets will not be reached without proper engagement and coordination with local

and regional governments (OECD, 2020). By taking action towards achieving the targets of SDGS 6, 11 and

14, call ing for “clean water and sanitation for all (SDG 6), “inclusive, safe, resil ient and sustainable” cities

(SDG 11), and “conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable

development” (SDG 14), Blue Cities can als o contribute to the achievement of SDGs 1 (poverty), 3 (health

and well-being), 7 (energy), 8 (decent work and economic growth), 9 (industry, innovation and

infrastructure), 10 (inequalities), 12 (responsible consumption and production), 13 (climate action), 15 (land) and 17 (partnerships).

What should cities aim for? Cities should foster a blue economy that is Resilient to shocks and risks; Inclusive, by providing job

opportunities and protecting the most vulnerable from water-related risks; Sustainable environmental ly,

preserving natural ecosystems; and Circular, in order to l imit resource extraction by closing material loops, to

tackle pollution, by halving plastic litter and to create new material from waste. In a nutshell, Blue Cities should adopt a RISC-proof approach.

Resilience

Resilience is the ability to absorb, recover and prepare for future water-related economic, environmental,

social and institutional shocks or risks. Cities are major contributors to national economies and play a key role

as nodes in the global markets. As cities become increasingly exposed to the risks of “too much”, “too little”

and “too polluted” water, the question of which governance frameworks can foster greater resil ience and help

adapt to changing circumstances – a question that has been starkly highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic –

is particularly important for cities to prepare for the future. For instance, in the tourism sector, the pandemic

exposed the sector’s structural shortcomings and vulnerability to external shocks (OECD, 2020). According to

a 2016 OECD survey of 48 cities, 92% were concerned about ageing and obsolete infrastructure/lack of

infrastructure; 90% about national laws and regulations; 81% about extreme events; and 79% abo ut climate

change (OECD, 2016).

To increase its resil ience after flooding in 2011, the city of Copenhagen, Denmark, unlocked the funding

required to build resil ient urban drainage. As part of the Cloudburst Plan, green -blue infrastructure is

preferred over grey infrastructure as much as possible. As a result of this and of construction work enhancing

retention capacity along the harbour initiated in the 1970s, sewage system overflow has reduced, and new

economic activities around the harbour (e.g. bars and restaurants) have flourished since the achievement of

bathing water quality in the early 2000s. Following the 2011 terrorist attack, Oslo, Norway increasingly

integrates water risks assessments in planning to reduce its water vulnerability. The city unlocked an

unprecedented investment of EUR 2 bil l ion for a drinking water treatment plant to ensure greater capacity to

provide drinking water to its fast-growing population in the case of a crisis.

Inclusiveness

Inclusiveness concerns the ability of cities to reduce inequalities and enhance well -being by creating job

opportunities from the blue economy and protecting the most vulnerable from water-related risks. Job

opportunities can stem from a wide array of activities, including shipping, fishing, tidal and offshore energy

generation, land-based aquaculture and algae production, coastal and fluvial tourism, bio-technology and

desalination. For example, in the Autonomous Region of Andalusia, Spain, the ocean economy accounts for

around 10% of workers and 10.5% of GDP (Lil lo, 2021). The port of Málaga, Spain and supporting industries

alone cover 200 companies. However, there is room for improvement in terms of capacity development in

these sectors for youth and women – an issue being addressed by the European Commission’s European

Maritime, Aquaculture and Fisheries Fund, which issued a call for proposals on blue careers aiming at

increasing women’s representation in the workforce and raising their profile in the formal governance of the

blue economy.

On the other hand, an inclusive blue economy is one that is able to incorporate l ivelihoods within blue carbon

projects, by involving local communities from project design to planning and implementation (Wylie, Sutton-

Grier and Moore, 2016). These projects incorporate the needs of local communities, identify direct benefits

for the community, manage trade-offs and ensure that increased protection in one area does not translate

into greater exploitation in another.

In addition, a blue economy cannot develop in places where water availability or quality is intermittent.

Informal settlements in cities , in which approximately 29% of the global urban population lives (UN-Habitat,

2018), face significantly higher risks of suffering the effects of floods, landslides and other natural disasters,

as many informal settlements are on floodplains and riverbanks, and consist of very closely-built structures

which can disturb natural land drainage patterns and water -courses. Water pollution is also an increasing

source of concern in cities across the world. To prevent the pollution of drinking and bathing water, the city

of Oslo, Norway, introduced a permit system for polluting industries to discharge their used water to the

treatment system. As a result, many industries have pre-treatment plants to enable water treatment before

discharge into the municipal system. Micropollutants are, however, an increasing source of concern, as pre-

treatment plant technologies struggle to retain them, and their presence in the sludge produced from treated

wastewater and going to agriculture poses a threat to human health.

Sustainability

Sustainability constitutes the ability of cities to maximise blue economy benefits while l imiting the blue economy’s impact on waterbodies and ecosystem services. Preserving and restoring coastal vegetation systems such as tidal marshes, mangroves and seagrasses, which act as carbon sinks and natural buffers

between water and land, can considerably contribute to climate mitigation and adaptation (European Commission, 2021). In the framework of the Climate Action Plan of the city of Salvador, Brazil, considers natural assets such as mangroves and coral reefs as beneficial for tourism and climate resil ience alike, and aims to implement a coastal management system to protect these ass ets from environmental damage.

Land use planning can help avoid habitat degradation, which diminishes the ecosystem services provided by marine and non-marine environments. Land use planning rules can incentivise nature-based solutions such green roofs or gardens to retain rainwater and reduce surface run-off; bioswales and tree pits can reduce

impervious paved surfaces and create green infi ltration zones, allowing rainwater soak into the subsurface and groundwater restoration; and the use of storage or detention basins can prevent floods. For example, the city of Hoboken, United States, implemented its Green Infrastructure Strategic Plan to bring forth substantial amounts of green infrastructure to curb coastal flooding and storm surge. City planners in

Portland, United States, take a holistic approach to assess the impact of natural risks (e.g. from wildfires, landslide and heat domes) on the city’s infrastructure, including water infrastructure. Green infrastructure is typically used to maintain and improve water quality at the watershed level and limit s ewer and surface flooding risks.

Circularity

Circularity refers to the ability of cities to l imit resource extraction by closing material loops, to tackle pollution by halving plastic l itter, and to create new material from waste. A total of 80% of marine pollution comes from land-based sources, such as untreated sewage, including plastics (UNEP, 2021). By reducing waste generation,

keeping resources in use for as long as possible, and transforming waste into resources, the circular economy can help tackle the mismanagement of plastic residuals, as well as create new materials that reduce the need for resource extraction. For example, the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, Spain, in its “Green and Circular

Economy Promotion Programme” (2019), incorporates water as a key sector for the circular economy, along with solar energy, energy efficiency, recycling and food. The Programme identifies innovation opportunities related to water in the food sector (using alternative resources l ike rainwater or ground water for efficient irrigation); in the chemistry, energy and resources sectors (through innovation in wastewater treatment and

resource recovery); and in the design sector, promoting a water saving culture (cisterns, wells, irrigation channels). The city of Rotterdam, Netherlands, aims to have a fully circular and climate-resilient water system by 2050, building on current projects that reuse wastewater and recover phosphate, cellulos e, bioplastic and energy from wastewater. These materials could potentially be sold to local farms later on, for instance, as

fertil iser, should new or updated legislation enable to do so. One of the city’s key initiatives is BlueCity, a platform and accelerator for circular entrepreneurs. It aims to contribute to the climate and resil ience agendas. The start-ups and initiatives hosted within BlueCity will contribute to reducing pollution by reusing

existing products and materials, thus reducing plastic pol lution among others.

The RISC-proof approach

At which scale? Water boundaries cut across administrative perimeters. As such a “functional” approach is needed to map centres of water demand (urban areas where most people l ive) and water supply (the surrounding environments where point sources are located) and to consider relevant scales that combine

administrative and hydrological considerations.

Source: OECD (2016)

Several countries have set up river basin organisations to manage water within integrated basin governance systems. River basin organisations are official organisations set up by political authorities

or in response to stakeholders’ demands or legal requirements. As administrative and hydrologic perimeters do not coincide in most cases, a diversity of situations can be observed in terms of how many river basin organisations operate within a city’s perimeter (from one to more than three; see Figure below). According to a 2016 OECD survey across 48 cities, river basin organisations carry out

different water-related tasks such as monitoring (85%), data collection (81%), as well as co-ordination, planning and stakeholder engagement (above 60%) (OECD, 2016).

Cities usually take part in the governance of the RBOs in several ways: by sitting in the directive committees (Belo Horizonte, Calgary, Grenoble, Lisbon, Nantes, New York City, Oslo, Prague, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Toluca, Zaragoza); voting or taking decisions (Culiacan); participating in meetings

(Athens, Mexico City, Naples); being consulted for river basin plans (Edinburgh, Glasgow); and/or advising the committee (Malaga, Queretaro). Such collaboration can lead to joint exploration of blue economy activities requiring adequate planning of water use, quality and preservation at the basin

level (OECD, 2016).

How? Water governance as a means to an end

Efficient, effective and inclusive water governance is key to unlock the potential of a blue economy in cities. Coping with current and future challenges requires robust public policies , targeting measurable objectives in pre-determined time-schedules at the appropriate scale, relying on a clear assignment of duties across

responsible authorities and subject to regular monitoring and evaluation. To unlock the benefits of a Resil ient, Inclusive, Sustainable and Circular (RISC) blue economy in cities, governance challenges should be overcome, such as: i) Lack of effective and updated integration across land use, transport, environmental management,

housing and solid waste; i i) Lack of strategic vision towards intergenerational equity and resil ience to climate change; and, i i i) Fragmentation of urban water management, with conflicting interests and overlapping responsibilities across multiple government levels, communities and economic sector s; and vi) Different technical, human and financial capacities of subnational governments to respond to water challenges.

The OECD Principles on Water Governance aim to enhance water governance systems that help manage “too much”, “too little” and “too polluted” water in a sustainable, integrated and inclusive way, at an acceptable

cost, and in a reasonable time-frame (OECD, 2015). The Principles consider that governance is good if it can help to solve key water challenges, using a combination of bottom-up and top-down processes while fostering constructive state-society relations; and bad if it generates undue transaction costs and does not respond to place-based needs. They provide a framework to understand whether water governance systems are

performing optimally and help to adjust them where necessary.

The OECD Principles on Water Governance

Source: OECD, 2015

Moving forward To address water-related risks and unlock the benefits of blue cities in a systemic way, good governance is

key, especially in terms of cross-sectoral policy integration and horizontal coordination between local,

regional and national governments and stakeholders.

The OECD Blue Cities Project will support interested cities and basin authorities through:

► Learning: engaging multi -level policy dialogues in cities and basins to identify challenges and

opportunities for the blue economy applying the RISC-proof approach.

► Sharing: favouring peer-to-peer learning, national -subnational exchanges, best practice and lessons

from international experience across cities and basins to strengthen the link between blue economy

and green recovery.

► Measuring: collecting and analysing data on the state of the art and progress of cities and basins

towards the RISC-proof approach.

► Guiding: defining policy recommendations, action plans and checklist for action for blue cities.

The OECD Blue Cities Project builds on the work carried out within the OECD Programme on Water Governance,

the OECD Programme on the Circular Economy in Cities and Regions, and broader OECD work on urban policies

and green growth studies within the Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities . An overview of

the policy dialogues, benchmarking across cities on water and circular economy, networking platforms and

standards is provided below. This note benefitted from ad hoc interviews with city representatives held in 2020 and 2021 (Annex A).

Policy Dialogues

Benchmarking across cities

► The OECD has accompanied several countries in their efforts to reform water policies as a means to

achieve sustainable development through Water Policy Dialogues in Peru (2021), Argentina (2019), Brazil (2015, 2017 and forthcoming), the Netherlands (2014), Jordan (2014), Tunisia (2014)

and Mexico (2013). ► The OECD Programme on the Circular Economy in

Cities and Regions is supporting the definition of

► The OECD Water Governance in Cities report (2016) analysed key factors affecting urban water

governance, trends in allocating roles and responsibilities across levels of government, and multi-level governance gaps in urban water management. It built on a survey of 48 cities in OECD

countries and emerging economies. ► The OECD Synthesis Report the Circular Economy in

Cities and Regions (2020) provides a compendium of

circular economy strategies through multi -

stakeholder processes in seven cities and two countries: Umea (Sweden); Groningen (Netherlands); Valladolid and Granada (Spain), Glasgow (UK), Montreal (Canada), Tallinn

(Estonia), Ireland and Italy.

circular economy good practices, obstacles and

opportunities, building on a survey of 51 cities and regions in Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific.

► The OECD Water Governance in African Cities (2021) report provides a regional overview of urban water

governance, building on a survey of 36 cities of all sizes in African.

Networks

Standards

► Created in 2013, the OECD Water Governance Initiative (WGI) is an international multi-stakeholder network of 100+ delegates from public, private and

not-for-profit sectors gathering twice a year to share experience on reforms, projects, lessons and good practices in

support of better water governance. The WGI advances its goals through two Working Groups on Capacity Development and Indicators. The 14th meeting took

place virtually in November 2020. ► The OECD Roundtable on the Circular

Economy in Cities and Regions gathers

circular economy stakeholders from cities, regions, national government, business, academia and international organisations to share knowledge, experiences and best

practices. The 3rd Roundtable (May 2021) gathered 400+ participants over four sessions, including one on linking the blue and circular economy.

► The OECD Principles on Water Governance contribute to tangible and outcome-oriented public policies, based on three mutually reinforcing and complementary dimensions of water governance:

effectiveness, efficiency and trust and engagement. To date, they have been endorsed by 170+ stakeholder groups and governments. They are available in 18

languages and are accompanied by an implementation strategy based on an extensive bottom-up and multi -stakeholder process within the OECD Water Governance Initiative (WGI).

► The OECD Principles on Urban Policy consolidate the lessons from the past 20+ years of work on cities to guide policymakers in building smart, sustainable and

inclusive cities. They were co-developed with stakeholders including international organisations, development banks, networks of cities and local governments, research institutes and academia, and the

private sector. The Principles were welcomed by Mayors and Ministers during the 7th OECD Roundtable of Mayors and Ministers in March 2019 in Athens, Greece.

Annex A. List of cities interviewed

City and country Principal contact and title

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Rob Koeze, Strategic Advisor at Waternet, working for the City of Amsterdam

and the Regional Public Water Authority

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Richard Priman, Director, Water Systems Improvements, Water Supply,

Natural Resources Division, Department of Natural Resources, Mines and

Energy, Queensland Government

Budapest, Hungary Gabor Kisvardai, Head of Secretariat, Hungarian Energy and Public Util ity Regulatory Authority

Copenhagen, Denmark Thor Danielsen, Planner, and Marie Koefoed Sudergaard, Development

Consultant, HOFOR (Greater Copenhagen Water Util ity)

Hanoi, Vietnam Yasuhiro Tanaka, JICA expert, Advisor for Disaster Risk Management,

Vietnam Disaster Management Authority, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural

Development, Vietnam

Hoboken, New Jersey, United

States

Jennifer Gonzalez, Director of Environmental Services, Chief Sustainability

Officer, City of Hoboken

Lisbon, Portugal Sofia Cordeiro, Urban Green Structure, Environment, Climate and Energy, Deputy Mayor’s Office

New Orleans, Louisiana, United

States

Austin Feldbaum, Hazard Mitigation Administration, City of New Orleans

Oslo, Norway Kari Fagernaes, Chief customer officer in the executive team at the municipality of Oslo water and wastewater services.

Perth, Western Australia, Australia Ursula Kretzer, Senior Manager Water Policy, Department of Water and

Environmental Regulation, Government of Western Australia

Portland, Oregon, United States Jane Bacchieri , Integrated Planning Group Manager, City of Portland Bureau

of Environmental Services

Rotterdam, Netherlands Thuy Do, Senior Advisor on Water, Land and Climate, Municipality of

Rotterdam

Salvador, Bahia, Brazil Daniela Guarieiro, Deputy Chief Resil ience Officer, Municipal Prefecture of Salavador

San Francisco, California, United

States

Chris Kern, Principal Planner, Environmental Planning Division, San Francisco

Planning Department

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Rehana Rajabali, Associate Director, Engineering Services, Toronto and

Region Conservation Authority