My Post.jpg — Three oil and gas centric communities aiming to be more resilient.

The City of Houston is the 101st city to join the ranks of 100 Resilient Cities. And seeing as Houston is the 101st city to join the network and it is an oil and gas centric city, I thought I’d compare its strategy to Edmonton’s and Calgary’s.

100 Resilient Cities is an initiative led by the Rockefeller foundation to create a network of member cities that are dedicated to changing the way they understand their risks and to plan for their futures. The Rockefeller Foundation provides funding, capacity building, and technical assistance to help its member cities.

According to Wikipedia, Houston’s population is just over 2 million while Calgary’s is just over a million and Edmonton is just under a million. There are many other differences that separate each city and I don’t live in two of them so I am not going to compare and judge the merits of their actions.

The purpose of this blog is to compare the structure, the information, and the ability to hold each government to account. It is also a high-level summary of what each city is focused on and how they are planning to tackle their risks.

I broke my review down and looked at the following criteria:

Document name and year published
Number of Pages
Document Purpose
Overarching Objectives
Glossary
Monitoring and Follow-up

1. Document names:

Resilient Houston – 2020
Resilient Calgary – 2019
Climate Resilient Edmonton - Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan – 2018

2. Number of Pages

I understand the length of a document does not necessarily predict its quality; however, I found it interesting that Edmonton’s was almost 100 pages shorter that Calgary’s and nearly 140 pages shorter than Houston’s.

Resilient Calgary – 142
Resilient Houston -186
Climate Resilient Edmonton - Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan - 48

3. Document Purpose

Houston placed the purpose of their document right up front in the executive summary while Calgary and Edmonton’s were a bit harder to find. Calgary and Edmonton embedded theirs within the introductions near the end of each.

Personally, I found the City of Houston’s purpose was easy to find and I found it to be a bit clearer.

Houston

Calgary

Edmonton

Resilient Houston provides a framework for collective action for every Houstonian; our diverse neighborhoods and watersheds; City departments; and local, regional, and global partners. The strategy links existing efforts with new ones that will collectively work to protect Houston against future disasters—from hurricanes to extreme heat waves—and chronic stresses such as aging infrastructure, poor air quality, and flooding.

The journey to develop this Resilient Calgary strategy has helped us identify what our greatest stresses and shocks might be, encouraged us to explore these disruptors and gather knowledge about our readiness for them, and compelled us to identify the specific goals and actions to move us forward toward our vision of Calgary as a sustainable, resilient place.

This document—Climate Resilient Edmonton: Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan—will help set Edmonton on this path so that we can be prepared for and respond to anticipated climate change impacts.

Personally, I found the City of Houston’s purpose was easy to find and I found it to be a bit clearer.

4. Overarching Objectives

All three documents used different language to organize the structure of their overarching objectives, goals, and actions. Houston listed targets and Calgary listed outcomes for each of their goals. Edmonton did not have any outcome related statements.

Houston	Calgary	Edmonton
Chapter	Pillar	Path
Goal	Goal	Goal
Target	Outcome	Action
Action	Action

For each, I have listed their over arching ‘objective’ and goal for each. All three city’s had detailed actions which can be referenced in each document in well organized and easy to read tables.

Houston - Chapters

Calgary - Pillars

Edmonton - Paths

Chapter 1 - Prepared and Thriving Houstonians

Pillar 1 - The Future of Calgary’s Economy

Path 1 - Science and Evidence Based Decisions

Goal 1 - We will support Houstonians to be prepared for an uncertain future.

Goal 2 - We will expand access to wealth-building and employment opportunities.

Goal 3 - We will improve safety and well-being for all Houstonians.

Goal - All community members are encouraged and able to participate in a diverse and strong economy.

Goal 1 - The City of Edmonton uses formal climate science and evidence-based policy and decision-making processes.

Goal 2 - Edmonton is planned, designed, developed and built to be climate resilient today and for future Edmontonians.

Goal 3 - Edmonton’s communities, businesses and institutions are aware, connected, and prepared for climate change.

Chapter 2 - Safe & Equitable Neighborhoods

Pillar 2 - Inclusive Futures

Path 2 Preparing for Changing Temperatures

Goal 4 - We will ensure that all neighborhoods have equitably resourced plans.

Goal 5 - We will invest in arts and culture to strengthen community resilience.

Goal 6 - We will ensure all neighborhoods are healthy, safe, and climate ready.

Goal 7 - We will build up, not out, to promote smart growth as Houston’s population increases.

Goal - Institutions have trusted and informed relationships with Calgary’s equity-seeking communities.

Goal 4 – Edmonton’s communities and urban environment are resilient to

changing temperatures.

Goal 5 - Edmonton is proactive in drought management to minimize social, economic and

environmental impacts.

Chapter 3 - Healthy & Connected Bayous

Pillar 3 - The Future of Calgary’s Natural Infrastructure

Path 3 - Preparing for Changing Perception

Goal 8 - We will live safely with water.

Goal 9 - We will embrace the role of our bayous as Houston’s front yard.

Goal - Natural infrastructure assets are identified, protected, tracked, managed and used to inform investment and

planning decisions.

Goal 6 – Edmonton’s water supply is secure and safe for current and future Edmontonians.

Goal 7 - Edmonton is a flood resilient community.

Chapter 4 - Accessible & Adaptive City

Pillar 4 - Future Ready Infrastructure

Path 4 - Preparing for Changing Weather Extremes

Goal 10 - We will demonstrate leadership on climate change through action.

Goal 11 - We will modernize Houston’s infrastructure to address the challenges of the future.

Goal 12 - We will advance equity and inclusion for all.

Goal 13 - We will transform city government to operationalize resilience and build trust.

Goal - Calgarians are supported through strategic investment in future-focused and resilient infrastructure.

Goal 8 - Edmontonians with regional partners are informed, prepared for, can respond to

and recover from increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events.

Goal 9 - Edmonton has resilient energy systems.

Chapter 5 - Innovative & Integrated Region

Shared theme - A Future Focused Calgary

Path 5 - Preparing for Changing Ecosystems

Goal 14 - We will continue to invest in the region’s diverse economy.

Goal 15 - We will increase regional transportation choice.

Goal 16 - We will manage our land and water resources from prairie to bay.

Goal 17 - We will enhance regional emergency preparedness and response.

Goal 18 - We will leverage existing and new investments and partnerships.

Goal - All pillars use a future-focused lens when advancing resilience outcomes and actions.

Goal 10 – Edmonton’s natural ecosystems continue to provide essential ecosystem goods and services such as clean air, clean water, and biodiversity.

Goal 11 – Edmonton’s food systems are resilient, reliable and secure.

Other Observations

Overall, I found Calgary’s and Houston’s documents to be very similar. They both went to great lengths to:

identify measures for success,
structure accountability, and
tie their document to other strategies and plans.

Calgary and Houston did something I really liked from an accountability standpoint; they listed each community stakeholder that has a responsibility for helping them meet each action they want to achieve. Although Edmonton listed the stakeholders that were involved in their document’s development, they did not tie a community stakeholder to a goal or an action; they only list the lead city department for each action.

Calgary and Houston identified the shocks and stressors that will likely impact each goal. And Calgary was very clear in identifying their measures for success.

Houston tied each of their actions to a UN Sustainability Goal while Calgary listed the available resources for each of their actions. Given the amount of detail provided, it is very easy to understand how Calgary and Houston are moving forward to meet their goals. Edmonton stated their evaluation measures are to be developed.

Houston and Calgary provided instructions on how to read their action plan templates which I found very helpful because there is lot of data and information presented within each action page.

Calgary and Houston also provided graphics on their ‘History of Resilience’. They were good references to show what each city has faced. And they provided information on how and when they developed other strategies to address the various shocks and stressors that impact their community.

Lastly, Calgary and Houston went to great lengths to show how their resilience strategies tie into other strategies within their governments. Here is an example of how Calgary organized theirs:

Edmonton provided how they would measure climate variables which I think is important. For example, the definition for a heat wave is going to change over the decades so it is good to see Edmonton putting in criteria to determine what a hot day is, they will be able to adjust the criteria as needed, to define any new realities.

5. Glossary

I went through most definitions in each document and pulled out resilience as an example of how each city defines resilience and compared it to other sources. Houston uses the term urban resilience while Calgary and Edmonton use resilience:

Houston	Urban resilience - The capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses, and systems within an urban area to survive, adapt, and thrive no matter what kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience.
Calgary	Capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses, and systems within a city to survive, adapt, and grow no matter what kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience.
Edmonton	Capacity of a system to survive and thrive under changing conditions, and to maintain its functions during change.
Government of Alberta	The ability of a system, community or society exposed to hazards to resist, absorb, accommodate to and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner, including through the preservation and restoration of its essential basic structures and functions.
Government of Canada	Resilience is the capacity of a system, community or society exposed to hazards to adapt to disturbances resulting from hazards by persevering, recuperating or changing to reach and maintain an acceptable level of functioning. Resilient capacity is built through a process of empowering citizens, responders, organizations, communities, governments, systems and society to share the responsibility to keep hazards from becoming disasters.
UN International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction	The ability of a system, community or society exposed to hazards to resist, absorb, accommodate, adapt to, transform and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner, including through the preservation and restoration of its essential basic structures and functions through risk management.

6. Monitoring and Follow-up

In one way or another, all three cities are committed to monitoring and reporting progress. “The City of Edmonton intends to review and evaluate progress on the strategy annually. This will occur with the use of evaluation measures (to be developed) and through a community indicator on resilience.”

Because Calgary and Houston provided detailed plans to address each of their actions, they spoke about monitoring and reporting specific to each one, whereas, the city of Edmonton is committed to an annual report.

Conclusion

I found Calgary and Houston’s documents to be very detailed with an emphasis on accountability and measurement.

Both documents provided a clear path for how they and their stakeholders are going to address disaster resilience in each community. The city of Edmonton’s document left me with a lot of questions and a need to go searching for more detailed information.

I do look forward to reviewing each city’s reporting on their various actions in order to see how each one is gauging their current state resiliency to disasters.

For information on Hazardscape Management Inc. visit our about page.

Author: Brad Ison is a professional disaster and emergency management coach. He’s held various position specific roles in the Alberta Provincial Operations Centre and had decade long career at the Alberta Emergency Management Agency where his last role served was as the Director for Training, Accreditation, and Standards.