Resilient Vancouver

Resilient Vancouver is a citywide strategy that takes a comprehensive approach to addressing shocks, such as earthquakes, and stresses, such as aging infrastructure.

The strategy builds our capacity to anticipate, manage, and recover from our city’s biggest risks, and aligns work to help us survive, adapt, and thrive in the face of our greatest challenges and changes.

Resilient Vancouver is the result of a two-year process involving more than 2,500 stakeholders.

Review the Resilient Vancouver Strategy (10 MB)

Key areas of focus

Thriving and prepared neighbourhoods

How to help communities share knowledge, contribute to decision making, and collectively prepare for and recover from both shocks and stresses.
Activities include
- Establishing Neighbourhood Living Labs which encourage residents, businesses, and community groups to design and test ideas about resilience in their own communities
- Supporting the creation of a community-led Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood Disaster Response and Recovery planning process. This is aimed at improving support for vulnerable groups facing ongoing challenges and extreme events.
- Engaging artists to explore and inspire creative solutions to various city complex challenges
- Expanding the Resilient Neighbourhood Program and Toolkit through neighbourhood grant program. This is aimed at providing a framework to collaborate with community-based organizations and other partners on resilience initiatives.
Proactive and collaborative government

Our strategy addresses how to achieve resilience through various collaborations, and how to change systems in the city that make people vulnerable.
Activities include
- Applying the UN Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction Framework to align with partners and embed leading practice
- Implementing state-of-the-art hazard modelling tools to reduce risk through land-use, zoning, and urban design
- Deepening our understanding of the experiences of diverse women* in climate change and disasters (*including trans*, gender-diverse, 2-spirit people and cis women)
- Creating a regulatory framework for equitable post-disaster redevelopment in Vancouver
Adaptive buildings and infrastructure

How to improve building performance in case of an earthquake, and to upgrade facilities including water services and flood prevention.
Activities include
- Formalizing a cross-departmental Resilient Buildings governance model
- Completing a seismic risk assessment and engaging stakeholders to identify and evaluate risk reduction and policy options
- Exploring options to accelerate upgrades or redevelopment for civic buildings critical to community response and recovery
- Mapping and designing a resilient lifeline infrastructure network