To ensure our community is prepared to meet any future challenges, Mayor Sandy Stimpson’s administration has tapped the Water Institute of the Gulf and a team of local partners to develop a Resilience Assessment and Plan for the City of Mobile. A contract with the Water Institute will be considered by the Mobile City Council during its regular meeting on Tuesday, June 21.
The Water Institute’s team will also include Volkert, the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, Waggoner and Ball, Ephriam Environmental, and Moffatt and Nichol. If approved by the council, the team will be assessing City programs, policies and operations over the next 18 months. Their assessment will also engage community groups and stakeholders to evaluate Mobile’s abilities and vulnerabilities relating to urban resilience.
The Resilient Cities Network defines urban resilience as “the capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses, and systems within a city to survive, adapt, and thrive no matter what chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience.” The City of Mobile is undertaking a resilience assessment to ensure long-term resiliency is factored into future projects, programs and decision-making.
After gathering the necessary information, the Water Institute and its team will also be developing a Resilience Plan specifically for Mobile. It will provide valuable localized data on potential future stressors and shocks that could impact Mobile, as well as timelines, projects, and funding strategies that will give City leaders a roadmap as we work to become a more resilient community. Together, the Resilience Assessment and Plan will help Mobile be prepared for and able to rebound from the impacts of things like climate change, hurricanes, sea-level rise, and varying social and economic conditions.
“We are looking to the future so we can be proactive instead of reactive to the challenges our community will face in the coming years and decades,” Mayor Stimpson said. “Working with the Water Institute and its partners will help us collect important local data and make a plan to incorporate long-term resiliency into City operations. No matter what the future brings, we want Mobile and Mobilians to be ready.”
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