Resiliancy and State and Local Governments: Safeguarding Against Natural Disasters

Larry Walker Room, Dean Rusk Hall

One definition of resiliency is the capacity of a complex system of people and nature to absorb perturbations without collapsing. Such flexibility, must be designed into systems in order to be able to absorb different shocks and recover from unplanned happenings. In the past year, we have seen multiple natural disasters which have tested the strength of our structures. In a time where climate change will increase the amount of “shocks to the system” it is increasingly important that our local governments plan for a more adaptive future. To gain a better understanding of the problems that face local governments, we will host different actors from the City of Atlanta and the Carl Vinson Institute of Government to talk about how aging systems of the past have led to governmental liability, and what cities can do to better prepare for a more flexible future.