Policies

Relevant city context

This project is relevant to cities looking to raise awareness about city challenges and on-going city initiatives. Reaching out to the public can also be a way to involve citizens in a discussion about the future of the city or engaging people in upcoming projects. Vejle is a town in Denmark of approximately 55000 inhabitants, and about 110000 inhabitants live throughout the municipality. A larger city aiming to raise citizen awareness may require multiple venues and additional means of communication. The focus areas for the discussions will depend on the city’s current challenges and on-going projects. In the town of Vejle main resilience challenges include rising sea levels and extreme rainfall. Vejle is amongst the first cities in Denmark to implement innovation as a strategy across all its administrations is at the forefront of the development of smart-city solutions in Denmark.

Goal

This case study supports the following policies:

L3M1 Promoting a culture of resilience with the goal of being prepared and responding quickly when a shock occurs

C1A3 Undertake public consultations to receive feedback on the resilience action plan with the goal of

L3S1 developing a strategy to create a resilience culture

C1A4 Develop a public communication platform to interact with stakeholders with the goal of

C2T2 Encouraging stakeholders to present their experiences concerning the resilience building process as a reference for stakeholders from other CITIES

The Resilience Week project was an initiative coordinated by the Municipalities Resilience Team, part of the 100 Resilient Cities network, with support from the Municipalities Executive Board. The project was part of Vejles resilience strategy, and more specifically the residency strategy. During the Resilience Week initiative taken by the municipality on the topic of resilience were interactively communicated to the citizens of Vejle. Discussions included both long-and short-term topics, with a focus on how to tackle climate change issues, and how to convert to a sustainable future in relation to transport, waste management, etc. Other areas included social issues such as opportunities of using robots and how to tackle loneliness, and digital sensual experiences for children who need more peace and quiet in their everyday life.

During the Resilience Week activities were carried out at a central place in the city to allow maximum visibility, and include citizens from all parts of Vejle. The venue was a big tent placed in front of the old town hall, with the aim to involve as many citizens as possible. Further, municipal employees actively sought citizens in the geographical locations where development and change is envisaged. The recruitment of speakers was done through contact with relevant persons, many of which had previously been involved in the resilience building strategy.

Outcomes

There has not been a formal evaluation and feedback from the citizens who participated. However, the overall impression of the organizers was that the Resilience Week was a success and similar activities will be repeated in the future. In addition to many citizens becoming aware of the cities main challenges and current initiatives regarding resilience, people also had the possibility to give their opinion on on-going projects and suggestions for further work. One of the most popular activities was for citizens to meet with technical managers to discuss risks of one's own housing relating to climate change issues.

Cooperation between stakeholders

The project was coordinated by the City Resilience Officer, a position funded by the 100 Resilient Cities initiative. To launch the project support from the Municipalities Executive Board was required and multiple departments took active part in the activities. 

Resources

The overall framework for the Resilience Week was financed and carried out by the municipalities resilience team connected to 100RC. Each department at the municipality who partook financed their own activities.

Further links

100 Resilient Cities: http://www.100resilientcities.org/

Resilience week agenda here: http://www.aabvejle.dk/media/91749/Program-uge-22-Vejles-resiliensuge.pdf