The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) on Friday agreed to help pioneer a new ISO Standard for resilient and sustainable cities.
The new ISO 37120 is based on 100 indicators which steer and measure the performance of city services and quality of life. It is being implemented by the Toronto-based World Council on City Data (WCCD).
Margareta Wahlström, head of UNISDR, said there are now 45 role model cities that are ready to implement the new standard.
“The Making Cities Resilient Campaign launched four years ago now has 2,500 participating cities and towns with a combined population of some 700 million people,” she said. “We will work together with WCCD to further build the family of ISO standards for resilient cities.”
UNISDR said the “Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient” will be incorporated into the ISO standard for resilient cities. These essentials will focus on issues such as good urban planning, land-use, a risk-informed citizenry, safe schools and health facilities, protection of eco-systems, early warnings and emergency management.
The announcement was made prior to the opening of the tThird UN World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Sendai. The conference is set to adopt a new framework for disaster risk reduction that will pay particular attention to reducing urban risk.