On the eve of 2020’s winter solstice, I reflected on the dawn of a Resilience decade a century ago – the 1920s with its economic prosperity coupled with a distinctive cultural edge. For America, it was the dawning of the “Roaring 20s,” a renaissance movement initiated by Southern Black Americans migrating north in increasing numbers.

Jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong defined the era that also comprised the art of improvisation and a racial rethink. In an August 1991 commemorative article on Satchmo’s career, The New York Times maintained that “the power of his genius, combined with his living manner, forced whites to rethink their racism, whether they knew it or not.”

“Seems to me it ain't the world that's so bad but what we're doing to it,” he responded. “All I'm saying is, ‘See what a wonderful world it would be if only we'd give it a chance.’ Love, baby - love. That's the secret.”

Another Resilience Renaissance has begun. At a reception that Climate Resilience Consulting hosted last week, we reflected on Louis Armstrong as we launched our fresh Roaring 20s that is generating a resilience renaissance for our communities:

Here are five areas where resilience leadership saw resilience shine in 2020:

1.    Equitable and Just Climate Platform, A Vision for an Equitable and Just Climate Future

2.    First Street Foundation, Find Your Home’s Flood Factor    

3.    McKinsey Global Institute: Climate risk and Response: Physical Hazards and Socioeconomic Risks,

4.    The New York Times, The Great Climate Migration

5.    Scientific American, The Impacts of Floods Exacerbate Existing Racial and Social Inequality

We celebrated 2020 Climate Resilience Consulting reports, including:

1. Equitable Climate Resilience in local government with IBTS and the Kresge Foundation.

2. How State Governments can Help Local Communities Invest in Climate Resilience with Innovation Network for Communities.

3. More Urgency, Not Less: COVID-19 Pandemic’s Lessons for Local Climate Leadership with Innovation Network for Communities.

4. A Roadmap to Resilience Incentivization by Multi-hazard Mitigation Council, National Institute of Building Safety.

5. Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Industrial and Commercial Buildings for UNDRR ARISE.

And resilience leaders defined three “moonshots” to kick off the resilience decade ahead: 

1.    Social Equity in Disaster Response and Recovery to ensure we shift from mainstreaming – where the wealthy get wealthier from federal disaster dollars – to transformation where the poor grow wealthier and more powerful from federal disaster dollars.

2.    New utopias envisioned for the coming American climate change-driven migration, including an uptick in affordable housing in and near job centers, an improvement in public school outcomes and a reinvigoration of America’s small-town main streets.

3.    Resilience Hubs, driven by lower-income and BIPOC community needs and wants, that become a routine element of municipal and philanthropic budgets.

As this extraordinary year concludes, we encourage you to give generously of your time and treasure to the resilience communities you hold dear.

I’m deeply grateful for the work CRC does for and with our clients and also for the myriad contributions to climate resilience forged and furthered this year. I look forward to the chance to work together at the dawn of the Roaring Renaissance Resilience Decade. 

Be safe and jazzy!