RESILIENCE HUBS
WHAT ARE RESILIENCE HUBS?
Resilience hubs are trusted community-centered places that are set up to address daily community needs, and are also equipped to provide support in the face of disasters like fires, earthquakes, and other extreme weather events.
Resilience hubs are often created in already existing trusted community-centered places like libraries, schools, and restaurants or businesses. They can be equipped with things that support community members in the face of major disruptions as well as supporting people in their daily lives–like solar powered battery storage, emergency response resources, a place to gather, heating and cooling shelters, and more. Resilience hubs look different in each community depending on distinct needs, and are designed and managed by the people who use them.
Image source: City of Austin (found at RMI.org)
Three important factors that make a successful resilience hub:
- Community Leadership: A resilience hub is a place that community members create to fit their physical and social needs on a day to day basis, during a disruption, and during the recovery period. A hub provides opportunities for community members to develop skills, through things like job apprenticeship training, events, or workshops.
- Off-Grid Renewable Energy and Battery Storage: When the power goes out, a resilience hub can be a center for community members to charge phones, refrigerate medication, stay cool during heat waves and find warmth during extreme cold, and access other needed resources.
- Local Partnerships: Instead of being a one-stop-shop, resilience hubs can work with other local organizations to provide care, support, and navigation for the community.
Southern Oregon Community Resilience Survey (2021)
Rogue Climate conducted a survey in the fall of 2021 about emergency preparedness and community members’ experiences with climate-related disruptions. Participants shared current strategies for getting support during emergencies, as well as what kinds of resources they would like to see in a local Resilience Hub. Download the entire survey report, or use this list of questions to create your own community resilience questionnaire.
Rogue Climate is partnering with community members and organizations to support the creation of Resilience Hubs in the Rogue Valley and South Coast.
With temperatures on the rise, a decade-long drought, and an ongoing pandemic —
it couldn’t be more imperative to build community-led networks of support in
Southern Oregon.
A collaboration of people and community organizations in Southern Oregon are working to build a network of resilience hubs in Southern Oregon. This work includes hosting presentations, leading workshops, and facilitating conversations among partners and community members.
If you or your organization is interested in learning more about resilience hubs in Southern Oregon, contact Maeve Hogan at maeve@rogueclimate.org
RESOURCES
Here is a collection of resources to support and inspire projects dedicated to resilience hubs. They include opportunities for financial, technical, creative support, and examples of resilience hubs in
other communities.
Greenbelt Alliance: Resilience Playbook
Urban Sustainability Directors Network:
Resilience Hub Examples
Asian Pacific Environmental Network: Resilience Before Disaster
Together New Orleans: Community Lighthouse