What is a Resilient Neighborhood?

Resilient Neighborhoods are places conducive to life, like our native ecosystems, which are naturally regenerative and resilient. Looking to nature as our guide, we envision neighborhoods that are better equipped to adapt and thrive in the face of environmental, social and economic changes. Foundational elements include vegetation and trees that create shade, provide habitat and clean the air, food-producing landscapes, and sustainable water management practices focused on secondary water sources, stormwater diversion and groundwater recharge. The people in a Resilient Neighborhood are deeply connected to each other, and to their collective land and native ecosystems. By coming together through this shared mission, authentic and enduring relationships have a chance to flourish through both the visioning process and the act of installing these physical retrofits, creating a robust web of support and resources that are a critical element of community resilience and an import asset in times of need.

The mission of the Resilient Neighborhoods program is to demonstrate the potential for neighborhoods to better serve both people and the planet, encourage replication, and inform policy thinking that will foster an environment supportive of this type of retrofit approach.

Our Vision for the Resilient Neighborhoods Program

Expanding on our Sustainable Backyards initiative, our vision for the Resilient Neighborhoods program is to unite neighbors in working collaboratively, with the support of the greater community, to transform their block into a robust and regenerative urban ecosystem that mimics nature in performing valuable functions like producing food, filtering air and cycling water. We hope to create a culture of collaboration and mutual investment in a brighter future, instilling new social and environmental connections within communities across the county.

If you’re interested in learning more or getting involved, contact the Resilient Neighborhoods Program Manager at resilientneighborhoods@sustainablesolano.org 

Resilient Neighborhoods 

We successfully installed two Resilient Neighborhoods in Vallejo: Morningside Botanical Bounty and Growing Together! We expanded the program into Suisun City in 2021. For more details, click on the photos below.

Resources to Support Resilient Neighborhoods

Resilient Neighborhoods Overview

Project Report & Resource Guide

Legal Documents

Resilient Neighborhoods Program Application

Resilient Neighborhoods Program Agreement

Resilient Neighborhoods Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

Resilient Neighborhoods Design Approval

Volunteer Liability Release Form

Promotional Materials

Program One Sheet

Application Flyer

Installation Flyer

The City Repair Project Resources

Reimagining the Neighborhood with City Repair’s Mark Lakeman (video)

Reimagining the Neighborhood Presentation Slides

The City Repair Project’s Placemaking Packet (with project ideas, strategies and tips for organizing)

Administrative Rules (policy inspiration from the Portland in the Streets Program)

Additional Resources

Plant Guilds & Human Communities (video talk by Lydia Neilsen & Anne Freiwald of Vital Cycles)

Resources

This program has been generously funded by the Pacific Gas & Electric Corporation Foundation.