Background and Significance

In June 2022, a successful International Symposium titled “Resilience in the Built Environment” was held in Cuenca, Ecuador, as part of a memorandum of understanding signed between the University of Florida (UF) and Universidad de Cuenca (U. Cuenca). This symposium was a significant milestone. It marked the first meeting between research groups from both institutions: SHARE-Lab and FIBER at UF and Virtualtec Llacta Lab, and City Preservation Management at U. Cuenca. The symposium served as a platform for exchanging knowledge and experiences on resilience in urban environments.

In line with UF’s international mission, this project aims to strengthen global collaboration by promoting research collaboration and conference planning on resilience in urban environments. Resilience has become an essential concept in disaster risk management and sustainability science, presenting an opportunity for knowledge exchange between countries facing similar urban development challenges. These challenges include creating resilient and healthy urban environments, disaster risk reduction, environmental management, and community engagement in fostering resilience.

This proposal includes follow-up activities to strengthen international collaboration in resilience research. As the SDG of sustainable cities emphasizes, improving city resilience is crucial for creating livable, safe, and sustainable cities that promote innovation, development, and community well-being (Figure 1). To achieve this goal, we propose organizing an international workshop at UF and an international conference at U. Cuenca to explore ways to create more resilient built environments and promote sustainable cities. The events will focus on urban resilience, aligned with the targets set by the SDG of sustainable cities, especially Goal 11, Making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. By taking a comprehensive approach that considers sustainable urban planning, resilient infrastructure, and social cohesion, we aim to foster global collaboration toward a more resilient future.