About Resilience Hubs

The purpose of Collective Resilience is to inspire people-powered, nature-inspired and equity-based resilience through place-based projects. Our intention is to help guide resilience hubs, spaces and blocks to evolve and flourish through training workshops, equitable funding distribution and authentic cross-sector collaborations.

From recreation centers and libraries to apartment complexes and co-housing communities, resilience hubs are trusted community centers and spaces that are transformed to serve as gathering places to distribute resources, exchange information, and express community care during disasters, support community programming and climate solutions year-round. 

Resilience hubs are centered in equity, prioritize individuals and communities who are disproportionately impacted by the Climate Crisis and/or systems of oppression and support a trauma-informed response.

Collective Resilience is basing our approach designed by the Urban Sustainability Directors Network to support facilities and community members in three different modes:

Everyday

Sites can support all types of programming as well as prepare the community for future disasters.

Disruption

During disasters, hubs can serve as information centers, distribute supplies and be evacuation centers.

Recovery

Resilience Hubs can play a critical role in post- disruption recovery and ongoing communications needs.

Core Components of Hubs

Services & Programming

Services and relationships that build relationships, promote community preparedness, and improve residents’ health and well-being.

Garden work days | Emergency preparedness workshops | Block parties

Communications

Ensuring the ability to communicate within and outside the service area year-around and especially during disruptions and throughout recovery.

Ham radio | Listservs | Phone trees

Building & Landscapes

Strengthening the resilience of the facility to ensure that it meets operational goals in all conditions.

Earthquake Retrofits | Rain Water Catchment | Energy Efficient Upgrades

Power

Ensuring reliable backup power to the facility during a hazard while also improving the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of operations in all three operating modes.

Solar with battery backup | Mobile battery systems | Generators (though not optimal)

Operations

Ensuring personnel and processes are in place to operate the facility in all three modes.

Site Committees | Training Workshops | Conflict Resolution Workshop

Types of Hubs

PLACES OF WOSHIP

Places of worship already support communities of care. Many are expanding to serve as resilience hubs by distributing food, adding off-grid power and opening their doors as cooling centers during extreme heat events. 

Community Centers

Many community centers already provide essential services to vulnerable populations and offer events and activities to foster a sense of community. Many are now acting as resilience hubs by distributing food and other essential supplies during disasters.

Community Gardens

Co-housing communities in the Bay Area are enabling communities to become more resilient by providing access to fresh produce, connecting people to nature, and offering an educational platform for sustainable living practices.

Affordable Housing Complexes

Affordable housing complexes provide safe, accessible spaces for communities to gather and support one another during emergencies.

Libraries

Libraries serve as resilience hubs by offering resources, information, and shelter during emergencies, promoting community resilience.

Schools

Schools in the Bay Area are acting as resilience hubs by providing resources and support for their students and communities, such as mental health services, food pantries, and emergency financial assistance.