Ann Arbor officials believe the city is pretty well prepared to handle a wide variety of disasters, but hope to win a one-million dollar grant to become even more resilient. Ann Arbor applied to the Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities program.
Environmental Coordinator Matt Naud says many of the communities that applied are coastal communities facing rising water levels, hurricanes and other issues. He says Ann Arbor has a different story to tell and could serve as a good model community for across much of the US and the globe. Naud adds that with climate change the types of storms Ann Arbor does face are more extreme now than in the past.
He maintains that the resilient cities program can help strengthen neighborhoods to respond to disasters with less need for outside help.