SURAT

INDIA

Surat’s Resilience Challenges

Surat faces complex number of challenges ranging from shocks such as undiversified economy, water security, flooding and development stresses like –mobility, water quality, social cohesion, and lack of public health facilities. The city of Surat released its first resilience strategy in April 2017.

Surat has seen an unprecedented growth in the last four decades, recording one of the highest growth rates in the country and a 10-fold population rise. It now ranks as the eighth largest city in the country (Census, 2011). Coupled with this, a spillover of population into the peripheral areas has also been observed. From time to time, the jurisdictional limits of the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) have been extended to include the growth.

Surat’s resilience work builds on years of close collaboration with the Rockefeller Foundation, which began with the Asian Cities Climate Change resilience network. The city’s resilience story reflects this through the amazing progress the city has made in understanding its challenges and embracing the holistic thinking and planning that true resilience requires. Through city’s initiatives and actions Suratis addressing a many of its past challenges, particularly city’s water security and flooding challenges.