Los Angeles' Resilience Challenge
How can a city as big and diverse as Los Angeles truly be sustainable and resilient?
Los Angeles' Resilience Journey
The city of Los Angeles released its Resilience Strategy on March 2, 2018. Explore the strategy here.
Los Angeles' Resilience Story
With a population, geography, infrastructure, and economy comparable to those of states and nations, Los Angeles is one of the most complex megacities of the world. City limits cover 469 square miles, but greater Los Angeles is 10 times that size — a region of individual neighborhoods that comprise many different languages, cultures, and ethnicities. The city's central question is how a city of L.A.'s size and scope can truly be sustainable and resilient in a changing and increasingly globalized world, particularly in the face of water shortages and seismic challenges.
Crime / Violence
Inadequate Health Systems
Water Insecurity
Marissa Aho, AICP, serves as Chief Resilience Officer in the Office of Los Angeles under Mayor Eric Garcetti. She coordinates and implements city-wide resiliency efforts, including those found in the Mayor's "Resilience By Design" report. Marissa has 15 years of policy, planning, and project management experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors where she has worked with interdisciplinary teams to find creative solutions to complex problems.
Prior to joining the Mayor's Office, Marissa held senior staff positions at two Los Angeles planning and land use consulting firms. She has a BA in Political Science from American University and a Master of Planning from the University of Southern California Price School of Public Policy. She is the Region VI Commissioner for the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), Section Director of the Los Angeles Section of the American Planning Association (APA LA), and is a member of the USC Price Alumni Association Board of Directors.
Snapshot of Los Angeles
Stories about Los Angeles
Leading the Resilience Movement at the State Level: Policy Recommendations for a More Resilient California
Rivers Rising: Urban Waterways Catalyze Resilience
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