Resilience at Work
RCC’s Projects, Partnerships, and Progress in 2025
Dear Friends,
When we launched Resilient Cities Catalyst five years ago, the impacts of an unprecedented global pandemic pervaded our work: as we nurtured and grew a new organization over this tumultuous period, we simultaneously supported government and nonprofit partners in navigating complex economic and community recovery processes while driving forward urgently needed resilience projects.
Today, as RCC marks five years of impact, we find ourselves facing new unprecedented challenges that again are testing already vulnerable communities. But in these uncertain times, I am more convinced than ever of two things. First, that it will take the growing momentum of the resilience movement to drive the change needed to foster safer, healthier, and more prosperous communities in the face of new threats and increased uncertainty. Second, the talented, creative, and dedicated RCC colleagues that I have the honor of working with everyday continue to lead the way in building this movement.
Sam Carter
Founding Principal
RCC By the Numbers
Our Approach
Throughout 2025, RCC partnered with cities and communities across the globe to move resilience from ideas to action.
Our dual approach pairs on-the-ground projects with the partnerships, tools, and knowledge that sustain them — creating a cycle where each effort strengthens the next.
Throughout 2025, RCC partnered with cities and communities across the globe to move resilience from ideas to action.
Our dual approach pairs on-the-ground projects with the partnerships, tools, and knowledge that sustain them — creating a cycle where each effort strengthens the next.
Sustained
Capacity
Convenings
Knowledge Sharing
Resilience Playbooks
Cross-Sector Collaboration
Accelerated
Action
Infrastructure Projects
Community Pilot Programs
On-the-Ground Implementation
Our Approach in Action: Stories from the Field
Across the communities we work with, climate resilience moves forward when ideas turn into action — and when local partners have the capacity to sustain that progress over time.
This year, RCC worked alongside cities and communities around the world to pilot practical solutions, unlock investment, and build long-term capacity for climate resilience. The following stories illustrate how that work comes to life on the ground.
A First-of-Its-Kind Living Shoreline in the Americas
Oceanside, California
Oceanside Beach in San Diego County, California supports more than $2.5 billion in annual visitor spending, yet the city has lost approximately 140 feet of beach width since 1985, putting both the shoreline and local economy at risk.
RCC partnered with the City of Oceanside and regional partners to advance RE:BEACH, an innovative coastal resilience initiative designed to restore and retain sand along the shoreline.
The project will pilot a nature-based “living speed bumps” system combining two artificial headlands and an offshore reef to slow wave energy and stabilize sand movement along the beach. Once implemented, it will represent the first coastal sand-retention intervention of its kind in the Americas.
The effort is part of the California Coastal Accelerator, a resilience initiative supporting five coastal communities — Alameda, Fort Bragg, Oceanside, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz — in advancing new approaches to shoreline protection, financing, and climate adaptation.
$5M
in committed funding
~500
people engaged in workshops and outreach
7
resilience tools and initiatives developed
Climate Solutions for Street Vendors
Mexico City, Mexico and Chennai, India
Across many cities worldwide, street vendors form the backbone of local economies — and are often among the most exposed to climate risks such as extreme heat, flooding, and limited access to shade or water.
RCC partners with vendors, designers, and local governments to co-develop practical solutions that strengthen these street economies while improving climate resilience.
In Mexico City, RCC supported vendors along the Miramontes corridor in identifying climate risks and shaping solutions including rainwater capture systems, improved drainage, and expanded urban tree canopy.
In Chennai, RCC worked with local design teams and vendors to prototype climate-resilient kiosks — modular stalls designed to improve thermal comfort and protect goods from heat and rain.
Together, these projects show how community-led design can help informal economies adapt to a changing climate.
70k+
people benefiting through improved infrastructure and services
6
resilience projects (4 in Chennai, 2 in Mexico City)
~$136k
secured for climate resilience interventions
Using Data to Grow Climate-Ready Cities
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
In Pittsburgh, RCC partnered with city leadership and local organizations to strengthen the city’s urban forest as climate infrastructure.
Working with five partners — the City of Pittsburgh, Tree Pittsburgh, CONNECT, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, and Google — the project supported five community tree planting events across Hazelwood, Beltzhoover, and Homewood, helping plant or distribute nearly 300 trees in neighborhoods facing elevated heat and flood risk.
Beyond the plantings themselves, the project helped the City update its tree planting standard operating procedures, shifting from a resident-request system toward a data-driven approach that prioritizes neighborhoods with the greatest climate vulnerability.
Together, these efforts are helping Pittsburgh treat its urban forest as essential climate infrastructure — reducing heat, managing stormwater, and improving neighborhood resilience.
$276k
secured for resilience investments
300
trees planted
8,000
residents benefiting
Cooling Business Corridors in New York City
NYC (Brownville, Brooklyn and Corona, Queens)
Extreme heat increasingly threatens neighborhood business districts across New York City.
RCC partnered with community organizations and city agencies to pilot cooling solutions that help commercial corridors remain safe and active during hot weather.
In Brownsville, RCC worked with the Pitkin Avenue Business Improvement District to transform an underused street near NYCHA housing into a cooling and gathering space with shade structures, misting systems, and cooling resources for residents and workers.
In Corona Plaza, RCC hosted similar heat resilience activations for public markets and street vendors. Vendors reported that shaded areas helped them stay open and attract customers during hot weather.
These pilots are helping shape longer-term investments in cooling infrastructure and climate-ready commercial corridors across the city.
41
small businesses engaged door-to-door
~200
people convened across community meetings and engagements
~$260k
in resilience investments mobilized
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