Resilience at Work
RCC’s Projects, Partnerships, and Progress at 6 Years
Dear Friends,
We built Resilient Cities Catalyst from the ground up to accelerate the adoption of resilience practice and accelerate the implementation of resilience projects. This year, at global meetings from Western Cape to London, from New York to Rio and Belem, we heard a common and resounding call for decisive action on climate adaptation and resilience. By collaborating with an array of partners across five continents, we are working to meet this moment. And it's working. To date, we’ve mobilized over $770M to advance over 225 priority resilience projects and built the capacity of our partners to keep up momentum for decades to come.
At RCC, we feel more than ever that our mission is vital to managing an era of crisis and uncertainty. Across our portfolios, we are designing and testing solutions like multi-benefit offshore reefs, climate-resilient street vendor infrastructure, targeted urban forest expansion, and cooling small business corridors. Advancing this work takes an interdisciplinary team of policy, finance, and design experts. Together with our incredible staff and growing set of trusted partners, we are building an impact driven practice that is fit for this unprecedented moment. Thank you for your interest and engagement in our work!
Sam Carter
Founding Principal
RCC By the Numbers
2020 – 2026
Our Approach
Over the past six years, RCC has partnered with cities and communities to move resilience from ideas to action.
Our dual approach pairs on-the-ground projects with the partnerships, tools, and knowledge needed to 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
The RCC approach is delivering tangible results — advancing projects, unlocking investment, and building long-term capacity for climate resilience. The stories below show that work on the ground over the past year — from California and New York to Pittsburgh, Mexico City, and Chennai.
A First-of-Its-Kind Living Shoreline in the Americas
Oceanside, California
Oceanside Beach in San Diego County, California receives more than $2.5 billion in annual visitor spending, but since 1985, the city has lost approximately 140 feet of beach width, 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 living shoreline system combining two artificial headlands and an offshore reef to slow erosion impacts and stabilize sand on the beach. Once implemented, it will represent the first coastal sand-retention intervention of its kind in the Americas.
The Oceanside successes and lessons have inspired 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, local governments, and universities to co-develop and implement practical solutions that improve both the climate and economic resilience of these vendors and their surrounding communities.
In Mexico City, RCC and local collaborators supported vendors along the Miramontes corridor in Tlalpan to prioritize and design a rainwater capture system, improved drainage, and a ventilated roof structure that directly addresses their major concerns with safety and loss of sales due to heat and heavy rains.
In Chennai, RCC worked with local design teams and vendors to prototype climate-resilient vending kiosks — modular stalls designed to improve thermal comfort and protect goods from heat and rain.These kiosks are adaptable for both mobile and stationary use, ensuring flexibility for different vendor needs and urban contexts.
Together, these projects show how community-led design can help workers and economies adapt to a changing climate.
70k+
people benefiting through improved infrastructure and services
6
resilience projects (4 in Chennai, 2 in Mexico City)
~$256k
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. The project was funded by Google.org through the ICLEI Action Fund.
Working with four main partners — the City of Pittsburgh, Tree Pittsburgh, CONNECT, and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy — 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 the essential climate infrastructure it is — reducing heat, managing stormwater, and improving neighborhood resilience.
$276k
secured for resilience investments
300
trees planted
8,000
residents benefiting
Cooling Small Business Corridors in New York City
NYC (Brownville, Brooklyn and Corona, Queens)
Extreme heat increasingly threatens neighborhood small business districts across New York City – reducing foot traffic that drives economic activity and posing health risks to workers, commuters, and residents alike.
RCC partnered with community organizations and City agencies to pilot cooling solutions that help small business corridors — anchors of employment and key sources of goods and services for neighborhoods — remain safe and active during hot weather.
In Brownsville, RCC worked with the Pitkin Avenue Business Improvement District to transform an underused street near public housing into a cooling and gathering space with shade structures, misting systems, and cooling resources for residents and workers. The team is also bringing more trees to the corridor while designing and piloting new solutions like a bus stop shelter with a green roof and a shaded tree guard bench.
RCC deployed similar heat resilience activations in Corona Plaza, with a focus not only on residents and visitors but also on local street vendors. Vendors reported that shaded areas helped them stay open and attract customers during periods of extreme heat.
These pilots are helping shape longer-term investments in cooling infrastructure and climate-ready small business corridors across the city.
41
small businesses engaged door-to-door
~200
people convened across community meetings and engagements
~$260k
in resilience investments mobilized
What's Next in 2026
This work is ongoing, with more ahead.
Stay connected with RCC for updates from the ground, or support the work with a donation.