Global Migration: Resilient Cities at the Forefront

100 Resilient Cities, May, 2017, 103 pp.

Funded by The Rockefeller Foundation, 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) helps cities around the world become more resilient to the physical, social, and economic challenges of the 21st century.  The Foundation provides funding for a Chief Resilience Officer in each member city. Believing that the concept of resilience has relevance to the challenges posed by migration and that "the mass migration we are witnessing today is not a temporary state of emergency, but the beginning of a new reality," 100RC convened a meeting in Athens in September of 2016 to examine migration as a key component of urban planning. Eight cities (Los Angeles, Montreal, Medellin, Paris, Amman, Ramallah, Thessaloniki, and Athens) played a lead role in planning this event. They were joined by representatives of expert organizations, such as the International Rescue Committee, Welcoming America, and the International Organization for Migration. The overriding goal of participants was to "unlock the Resilience Dividend," meaning that solutions developed for one challenge, e.g. immigration, should address multiple problems and constituencies. This report, described as a "blueprint," summarizes "the aspirations and strategic approaches" of conference participants. "It describes methods for integrating migrants into the formal economy; programs for lowering barriers of entry to small businesses and entrepreneurs; innovative designs for housing; examples of new city departments for migration; and many other programs for absorbing migrants in the long term while harnessing their contributions to the host community."

MPI report finds that almost 50 percent of recent immigrants to the U.S. are college graduates -- up from 27 percent 25 years ago