100 Resilient Cities initiative<\/a> supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. Each city develops a strategy to address major shocks and stresses in the face of disaster. Boston plans to focus on social and class divisions to build a more socially cohesive city, says Martin.<\/p>\nFor Martin, concentrating on racial injustice is a crucial component.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we look at the challenges with racial inequities, it\u2019s an indicator that there\u2019s something really wrong with the system, with the government, with the specific process, policy, practice,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Data collected to support Boston\u2019s resilience strategy shows that there is social segregation among the city\u2019s racial groups.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat means at a very fundamental level, we don\u2019t have the social cohesion that we need in order to thrive after emergencies\u2026 We can\u2019t call ourselves resilient if more than half of our population is still struggling in the ways that they are right now based on the data,\u201d says Martin.<\/p>\n
A key factor in creating a resilient city after a disaster is social cohesion or the ability and willingness to cooperate with people within and outside communities. The main disruption to building social cohesion globally as well as locally is racism, Martin says.<\/p>\n
\u201cRacism is a huge resource waste. It\u2019s a waste of human resources, waste of intellectual resources, waste of emotional resources, it\u2019s a waste of lots of resources,\u201d says Martin.<\/p>\n
The threat to Boston\u2019s resilience is the same one affecting the United States, notes Martin. She says what worries her is the inability of people to look beyond their blindspots and \u201cbreakdown the barriers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a hard time seeing the connections across struggles … there\u2019s this unnecessary competition across groups that takes hold and we all are really dealing with the same issues we just don\u2019t see it that way,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n