“This visionary strategy is our roadmap for addressing flood and heat risks, while ensuring our citizens remain healthy and safe with access to more opportunities,” said Mayor Donna Deegan. “As Jacksonville grows, we must ensure our infrastructure and systems are strong enough and adaptable enough to confront the challenges ahead. Our goal is to be a thriving and resilient city for the next 50 years and become a national leader in the process.”

With data and science guiding the planning process, the City has developed a roadmap that meaningfully addresses its risks in objective, equitable, and efficient ways. A great deal of care was taken to ensure every corner of Jacksonville was studied, and that the resilience actions proposed are tailored to the many geographies, communities, and ecosystems that make up Jacksonville.

“Resilience is a generational issue,” said Anne Coglianese, Chief Resilience Officer for City of Jacksonville. “The future resilience of Jacksonville and the well-being of our next generation will be determined by our willingness to make consistent and deliberate decisions about risk and growth over the coming years and decades. The 45 actions in this strategy will shape our collective future.”

Recommendations in this Strategy are organized into two chapters. The first includes 45 resilience actions—implementable policies, projects, and programs. The second chapter builds on these actions by tailoring and prioritizing them for different conditions on the ground in Jacksonville neighborhoods.

As Coglianese shared during her presentation to Symposium attendees, a Resilient Jacksonville will be one that: proactively adapts, fosters healthy communities and environments, expands opportunities, and builds for the future.

“Our new resilience-first mindset is going to take all of us,” noted Mayor Donna Deegan. “It will be a whole-of-government effort. It will now be the foundation of everything we do as a city.”
The full strategy is available at resilientjacksonville.com.