Paris has joined 32 cities from the 100 Resilience Cities Network to release its first resilience strategy, part of which will incorporate public schoolyards as ‘new’ public spaces. Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, along with 100 Resilient Cities, presented the 35 actions plan which aims to prepare the French capital for the risks of the 21st century.

We need to transform the city,” was the phrase, the Paris Chief Resilience Officer Sebastien Maire, recalled from his conversations with Hidalgo, “and transforming Paris is a huge challenge because it’s a heritage city, historical and old.”

The main goals of the strategy are to turn Paris into a citizen-driven, inclusive city which mobilizes collective intelligence and takes full advantage of existing but underutilized spaces.

Read the full article by Barbara Szewcow and Jonathan Andrews about public space from Cities Today