Mayor's Office

Chief Resilience and Sustainability Officer

Contact: Priya Zachariah
Chief Resilience and Sustainability Officer
Email: priya.zachariah@houstontx.gov
Phone: 832.393.8528

The Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) for the City of Houston leads the city’s partnership with 100 Resilient Cities – Pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation. The CRO leads city-wide resilience-building efforts to help Houston prepare for, withstand, and bounce back from the “shocks” – catastrophic events like hurricanes, floods, and cyberattacks – and “stresses” – slow-moving disasters like aging infrastructure, homelessness, and economic inequality, which are increasingly part of 21st century life.

Resilient Houston

Resilient Houston, the City’s resilience strategy, was released on February 12, 2020. Resilient Houston provides a framework for collective action for every Houstonian; our diverse neighborhoods and watersheds; City departments; and local, regional, and partners. The strategy links existing efforts with new ones that will collectively work to protect Houston against future disasters—from hurricanes to extreme heat waves—and chronic stresses such as aging infrastructure, poor air quality, and flooding.

It is available to download as a single page document (.pdf) or a double page document (smaller print, less paper, .pdf). Downloads updated 05.18.2020 (Resilient Houston COVID-19 Addendum is located on page 174-176)

• Resilient Houston Two Year Report (.pdf, July13, 2023)
• Resilient Houston Two Year Report (.pdf, March 23, 2022)
• Resilient Houston One Year Report (.pdf, March 1, 2021)
• Report Summary (.pdf)
• Executive Order 1-66 (.pdf)

Resilient Houston’s Executive Summary is available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Urdu. Links below are .pdf.

• Arabic - single page document or Arabic - double page document (smaller print, less paper)
• Chinese - single page document or Chinese - double page document (smaller print, less paper)
• French - single page document or French - double page document (smaller print, less paper)
• Spanish - single page document or Spanish - double page document (smaller print, less paper)
• Vietnamese - single page document or Vietnamese - double page document (smaller print, less paper)
• Urdu - single page document or Urdu - double page document (smaller print, less paper)

News

• August 4, 2021 -- Mayor Turner Announces Incentives for Green Development Launch
• March 1, 2021 -- Resilient Houston One Year Report Shows Progress in 2020
• January 29, 2021 -- Mayor Turner, New Hope Housing, Star of Hope, & Wells Fargo Kick-Off Urban Prairie Resilience Project
• January 5, 2021 -- New Data Reveals Neighborhoods Impacted by Urban Heat Island Effect
• December 16, 2020 -- Houston City Council Approves New Green Stormwater Infrastructure Tax Abatement Program and Updates Existing LEED Tax Abatement Program to Improve Houston's Climate Resilience and Sustainability
• November 30, 2020 -- Mayor Turner Announces the Urban Prairie Resiliency Project
• November 6, 2020 -- Houston Celebrates Texas Arbor Day by Planting 600 Trees at Buffalo Bend Nature Center
• October 5, 2020 -- Mayor Turner Named as Board of Directors Chair of Resilient Cities Network
• October 5, 2020 -- City of Houston and Resilient Houston Recognized with Top Awards for Planning and Resilience
• September 14, 2020 -- City of Houston Releases Climate Impact Assessment Projecting Future Houston Climate Trends
• August 5, 2020 Mayor's Office Press Release -- Houston/Harris County to Hold Largest Single-Day, Community-Led Heat Mapping Effort in U.S. History
• June 10, 2020 -- Mayor Turner Invites Proposals for National Creative Placemaking Grant
• May 18, 2020 -- Houston Integrates COVID-19 Response and Recovery into Resilient Houston Framework
• February 12, 2020 Mayor's Office Press Release -- Mayor Turner Launches the Resilient Houston Strategy and Signs Historic Executive Order to Prepare the City for Future Disasters