Led by course coordinator Pamela Duran Diaz, the Developing an Urban Resilience City Strategy Workshop within the MSc in Urban Management and Development, transforms complex theoretical frameworks into actionable urban strategies. The impact is best reflected through students like Kader Can Odabaş, who gained hands-on experience in governance, social structures and environment. By merging academic expertise with the experience of our students, the workshop ensures that graduates leave not just with a degree, but with the practical resilience-building tools necessary to navigate the uncertainties of modern urban contexts.
Urban resilience is a broad term. How does the Urban Resilience workshop specifically help students move past the buzzwords and into practical, evidence-based strategy?
Pamela: The Urban Resilience Workshop starts by finding a shared understanding of what urban resilience actually means, before introducing any “official” definitions or frameworks. Through discussions and collective reflection, students unpack the concept together and agree on what resilience looks like in practice, not just on paper.
Once they begin analysing a city of their choice and identifying its main threats, something shifts. The sense of hopelessness that often comes with complex and wicked urban problems starts to fade. By working through the diagnostic, students begin to see the city’s existing assets, its room for improvement, and its unrealised potential.
The problem stops feeling overwhelming and starts becoming an opportunity for creativity, collaboration, and informed decision-making.
You introduce students to the City Resilience Framework (CRF) and the Resilience Wheel. Why were these specific tools chosen as the backbone of the course?
Pamela: Because they have been tested in real cities, over many years, and they work. The City Resilience Framework and the Resilience Wheel have supported cities around the world in moving beyond fragmented, sector-based responses towards more integrated and strategic approaches. Their strength lies in their ability to structure complex conversations and make interconnections visible.
Rather than operating in “business as usual” mode, which is increasingly risky in the face of disruption, these tools help students confront complexity directly. They do not require large investments or exhaustive data. What they do require is openness to collaboration, dialogue across sectors, and decisions grounded in evidence rather than assumptions.
The workshop emphasises 'real-world decision-making.' Can you share how the skills learned here directly translate to the challenges a graduate might face in a municipal or NGO role?
Pamela: Very directly! Most graduates entering municipal administrations or NGOs are not asked to design ideal solutions from scratch. They are asked to work with uncertainty, limited resources, institutional constraints, and competing priorities. This workshop mirrors that reality.
Students learn how to work in multidisciplinary teams, make sense of complex situations, prioritise what matters most, and communicate their reasoning clearly. These are exactly the skills needed when advising decision-makers, engaging with communities, or coordinating across departments. The focus is not on producing perfect strategies, but on making informed, defensible choices in real-world conditions.
A key part of the course is structured diagnostics. Why is it so critical for future urban planners to master the 'diagnostic' phase before jumping into strategy design?
Pamela: Because without a solid diagnosis, strategy quickly becomes guesswork. The diagnostic phase forces students to slow down and understand what is actually happening in a city, rather than simply reacting to symptoms. It helps them distinguish between short-term solutions that patch the issues versus mitigation and adaptation strategies that help a city thrive despite the challenges. They also learn see how different challenges are interconnected, so there is no room for siloed solutions. Moreover, a good diagnostic integrates the city’s assets, existing resources and systems that can support and enhance the resilience strategy.
By learning to diagnose before designing, students realise that good strategies are not about doing more, but about doing the right things. The diagnostic creates the foundation for strategies that are realistic, context-sensitive, and grounded in what cities already have.
In essence, we aim for graduates who see cities as living systems rather than as a collection of ageing infrastructures,
and who are able to strengthen urban wellbeing by working with what is already there.
As urban environments face increasingly complex shocks and stresses, what kind of 'resilience leader' are you hoping to cultivate through the Master's programme?
Pamela: A resilience leader who is not frozen by complexity or by the absence of ideal conditions. We hope to cultivate professionals who are responsive to context, who know how to work with existing assets, and who are not discouraged by limited political will or institutional constraints. Leaders who understand that resilience is built incrementally, through collaboration, learning, and adaptation.
Coming into the workshop, what was your initial understanding of 'urban resilience,' and how did that change once you started working with the Resilience Wheel?
Kader: Before the workshop, I mostly associated urban resilience with disaster response and physical preparedness. Through working with the City Resilience Framework and the Resilience Wheel, my understanding became much broader. Using the framework helped make these connections very tangible, especially when moving from abstract concepts to concrete examples. It encouraged me to think more holistically about cities and how different challenges are interconnected.
I started to see resilience as something that is built over time and across multiple systems: governance, social structures, health, and the environment, not just infrastructure.
Resilience is rarely a solo effort. How did the workshop format encourage collaboration, and what was the energy like in the room when designing your strategies?
Kader: The workshop had a very positive and engaging atmosphere. While each group was free to choose different cities and approaches, collaboration was strongly encouraged through group discussions and shared exercises. I found the process both enjoyable and intellectually stimulating. People brought diverse perspectives, and the discussions felt open and constructive rather than competitive. This made it easier to experiment with ideas and learn from others, which is something I really valued during the workshop.
Do you feel more confident in your ability to handle complex urban data now? How did using the CRF change the way you look at a city’s assets and capacities?
Kader: Yes, I do. The City Resilience Framework made complex information much more manageable by providing a clear structure. During the individual assignment, where I was working on a highly complex city like Istanbul, the framework helped me balance identifying challenges with recognizing existing strengths. This shift toward an asset-based perspective made the analysis feel more realistic and empowering, and it definitely increased my confidence in applying resilience thinking to different urban contexts.
