Resilience Hubs

In essence, a resilience hub is a physical space and a group of people, connected to each other and that space, who are thinking seriously about how to prepare their community for the worst and at the same time bring out the best through projects they can do together. Resilience hubs are being explored in public libraries, community colleges, houses of worship and other centers of activity. The Library of Local program has seeded many public libraries to see themselves as resources for self-reliance and community wellbeing, whether or not they call themselves hubs. 

Nationally, the Resilience Hubs Collaborative was formed by experienced community activists who had developed a model working with the Urban Sustainability Directors’ Network and formed an independent organization for autonomy in creating a truly community-led model. According to this model, six key features are the essence of a useful resilience hub:

  1. Programs & services;

  2. Information & connectivity;

  3. Built & natural spaces;

  4. Power systems & backup;

  5. Operations & maintenance;

  6. Accessibility & transportation. 

Currently in the Hudson Valley, there are meaningful resilience hubs in the Libraries of Local and other public libraries, and in the communities identified above. There is no organized effort to seed and actively support and resource them more systematically. One model is the city of Baltimore, where the Office of Sustainability coordinates a structured but flexible program to support community-based organizations in establishing 70+ local hubs. While the related projects in the Hudson Valley have been intentionally deliberate and organic in their evolution, the Baltimore program has emphasized purposeful coordination to establish basic supports and ensure communities’ access to them. 

The benefit of resilience hubs is that they can serve neighborhoods and beyond, at a scale that allows for flexible implementation with limited budgets. They provide relatively low-cost replicable models for concentrated support of communities, and could serve as channels for group purchasing of supplies for resilience and sustainable living.