A new award, jointly offered by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk reduction (UNISDR) and the World Cities Scientific Development Alliance (WCSDA), called the Resilient Cities Award will be presented for the first time in October 2012. The new award, “designed to recognize excellence in land use planning and design and other activities that help protect communities from the impacts of natural disasters,” will be presented at the Second Mayors’ Summit on Disaster Risk Reduction.

Helena Molin Valdes, Chief of the United Nations’ Making Cities Resilient Campaign, was quoted on the UNISDR website as saying that, “The Resilient Cities Award aims to raise awareness of the importance of good planning in the face of urbanization and climate change, and advance the exchange of ideas, innovation, and the investment in disaster risk reduction.”