In February 2014, ICMA CityLinks published an announcement to participate with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Network on a technical exchange focused on climate adaptation. The City of Fort Lauderdale actively applied, celebrated being chosen to work with the City of Legazpi in the Philippines and participated with interest.  When you consider the current challenges facing U.S. cities, the economic limitations in local governments, the lack of staff trained to address the emerging challenges of climate change, why would any city want to take its resources and send them across the world? 

When asked this question, Fort Lauderdale City Manager Lee Feldman stated “We learn as much from them as they do from us.”  But what would this coastal “All America” city known as a tourist destination have in common with Legazpi, a comparably-sized municipality in an island nation with an active volcano in its city boundaries?  More than you might think. Both communities have 1) limited resources that need to be carefully prioritize to meet the public good, 2) a strong network of neighborhoods or barangays and 3) the imperative to address the threat that climate change poses.

This ICMA program funded through USAID targets climate adaptation, an emerging global issue where the solutions are not always known. One of the great things about working with others that share a common threat is their perspective.   Sometimes in the course of explaining an approach to a problem, a question is asked that shines light on an aspect which may not have been previously considered. These questions help turn the problem sideways and open a new avenue toward a different kind of solution.

Fort Lauderdale’s interaction with Legazpi has been and continues to be an opportunity to consider their climate adaptation issues and put it in the context of ours.  It challenges our assumptions and, in doing so, makes us look at the situation differently. We share the same need to serve our community and prepared for sea level rise, changing weather patterns, and their impacts.  By changing the conversations, these partnerships are vital to expand our knowledge base by exploring useful solutions to strengthen our resiliency and ensure the long-term sustainability of our cities.  The questions asked offer a new view and a gateway to an answer that could enhance community resilience to climate change not just in Legazpi but in Fort Lauderdale.