The basic dictionary definition of a resilient system is one that can absorb a shock, or recover quickly and resume its intended function. This is very concise and clear – we want our systems to function under all conditions. But the definition also explains why we tend to conflate sustainability with resilience. We define the success of “functioning” using sustainable outcomes. As a computer requires both hardware and software to function; the systems that make a city viable require infrastructure (hard) to function and stakeholders (soft) to define what functioning means. How should cities define the connections between urban infrastructure, resilience, and sustainability?

The Comprehensive Creek Planning Initiative (CCP) was a project developed by Boulder County to address the vulnerabilities in the county’s watersheds after the September 2013 flood event. The CCP initiative was a collaborative multi-stakeholder community-based effort to develop multi-disciplinary watershed-level master plans for flood-impacted watersheds. It has been instrumental in guiding Boulder County’s flood recovery and restoring the ecological conditions of the county’s watersheds.