The future of resilient cities takes centre stage at Schulich Connects

As cities face increasing pressure from climate change, aging systems and growing demand, building resilience has become a defining challenge for engineers and planners. 

This was the focus of this spring’s Schulich Connects panel, Resilient Cities: Building Infrastructure Using Sustainable Systems Engineering, where experts discussed how sustainable design, innovative materials and systems thinking can strengthen urban infrastructure for the future.

The discussion emphasized the need to rethink not just how infrastructure is built, but how it functions as part of a broader, interconnected system. It was moderated by Dr. Alberto Bezama, Dr.mont, associate dean of sustainability with the Schulich School of Engineering (SSE). 

Designing systems that work together

A key theme that emerged was the need to move beyond siloed approaches to infrastructure. Panellists stressed that urban systems — from transportation to water to energy — are deeply interconnected, and failures rarely happen in isolation.

“When something fails, the system fails together,” said Sumaya Nsair, MSc’20, an assistant professor in Sustainable Systems Engineering at SSE, in a post-event interview. “So, we do need to integrate those systems together as we’re making our design decisions.”

This systems-level thinking extends beyond physical assets. Bezama highlighted the importance of connections between services, resources and people, noting that resilient infrastructure depends on “the connection of different services, resources, human capabilities,” and how they influence one another.

Building on this, Jessie Andjelic, architect, urbanist and assistant professor in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, emphasized that infrastructure must also be understood through the people who make it possible. 

“It’s important to also look at labour because infrastructure doesn’t build itself,” said Andjelic, BGS’06, MArch’09.

Andjelic highlighted the need to recognize how people contribute to city building and to consider the full range of stakeholders involved in delivering and maintaining infrastructure, noting that this perspective is essential to understanding how urban systems are actually produced and sustained over time.

Building for longevity and low-carbon resilience

Panellists also underscored the importance of designing infrastructure that is both durable and low carbon. For Craig Applegath, a biologist, architect and urban designer with DIALOG who specializes in climate-adapted design, resilience and sustainability must go hand in hand — particularly as climate-related stresses intensify.

“I think that right now we have to marry the notion of resilience to the notion of reducing carbon,” said Applegath. 

He pointed to electrification — from buildings to transportation to energy grids — as one of the most important steps Canada can take in the next decade.

At the same time, Applegath emphasized designing for longevity. “If we’re going to invest in building, we should invest in something that has longevity … buildings that will last not just 25 years, but hundreds of years,” he said.

Together, these approaches reflect a shift toward infrastructure that is adaptable, repairable and built for long-term performance.

As cities continue to evolve, the panelists made clear that resilience is not a single solution, but an ongoing process of integration, innovation and collaboration.