We support governments, non-profits, and community partners in designing policies, programs, and projects that mitigate impacts from climate change and natural hazards, while strengthening economies and supporting whole community resilience.

Disaster Resilience at CDR bridges all our practice areas to deliver innovative solutions across sectors. We understand how disasters like floods, extreme heat, drought, wildfire, landslides, and erosion are connected and cascading, and we work with partners to design strategies that reflect that same complexity. Our collaborative approach integrates community and cultural values with the best-available climate science, focused on action and multiple benefits. This could look like revitalizing community buildings into energy-efficient spaces and emergency shelters during extreme events, implementing multi-modal transportation systems that double as emergency routes and emission reducers, and establishing criteria to effectively balance land use, water availability, and economic impacts. CDR supports this work by fostering cross-sector partnerships, supporting complex decision-making, and facilitating meaningful community engagement that drives bold action in the near term and robust resilience in the long term.

Strategic Planning & Decision Support: Provide tools, strategies, and analysis to guide long-term planning and policy development and track progress and effectiveness. 

  • Scenario Planning
  • Metric and Indicator Development
  • Collaborative Problem Solving
  • Data Integration
  • Strategic Investments
  • Policy Adoption

Engagement & Outreach: Design and implement activities that build trust, raise awareness, and ensure meaningful involvement of communities and stakeholders in decision-making processes.

  • Stakeholder and Community Engagement
  • Inclusive Decision Making
  • Communications and Marketing

Technical Support & Capacity Building: Provide hands-on assistance to strengthen the skills, resources, and readiness of agencies, organizations, and communities to design, fund, and implement impactful projects.

  • Project Selection and Design Development 
  • Funding and Financing Plans
  • Training and Peer Learning

Facilitation & Coordination: Support collaboration across sectors and organizations, including guiding group processes, resolving conflict, and fostering aligned action through formal and informal partnerships.

  • Interagency Coordination
  • Cross-Sector Partnerships 
  • Coalition-Building
  • Collaborative Agreements

Examples of our disaster resilience work: 

  1. dePaving a Greener Denver
    CDR is partnering with the Denver Office of Transportation and Infrastructure to identify community-centered strategies for reducing impervious cover—an urgent need as over half of Denver’s surface is now impervious and growing by 5% each decade. This work aims to reverse that trend and achieve a bold target: reducing untreated impervious cover to 30% by 2040 through strategies to Preserve, Reduce, and Treat impervious surfaces. Guided by principles of collaboration, language justice, and respect for existing knowledge, CDR’s approach ensures communities most impacted by climate and infrastructure inequities are at the center of solution-making. By co-creating strategies with city agencies, local leaders, and residents, this project will lay the groundwork for a more livable, equitable, and resilient Denver.
  2. Community Change Equitable Resilience Technical Assistance
    CDR played a central role in this EPA program by coordinating collaboration across federal agencies, Native Alaskan tribes, municipalities, nonprofits, and technical experts to support communities in qualifying for Community Change Grant funding. Grounded in respect for tribal sovereignty and guided by community-led strategy design, CDR worked closely with the Native Village of Kipnuk, Chinik Eskimo Community, and Native Village of Gambell to ensure resilience solutions reflected local priorities and Indigenous knowledge. Through inclusive engagement, the program delivered shovel-ready projects such as riverbank stabilization in Kipnuk, housing and utility infrastructure improvements in Chinik, and a resilience hub in Gambell for community gathering and emergency shelter. This work advances climate justice by supporting frontline communities in leading efforts to protect their land, people, and future.
  3. Colorado Forest Resilience Planning Guide
    The Colorado Forest Resilience Planning Guide is a vital toolkit designed to help practitioners and resource allocators work together across jurisdictions to strengthen ecosystem resilience and recovery. CDR led the development of this statewide guide with the goal of building collaborative capacity among communities facing growing threats from wildfires, insect infestations, and drought. Through extensive coordination with CSFS, DNR, CSU CCC, and CFRI, CDR shaped a framework that translates resilience strategies into clear, actionable steps rooted in both science and community values. This guide empowers communities to align efforts, deepen partnerships, and take informed action to protect Colorado’s forests and the people who depend on them.
  4. Colorado’s 2013 Flood Recovery
    Following the devastating 2013 floods, CDR played a critical role in advancing recovery and resilience efforts across Colorado at multiple scales. At the state level, CDR facilitated the CDOT Flood Recovery Program, helping identify key lessons to improve future disaster response and strengthen emergency preparedness. At the county level, CDR led large-scale community engagement for Boulder County’s Comprehensive Creek Recovery and Watershed Master Plans and coordinated stakeholder input for the Fourmile Creek and Lefthand Watershed Master Plans to guide long-term resilience. At the community level, CDR co-founded Rebuild Jamestown and worked closely with residents, FEMA, and state agencies to develop infrastructure planning scenarios and a shared recovery vision. Across all levels, CDR’s work emphasized inclusive engagement, interagency coordination, and community-led solutions to build lasting resilience.