Resilience Centres for vulnerable populations in Herzliya, Israel

Key Learnings

• Close collaboration drives effective adaptation: Encouraging non-traditional ways of working through strong collaboration across municipal departments ensures alignment with community needs. A structured, multi-step approach – led by the mayor and supported by cross-departmental teams – provides a clear pathway to successful adaptation.
• Assigning clear roles improves adaptation effectiveness: Strengthening role clarity among municipal and city staff enabled more effective task allocation under varying climate scenarios. Aclima’s “Climate Neighbourhood” workshop allowed each participant to complete tasks required under different scenarios.
• Scaling-up adaptation efforts: Scaling up the process model and associated management framework enables other municipalities – nationally and potentially globally – to tailor and implement strategies that suit their specific needs.

Summary

Herzliya faces rising temperatures, intense heatwaves, and increased flood risks due to climate change. The city joined Aclima’s Climate Ambitious Municipalities program to implement climate actions and share best practices with other cities and municipalities. Herzliya is creating up to 20 green-powered resilience centres for climate-vulnerable populations, mapping community needs and designing adaptive solutions. Unique workshops and cross-department collaboration help municipal and city staff prepare for climate-related challenges and operationalise the centres.