When it comes to the effects of hostile climates — flood, fire and more — what matters isn’t just inherent risk, but rather the ability of a place to withstand that risk.

AlphaGeo, a geospatial A.I. company that analyzes and predicts location risk, ranked the resilience of 72 of the world’s largest cities. Some of those cities exhibit “a dangerous gap between their exposure and their capacity to cope,” the company stated in a report.

“Resilience equals risk minus adaptation,” said Parag Khanna, AlphaGeo’s founder and chief executive. “Everyone talks about resilience, but no one measures it.”

A good score in the company’s gauge of resilience was driven by two factors: low physical exposure to a checklist of climate risks (inland flooding, coastal flooding, heat stress, drought, wildfires and hurricane wind) and high adaptation to those risks.

In assessing adaptation, the company considered early warning systems, governance, policy responses and infrastructure like flood barriers and high-capacity drainage systems.

Such interventions can significantly mitigate the effects of climate change. For example, gas-powered electricity generators may fail because of stress from extreme heat or cold. But the resulting brownouts and blackouts can be remedied by maintaining a strong electrical grid.

Chicago was ranked the most resilient city. It’s in a temperate latitude, with good freshwater access and low hurricane risk. Adaptation efforts have included a long-term investment in robust infrastructure like the massive Deep Tunnel Project, which is meant to mitigate flooding and water pollution.

Many of the least resilient places were South Asian cities with extreme exposure to floods and monsoons to which they were poorly adapted. Ahmedabad in India, on a riverbank, faced the highest risk. In the United States, the highest-risk city was Phoenix, suffocating under intense heat.Last week’s disastrous floods and mudslides in Nepal and Tibet illustrate a worst-case scenario.

“Accelerating climate change inevitably means far more release of water upstream,” Mr. Khanna said. “In that region, towns are naturally built in the traversable valleys, but those are also the lowest point — and water naturally flows downward along the path of least resistance. We are literally an insignificant obstacle to nature.”

Driving to school the other day. I thought this behavior was only on the CTA. Unsurprised it’s an f-150.

Laptop, raw under his arm, on a motorized scooter in traffic. One bump and it’s in pieces. This city is wild.

Gravesite of Alexander Robinson, Chicago's last Potawatomi chief. Yes this is in Chicago city limits. Much of the family's land is now part of the Forest Preserves on the far NW side.

**Update*\* - Little Princeton is back home and safe. Got in touch with the owner today and was reunited about 130pm. Hopefully he will get a chance to get cozy in his own place, relax, and destress. As for the owner, very happy and relieved (as anyone would and should be). Glad it worked out well and thank you everyone for being super supportive and caring with info, ideas, and all. My partner is the star as she is the one who was spending the most time with him and making sure he had everything he needed/wanted to be as comfy as he could be until we got him home. Yay teamwork and community (I can be cheesy today, don't judge, haha)! Now ya know! :D

Deleting the big message below because it's no longer needed. <3

Go ahead and smoke your little smoke

Took this with my camera this morning. If this is you, message me. Your dog made my day.

Took another walk around the campus and snagged a few building detail shots.

What a wonderful time it was…