Summary

The coastal city of Surat, in Gujarat, India faces multiple climate and health stressors. Sociodemographic stressors add into overall city vulnerability. Urban health resilience leadership in Surat has witnessed the journey from ‘spontaneous actions‘ to ‘institutionalised resilience’. In this context, the Urban Health & Climate Resilience Centre (UHCRC) initiative in Surat emphasised evidence-based advocacy to Local Self-Government and demonstrated unique models of capacity building of various city stakeholders. The UHCRC project from 2013 to 2016 was an interdisciplinary research, training, advocacy and network project, the first of its kind in India under the execution of health department of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC). The seed funding of a project was by the Asian City Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) of Rockefeller foundation.