Washington DC’s first chief resilience officer Kevin Bush is confronted daily by a range of major shocks and stresses that threaten a 700,000-person, nearly 70-square mile city that is also the capital of the United States. Bush discusses how to forge a culture of resilience across the city, makes the case for greater investment in resilient infrastructure and practices, and explores how long-term stresses like a high cost of living can reduce the city’s resilience to short-term shocks like flooding.