The initiative, founded by the Rockefeller Foundation, is a partnership with 100 cities which have a common aim.
She referred to traffic gridlock, apartheid spatial planning and water scarcity as some of the shocks and stresses faced by the city.
De Lille said the city had a transformation agenda, as laid out in the Integrated Development Plan.
“We are constantly striving to be a better city that can rightfully take its place as one of the greatest cities in the world.
“However, things do not always work according to plan.
Cape Town is prone to a number of acute shocks and chronic stresses that can affect our ability to survive, adapt and thrive in times of crisis,” De Lille said.
“As recently as the beginning of this year, going back 2014 and 2015, there were sustained periods of load-shedding.
Through good planning and awareness, along with the capacity of the city, we were able to minimise the worst impacts of load-shedding in our city.” De Lille said load-shedding put the local government economy at risk.
Like all cities, Cape Town is forced to buy electricity from the national power utility, Eskom, which is mostly generated from fossil fuels and coal, she said.
A resilience strategy, no matter how well written and informed, is only as good as its implementation,” she said.