A conceptual framework for resilient place assessment based on spatial resilience approach: An integrative review

Abstract

Creating ‘resilient places’ has increasingly become a major priority for urban planners, designers, and policy makers. ‘Spatial resilience’ as a subset of urban resilience can be used to guide the development of a conceptual framework for resilient place assessment. In this regard, a resilient place should feature a combination of physical and non-physical characteristics that can contribute to improved response and adaptation to a broad range of natural and manmade hazards. In this context, resilience is claimed to be the ability to manage, mitigate and adapt to varied risks and changes that threaten the quality of the functionality, livability, and vitality of a place. To further elaborate on the concept of resilient place, in this study, 127 articles were reviewed using qualitative methods, and general urban resilience definitions related to semantic resilience dimensions were extracted. These are, namely, intrinsic, resilience behavior, and reinforcing attributes. Eventually, 22 studies were selected for content analysis using a qualitative review. The conceptual framework of place assessment was developed concerning the constituent attributes of ‘place’ and ‘spatial resilience.’ In the proposed framework, the constructive dimensions of Resilient Place Assessment (RPA) include four dimensions, three of which are semantic resilience dimensions. These dimensions include the intrinsic resilience attributes (i.e., robustness, coherence, efficiency, foresight capacity, flexibility, resourcefulness, knowledge and learning, and self-organization), behavioral resilience attributes (i.e., recovery; adaption; innovation; transformation), reinforcing resilience attributes (i.e., diversity, redundancy, modularity, and connectivity), and place-making components (i.e., form and structure, environment and behavior, and image and meaning). Insights provided in this conceptual framework can be used by urban planners, designers, and policy makers in their efforts towards creating more resilient places.