Abstract
With the increased attention on community sustainability and resilience, different poles have developed voicing similarities and/or differences of the two concepts. This study quantifies adaptive capacity of Jefferson County, Texas, one of the coastal communities at the Gulf of Mexico having some of the worse adverse effects. Review of existing methods is presented. Analyses were conducted for the last ten years: from 2005 to 2014. Interestingly, statistical analyses showed that the County’s socio-economic profile or indicators have not changed throughout the ten years, but the environmental, institutional, and infrastructure indicators have. Focusing on one location magnifies the adaptive capacity of Jefferson County, the temporal aspect of both perspectives, and the relevance of existing methods to this community with its peculiarities. Future assessments need to be based on primary data collected through participatory engagement of all stakeholders. This calls for attempts to quantify adaptive capacity using the comparatively more challenging deductive reasoning, which would allow for incorporation of more risks and thus higher readiness.
Highlights
For a community to thrive in a constantly changing world, it needs to have great adaptive capacity, which means overcoming the unplanned or risks
Future assessments need to be based on primary data collected through participatory engagement of all stakeholders. This calls for attempts to quantify adaptive capacity using the comparatively more challenging deductive reasoning, which would allow for incorporation of more risks and higher readiness
Jefferson County is in the Western Gulf Coastal Plain ecoregion, known as the Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes ecoregion in eastern Texas and western Louisiana [5]
Summary
For a community to thrive in a constantly changing world, it needs to have great adaptive capacity, which means overcoming the unplanned or risks. Al-Thani nerability, and/or resilience [1] [2] These concepts overlap, complement each other, and sometimes are used interchangeably, they are used distinctly . All risks share the characteristics of being uncertain and having undetermined severity in terms of direct and indirect costs These risks expose vulnerabilities at different scales and dimensions, which necessitate the community to develop resilience. Having resilience extends beyond having lesser vulnerability by incorporating anticipation, adaptation, and recovery in a timely manner in order to ensure restoration or even improvement [4]. Resilience encompasses both vulnerability and sustainability, and it is a measure of the community’s adaptive capacity
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
