How forcing community resilience in rural communities harms sustainable development

Abstract

Community resilience is critical to managing the effects of climate change and in achieving the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Resilient communities are able to manage stressors and recover from them, such as in instances of energy service outages. Instances like these can lead to communities that feel forced to exhibit individual characteristics of resilience, such as neighbors relying on each other in times of need because history has shown them that they cannot rely on outside institutions for help. Communities may adopt factors of individual psychological resilience in the face of energy service outages because they lack structural support to exhibit community resilience or to pursue resilient energy systems. This lack of access to support and resources is in conflict with principles of procedural justice and energy sovereignty while reinforcing institutional mistrust within affected communities and contributing to social vulnerability. This article contemplates and expounds on the idea of coerced resilience in the face of energy service outages and severe weather within a rural, remote community in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (UP). The UP is located at the tail end of electricity infrastructure, putting its residents at increased risk of experiencing energy service outages that are further complicated by its isolation and severe winter weather. We examine the idea of coerced resilience, its relation to social vulnerability, and how it conflicts with concepts of energy justice and the UN’s SDG. We further go on to highlight how certain populations and youth can minimize instances of coerced resilience and contribute to sustainable development making it an important consideration to achieve sustainable development goals.