Interpretations Of Resilience Research Articles

Building resilience to a warming world: A contribution toward a definition of “Integrated Climate Resilience” specific for buildings - Literature review and proposals

With the forecast of a warmer world, with longer, more frequent and more intense heat waves, it becomes essential to have buildings that are resilient to a rapidly warming climate and able to withstand extreme temperature events.This research investigates the concept of buildings’ resilience. Specifically, the article collects definitions of resilient building found in 32 scientific articles referring primarily to thermal aspects and seeks to associate each definition with one of the two interpretations of resilience, namely the engineering and ecological ones, mainly identified within the theory on resilience. This aimed to assess whether there is a predominant and – more importantly – a clear understanding of resilience for buildings, to which extent this concept is well defined and clear, which is a topic that, to the best of our knowledge, no study on thermal resilience of buildings seems to have examined to date.Results showed a significant lack of consensus regarding the interpretation of buildings’ resilience within the selected literature. Such lack of consensus highlights the ongoing confusion about the concept of buildings’ resilience to the threats posed by the current and future climate; what should this concept include concretely? A certain discrepancy also emerged even between the interpretation used to define resilience and that used for its indicators. Furthermore, the available definitions are observed to be rather generic, not specific to buildings and, in any case, it does not seem easy to make them operative. In addition to the literature analysis, the article proposes a tentative approach, which could usefully arrive at an attempted definition of resilience that is specific to buildings and operative. Starting with buildings, the proposed “bottom-up” approach is innovative compared to the prevailing approach in the literature that starts with definitions of ecological and engineering resilience (top-down) instead. Furthermore, the article delivers a couple of considerations to be accounted for when applying the concept of resilience to buildings: the importance of considering not only extreme events but also climate change understood as an increase in average air temperature and the importance of also including the inherent resilience due to the presence of occupants, whose thermal adaptive behavior can mitigate the risk of power outages by making the building less vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.By providing an operational tool for researchers, engineers and planners who intend to strengthen the resilience of the building in the face of climate change, the research contributes to achieving a clearer and shared understanding of how the concept of buildings’ resilience should be declined.

THE EU AND ASEAN: A RESILIENCE PERSPECTIVE

As in the present international circumstances governance and regulation shifts to the regional level, conventional wisdom suggests that approaches of regional actors to the concept of resilience differ significantly. In reality, however, more similarity than difference is evident. To explain this puzzle, the authors turn to the narrative of resilience developed by the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as points of similarity and difference. Starting from an outline of the resilience narrative in the EU, the paper further proceeds to revealing its specific features from an ASEAN perspective to finally draw lines of comparison between those two approaches. While selected papers address approaches to resilience in the EU and ASEAN, none has gone beyond merely describing them separately. As a result, understanding of how resilience is interpreted in various regions, and how these interpretations may be synergized remains stagnant. More than that, assessments of resilience-related issues, if explored individually, may be misleading and incomplete. The paper eliminates this shortcoming and offers new insights into the conceptualization of the resilience narrative from a regional perspective by comparing two influential multilateral dialogue venues, namely, the EU and ASEAN. This factor accounts for the academic novelty of the research. The findings indicate unexpected commonalities between the EU’s and ASEAN’s interpretations of resilience across different lines of comparison. The authors argue that these points of synergy may be an important unifying component in relations between various regional actors, as a new wave of globalization appears and gains traction.

Revisiting ‘resilience’ in light of racism, ‘othering’ and resistance

In this commentary the authors analyse how the concept of resilience can be and has been applied to Black, Asian and minority ethnic families and communities in ways that are biased, stigmatising and pathologising. They argue that current definitions of resilience need to be redefined and reconceptualised, particularly in settings dominated by White middle-class voices that define what ‘positive emotions’, ‘successful traits’ and ‘coping mechanisms’ entail. Here, through racism and flawed perceptions and interpretations of resilience and ‘othering’, members from ethnic minority communities are defined as in need of resilience support, whilst at the same time their experience of structural racism, e.g., in relation to mental health support, social/health care practices and school exclusions, is being erased. Instead, the authors argue that resilience can also mean ‘resistance’, i.e., resisting bad treatment and racism, as well as reflecting agency, identity and ownership of one’s own life and choices within this. Reframing resilience thus means taking account of multifaceted and interactive effects of personal, material, institutional and political factors that impact on behaviour, wellbeing and resilience, as well as acknowledging that the way in which ‘behaviour’ is received is by default flawed, if this is largely informed by an oppressive White middle-class viewpoint.

Operating urban resilience strategies to face climate change and associated risks: some advances from theory to application in Canada and France

Faced with increasing urbanization and uncertainties linked to climate change, the scientific community has integrated the concept of resilience into urban management practices. Once revolutionary, now a buzzword, resilience is a concept that is difficult to transform into an integrated tool that stakeholders accept and adopt. This paper offers a perspective on the different interpretations of resilience, its difficult implementation and the tools that seek to operationalize it. The underlying questions are how these tools are appropriated by urban managers and territorial decision-makers, and how the theoretical concept can be translated into resilient urban development. This research paper reviews the work on resilience and investigates its use and operationalization, comparing two different approaches – organizational (Canada) and holistic (France) – that aim to clarify and operationalize resilience. These theoretical approaches have been combined to create workshops for urban managers so they can move from theoretical results to practical applications.

Interpretations of Resilience and Change and The Catalytic Roles of Media: A Case of Canadian Daily Newspaper Discourse on Natural Disasters.

The varied interpretations of the concept of resilience in natural hazards research literature has attracted numerous criticisms. A common criticism centers around a poor understanding of the changes caused by natural disasters by the research stream. Considering resilience as a metaphor of change, and newspaper as a catalyst that often highlights post-disaster opportunities for "forward looking" (rather than bouncing back) changes, we examined some specific aspects of change in Canadian communities by analyzing coverage of natural disasters in daily newspapers. We posit that post-disaster newspaper discourse on resilience and change can not only assist enhancing academic inquiries on resilience but also contribute to improving practices for transformative changes in post-disaster contexts. We adopted a social constructivist approach to analyzing newspaper discourse, using the ProQuest database to find articles from the 1996-2017 period. The findings exhibited a trend of the increased use of narratives on resilience in Canadian newspapers since the 1990s that substantiates the hypothesis that transformative change in the personal and practical spheres requires alteration of peoples' attitude, behavior, and thinking toward environmental risks. The discourse emphasized incremental changes at the policy level: (i) to improve response and recovery, and (ii) to address the needs of vulnerable and disaster-affected population. Our findings overall underscore the importance of documentation and efforts towards streamlining learning; application of learning at multiple interconnected levels for progressive changes to enhance community resilience, and the need for building consensus among academicians, practitioners and policy makers regarding the meaning and use of the concept of resilience.

Perceptions of Resilience Among Coastal Emergency Managers

Given the widescale usage of resilience in disaster research and policy, it is important to assess how the concept has translated to the local level where it is purported to exist and make the most change. This study assesses resilience among county emergency managers and answers: How do county emergency managers along the Gulf Coast perceive community resilience? What factors explain these perceptions? Employing original survey data collected from 51 Gulf Coast counties, this study finds that meanings of resilience among emergency managers is as varied as those used by academics and federal government agencies. However, interpretations of resilience as “bouncing back” is most common. Regression analyses indicate the adaptive capacity, organizational capacity, and disaster experience of the counties influence resilience perceptions. Emergency managers in urban counties with low adaptive capacity and little disaster experience are more likely to say resilience is “bouncing back” while “self‐reliance” is more likely among emergency managers in rural counties and resilience as “community” is more likely among emergency managers that have fewer emergency management staff. This study has considerable implications for our understanding of community resilience as a theoretical concept and a guiding principal for federal emergency management.

Spatial planning and urban resilience in the context of flood risk

Spatial planning is increasingly being considered as an important mechanism in coping with flood risk due to climate change. One of the reasons for this is that engineering approaches are increasingly expensive and cannot provide complete certainty of protection against climate-related floods. The thesis examines whether and how spatial planning is used in urban areas to promote resilience to flood risk and climate change. In this study, planning is considered as the regulation of physical implementation as well as the process of policy-making that guides spatial development. This process mainly involves the interaction and collaboration between actors (both public and private). The notion of resilience is being used more and more in discussions of complex issues like the impact of climate-related flood risks on spatial development. The interpretations of resilience can vary significantly depending on the local context, the focus of spatial development and the interests of the actors involved in decision- making. The study proposes six characteristics of planning decision-making that can help to promote the resilience of cities. These comprise: (i) considering the current situation, (ii) examining trends and future threats, (iii) learning from previous experience, (iv) setting goals, (v) initiating actions, and (vi) involving the public. The importance of these characteristics over time for policy and practice is examined according to empirical evidence from detailed case study analysis. Six case studies are presented, four in Taiwan and two in the Netherlands. In all of the case studies, the issue of flood risk and spatial development is considered important by policy- makers, but the planning strategies used to tackle climate-related flood risks are often different, as are the experiences of flooding and governance arrangements. The information gathered is primarily based on interviews and the review of planning policies, government reports and research documents. Comparative analysis is a central focus of the study. The analysis has both a national and international perspective, comparing cases within Taiwan and between Taiwan and the Netherlands. The national comparison examines the way in which local planning governance is addressed in shaping decisions to deal with flood risks. This can vary among cases which share similar spatial development objectives and national institutional framework. The international comparison between Taiwan and the Netherlands examines the roles of planning to promote urban resilience in the context of flood risk and climate change. Three conclusions can be drawn. First, the interpretation of resilience is dependent on the views and interests of the actors involved. These change over time and can be seen in different episodes of policy-making. Second, the importance of the different assessment characteristics varies from one case to another. The interests of the leading actors, the interpretations of flood risks and the framework of local collaboration are all major factors that shape these differences. These factors are often associated with planning traditions and relatively stable in resistant to change. Third, when there is a collaborative framework for planning involving multiple actors, the result is a more comprehensive set of strategies in dealing with flood risk.

Spatial planning and urban resilience in the context of flood risk. A comparative study of Kaohsiung, Tainan and Rotterdam

Spatial planning is increasingly being considered as an important mechanism in coping with flood risk due to climate change. One of the reasons for this is that engineering approaches are increasingly expensive and cannot provide complete certainty of protection against climate-related floods. The thesis examines whether and how spatial planning is used in urban areas to promote resilience to flood risk and climate change. In this study, planning is considered as the regulation of physical implementation as well as the process of policy-making that guides spatial development. This process mainly involves the interaction and collaboration between actors (both public and private). The notion of resilience is being used more and more in discussions of complex issues like the impact of climate-related flood risks on spatial development. The interpretations of resilience can vary significantly depending on the local context, the focus of spatial development and the interests of the actors involved in decision- making. The study proposes six characteristics of planning decision-making that can help to promote the resilience of cities. These comprise: (i) considering the current situation, (ii) examining trends and future threats, (iii) learning from previous experience, (iv) setting goals, (v) initiating actions, and (vi) involving the public. The importance of these characteristics over time for policy and practice is examined according to empirical evidence from detailed case study analysis. Six case studies are presented, four in Taiwan and two in the Netherlands. In all of the case studies, the issue of flood risk and spatial development is considered important by policy- makers, but the planning strategies used to tackle climate-related flood risks are often different, as are the experiences of flooding and governance arrangements. The information gathered is primarily based on interviews and the review of planning policies, government reports and research documents. Comparative analysis is a central focus of the study. The analysis has both a national and international perspective, comparing cases within Taiwan and between Taiwan and the Netherlands. The national comparison examines the way in which local planning governance is addressed in shaping decisions to deal with flood risks. This can vary among cases which share similar spatial development objectives and national institutional framework. The international comparison between Taiwan and the Netherlands examines the roles of planning to promote urban resilience in the context of flood risk and climate change. Three conclusions can be drawn. First, the interpretation of resilience is dependent on the views and interests of the actors involved. These change over time and can be seen in different episodes of policy-making. Second, the importance of the different assessment characteristics varies from one case to another. The interests of the leading actors, the interpretations of flood risks and the framework of local collaboration are all major factors that shape these differences. These factors are often associated with planning traditions and relatively stable in resistant to change. Third, when there is a collaborative framework for planning involving multiple actors, the result is a more comprehensive set of strategies in dealing with flood risk.

Spatial planning and urban resilience in the context of flood risk. A comparative study of Kaohsiung, Tainan and Rotterdam

Spatial planning is increasingly being considered as an important mechanism in coping with flood risk due to climate change. One of the reasons for this is that engineering approaches are increasingly expensive and cannot provide complete certainty of protection against climate-related floods. The thesis examines whether and how spatial planning is used in urban areas to promote resilience to flood risk and climate change. In this study, planning is considered as the regulation of physical implementation as well as the process of policy-making that guides spatial development. This process mainly involves the interaction and collaboration between actors (both public and private). The notion of resilience is being used more and more in discussions of complex issues like the impact of climate-related flood risks on spatial development. The interpretations of resilience can vary significantly depending on the local context, the focus of spatial development and the interests of the actors involved in decision- making. The study proposes six characteristics of planning decision-making that can help to promote the resilience of cities. These comprise: (i) considering the current situation, (ii) examining trends and future threats, (iii) learning from previous experience, (iv) setting goals, (v) initiating actions, and (vi) involving the public. The importance of these characteristics over time for policy and practice is examined according to empirical evidence from detailed case study analysis. Six case studies are presented, four in Taiwan and two in the Netherlands. In all of the case studies, the issue of flood risk and spatial development is considered important by policy- makers, but the planning strategies used to tackle climate-related flood risks are often different, as are the experiences of flooding and governance arrangements. The information gathered is primarily based on interviews and the review of planning policies, government reports and research documents. Comparative analysis is a central focus of the study. The analysis has both a national and international perspective, comparing cases within Taiwan and between Taiwan and the Netherlands. The national comparison examines the way in which local planning governance is addressed in shaping decisions to deal with flood risks. This can vary among cases which share similar spatial development objectives and national institutional framework. The international comparison between Taiwan and the Netherlands examines the roles of planning to promote urban resilience in the context of flood risk and climate change. Three conclusions can be drawn. First, the interpretation of resilience is dependent on the views and interests of the actors involved. These change over time and can be seen in different episodes of policy-making. Second, the importance of the different assessment characteristics varies from one case to another. The interests of the leading actors, the interpretations of flood risks and the framework of local collaboration are all major factors that shape these differences. These factors are often associated with planning traditions and relatively stable in resistant to change. Third, when there is a collaborative framework for planning involving multiple actors, the result is a more comprehensive set of strategies in dealing with flood risk.

Spatial planning and urban resilience in the context of flood risk. A comparative study of Kaohsiung, Tainan and Rotterdam

Spatial planning is increasingly being considered as an important mechanism in coping with flood risk due to climate change. One of the reasons for this is that engineering approaches are increasingly expensive and cannot provide complete certainty of protection against climate-related floods. The thesis examines whether and how spatial planning is used in urban areas to promote resilience to flood risk and climate change. In this study, planning is considered as the regulation of physical implementation as well as the process of policy-making that guides spatial development. This process mainly involves the interaction and collaboration between actors (both public and private). The notion of resilience is being used more and more in discussions of complex issues like the impact of climate-related flood risks on spatial development. The interpretations of resilience can vary significantly depending on the local context, the focus of spatial development and the interests of the actors involved in decision- making. The study proposes six characteristics of planning decision-making that can help to promote the resilience of cities. These comprise: (i) considering the current situation, (ii) examining trends and future threats, (iii) learning from previous experience, (iv) setting goals, (v) initiating actions, and (vi) involving the public. The importance of these characteristics over time for policy and practice is examined according to empirical evidence from detailed case study analysis. Six case studies are presented, four in Taiwan and two in the Netherlands. In all of the case studies, the issue of flood risk and spatial development is considered important by policy- makers, but the planning strategies used to tackle climate-related flood risks are often different, as are the experiences of flooding and governance arrangements. The information gathered is primarily based on interviews and the review of planning policies, government reports and research documents. Comparative analysis is a central focus of the study. The analysis has both a national and international perspective, comparing cases within Taiwan and between Taiwan and the Netherlands. The national comparison examines the way in which local planning governance is addressed in shaping decisions to deal with flood risks. This can vary among cases which share similar spatial development objectives and national institutional framework. The international comparison between Taiwan and the Netherlands examines the roles of planning to promote urban resilience in the context of flood risk and climate change. Three conclusions can be drawn. First, the interpretation of resilience is dependent on the views and interests of the actors involved. These change over time and can be seen in different episodes of policy-making. Second, the importance of the different assessment characteristics varies from one case to another. The interests of the leading actors, the interpretations of flood risks and the framework of local collaboration are all major factors that shape these differences. These factors are often associated with planning traditions and relatively stable in resistant to change. Third, when there is a collaborative framework for planning involving multiple actors, the result is a more comprehensive set of strategies in dealing with flood risk.

Spatial planning and urban resilience in the context of flood risk

Spatial planning is increasingly being considered as an important mechanism in coping with flood risk due to climate change. One of the reasons for this is that engineering approaches are increasingly expensive and cannot provide complete certainty of protection against climate-related floods. The thesis examines whether and how spatial planning is used in urban areas to promote resilience to flood risk and climate change. In this study, planning is considered as the regulation of physical implementation as well as the process of policy-making that guides spatial development. This process mainly involves the interaction and collaboration between actors (both public and private). The notion of resilience is being used more and more in discussions of complex issues like the impact of climate-related flood risks on spatial development. The interpretations of resilience can vary significantly depending on the local context, the focus of spatial development and the interests of the actors involved in decision- making. The study proposes six characteristics of planning decision-making that can help to promote the resilience of cities. These comprise: (i) considering the current situation, (ii) examining trends and future threats, (iii) learning from previous experience, (iv) setting goals, (v) initiating actions, and (vi) involving the public. The importance of these characteristics over time for policy and practice is examined according to empirical evidence from detailed case study analysis. Six case studies are presented, four in Taiwan and two in the Netherlands. In all of the case studies, the issue of flood risk and spatial development is considered important by policy- makers, but the planning strategies used to tackle climate-related flood risks are often different, as are the experiences of flooding and governance arrangements. The information gathered is primarily based on interviews and the review of planning policies, government reports and research documents. Comparative analysis is a central focus of the study. The analysis has both a national and international perspective, comparing cases within Taiwan and between Taiwan and the Netherlands. The national comparison examines the way in which local planning governance is addressed in shaping decisions to deal with flood risks. This can vary among cases which share similar spatial development objectives and national institutional framework. The international comparison between Taiwan and the Netherlands examines the roles of planning to promote urban resilience in the context of flood risk and climate change. Three conclusions can be drawn. First, the interpretation of resilience is dependent on the views and interests of the actors involved. These change over time and can be seen in different episodes of policy-making. Second, the importance of the different assessment characteristics varies from one case to another. The interests of the leading actors, the interpretations of flood risks and the framework of local collaboration are all major factors that shape these differences. These factors are often associated with planning traditions and relatively stable in resistant to change. Third, when there is a collaborative framework for planning involving multiple actors, the result is a more comprehensive set of strategies in dealing with flood risk.

Spatial planning and urban resilience in the context of flood risk. A comparative study of Kaohsiung, Tainan and Rotterdam

Spatial planning is increasingly being considered as an important mechanism in coping with flood risk due to climate change. One of the reasons for this is that engineering approaches are increasingly expensive and cannot provide complete certainty of protection against climate-related floods. The thesis examines whether and how spatial planning is used in urban areas to promote resilience to flood risk and climate change. In this study, planning is considered as the regulation of physical implementation as well as the process of policy-making that guides spatial development. This process mainly involves the interaction and collaboration between actors (both public and private). The notion of resilience is being used more and more in discussions of complex issues like the impact of climate-related flood risks on spatial development. The interpretations of resilience can vary significantly depending on the local context, the focus of spatial development and the interests of the actors involved in decision- making. The study proposes six characteristics of planning decision-making that can help to promote the resilience of cities. These comprise: (i) considering the current situation, (ii) examining trends and future threats, (iii) learning from previous experience, (iv) setting goals, (v) initiating actions, and (vi) involving the public. The importance of these characteristics over time for policy and practice is examined according to empirical evidence from detailed case study analysis. Six case studies are presented, four in Taiwan and two in the Netherlands. In all of the case studies, the issue of flood risk and spatial development is considered important by policy- makers, but the planning strategies used to tackle climate-related flood risks are often different, as are the experiences of flooding and governance arrangements. The information gathered is primarily based on interviews and the review of planning policies, government reports and research documents. Comparative analysis is a central focus of the study. The analysis has both a national and international perspective, comparing cases within Taiwan and between Taiwan and the Netherlands. The national comparison examines the way in which local planning governance is addressed in shaping decisions to deal with flood risks. This can vary among cases which share similar spatial development objectives and national institutional framework. The international comparison between Taiwan and the Netherlands examines the roles of planning to promote urban resilience in the context of flood risk and climate change. Three conclusions can be drawn. First, the interpretation of resilience is dependent on the views and interests of the actors involved. These change over time and can be seen in different episodes of policy-making. Second, the importance of the different assessment characteristics varies from one case to another. The interests of the leading actors, the interpretations of flood risks and the framework of local collaboration are all major factors that shape these differences. These factors are often associated with planning traditions and relatively stable in resistant to change. Third, when there is a collaborative framework for planning involving multiple actors, the result is a more comprehensive set of strategies in dealing with flood risk.

“What Can I Do to Get Out of It?”: How Self-Help Readers Make Use of the Language Game of Resilience

Resilience is, as a concept and as a discourse, a cultural resource that has experienced a growing importance over the last two decades, especially in the field of psychology. In September 2013, the most important database for scientific productions in psychology (www.psycinfo.org) contained more than 14,000 references concerning resilience. In French-speaking countries, for example, each new book by Boris Cyrulnik, the famous neuropsychiatrist who imported the notion of resilience into the psychological field, sells like hotcakes, with total sales of several million copies (see Marquis).

Managing for local resilience: towards a strategic approach

The term resilience is increasingly being used to capture the challenges involved in managing in ‘hard times’. This article aims to provide one of the first empirical studies of the term’s application to local authority interventions around emergency planning and climate change: two areas in which resilience has been particularly emphasised in local policy making. Drawing upon research undertaken in the north east of England, the article considers how local managers have understood and applied the term, the extent to which it has been developed as a coherent policy agenda, and its strategic significance. In reframing the debate on resilience in terms of discourses of ‘recovery’ and ‘transformation’, the article examines how, in addition to informing policy realities on the ground, resilience is also a normative, politically laden term, within which conservative narratives of uncertainty, vulnerability and anxiety compete with a more radical focus on hope, adaptation and transformation. The study reveals concerns over the term’s longevity, tensions between the different interpretations of resilience, and the lack of a coherent strategic framework within which the different discourses on resilience could be considered and reconciled. However, the article also captures the growing importance of a resilience narrative that is seen to add value in a period of austerity, integrate key features of climate change adaptation and emergency planning, and act as a ‘strategic lynchpin’ in relation to other policy areas, such as economic resilience.

Structuring a Definition of Resilience for the Freight Transportation System

This paper summarizes a broad literature review on system resilience. After these interpretations of resilience are considered, a definition of resilience in the context of freight transportation systems is provided. The definition of resilience offered here captures the interactions between managing organizations—namely, state departments of transportation, the infrastructure, and users—which is critical considering that the freight transportation system exists to support economic activity and production. A list of properties of freight transportation system resilience is outlined. These properties of resilience can contribute to the overall ability of the freight transportation system to recover from disruptions, whether exhibited at the infrastructure, managing organization, or user dimension. This contribution provides a framework that can serve as a starting point for future research, offering a shared language that promotes a more structured conversation about freight transportation resilience.