Public Perceptions of Resilience and Vulnerability Concepts for Adaptation

Abstract

Resilience is everywhere in plans, policy, and academic literature on risk reduction and adaptation, and a common refrain of elected officials and disaster victims alike. Geographers have contributed much to the critical understanding of the theoretical foundations and implications of this now ubiquitous concept, and have made some initial steps in studying how local practitioners and other experts interpret and apply resilience in risk reduction and adaptation measures. But there is limited empirical research, however, on what the people living in communities exposed to hazards think about resilience. This study aims to address this gap by conducting in-person, researcher-administered surveys (n = 400) with members of the public using coastal and lakefront environmental amenities in Vancouver and Toronto, Canada. Survey results include three main findings: (1) the majority of participants prefer the framing of “increasing resilience” over “reducing vulnerability”; (2) the conceptualization of resilience as creative transformation is greatly favored over conceptualizations of resilience as resistance or recovery; and (3) resilience is seen as uneven in both study cities. The study reveals insights that can help inform and align resilience theory and practice in cities.

韧性普遍存在于降低和适应风险的各种计划、政策和学术文献中, 也是民选官员和受灾者的共同口号。在批判性地理解韧性这个普遍概念的理论基础和含义方面, 地理学家做出了很大贡献, 初步研究了在降低风险、采取适应措施的过程中, 当地实施者和专家如何解释和运用韧性。然而, 受灾社区人群对韧性的看法, 还缺乏实证研究。为了弥补这一缺陷, 我们开展了面对面调查(n = 400), 调查对象是加拿大温哥华和多伦多使用海滨和湖滨环境设施的民众。调查结果有三个主要发现: (1)大多数参与者更喜欢“提高韧性”而非“降低脆弱性”；(2)将韧性概念化为创造性的转变, 比将韧性概念化为抵抗或恢复更受欢迎；(3)两个研究城市的韧性有所不同。本研究提供了解释和统一城市韧性理论和实践的一些见解。

La resiliencia se muestra por todo lado en los planes, la política y en la literatura académica que versa sobre la reducción de riesgos y la adaptación, y es un dicho común de los funcionarios elegidos y de las víctimas de los desastres, por igual. Los geógrafos han contribuido mucho al entendimiento crítico de los fundamentos teóricos e implicaciones de lo que ahora es concepto ubicuo, y han transitado por algunos de los pasos iniciales del estudio sobre cómo los practicantes locales y otros expertos interpretan y aplican la resiliencia en las medidas que se toman para la disminución del riesgo y la adaptación. Sin embargo, es limitada la investigación empírica sobre lo que piensa de la resiliencia la gente que vive en comunidades expuestas a riesgos. Este estudio tiene como objetivo salvar esta laguna, conduciendo encuestas personales (n ¼ de 400), administradas por el investigador a personas que utilizan servicios ambientales costeros y lacustres en Vancouver y Toronto, Canadá. Los resultados del estudio incluyen tres hallazgos principales: (1) la mayoría de los participantes prefiere el marco de “incrementar la resiliencia” al de “reducir la vulnerabilidad”; (2) la conceptualización de la resiliencia como resistencia o recuperación; y (3) la resiliencia es vista como desigual en las dos ciudades del estudio. El estudio revela visiones que pueden ayudar a informar y alinear la teoría y la práctica de la resiliencia en las ciudades.

关键词:

• 适应
• 公众认知
• 韧性
• 降低风险
• 脆弱性

Palabras clave:

• adaptación
• percepción pública
• reducción de riesgos
• resiliencia
• vulnerabilidad

Key Words:

• adaptation
• public perception
• resilience
• risk reduction
• vulnerability

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank study participants in Toronto and Vancouver for sharing their time and insights with us, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on the article.

Additional information

Funding

Research funding was provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Notes on contributors

Greg Oulahen

GREG OULAHEN is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include society–environment interactions, hazards, and risk.

Christopher Randall

CHRISTOPHER RANDALL is a Graduate Student in the Environmental Applied Science and Management Program at Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include conceptualizing the human–environment interface through hazard risk, resilience, and governance concepts in the urban setting.

Calvin Nguyen

CALVIN NGUYEN is a recent graduate of the Environmental Applied Science and Management program at Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]. His studies focused on resilience and vulnerability in cities.

Carrie Mitchell

CARRIE MITCHELL is an Associate Professor in the School of Planning at University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include climate change communication and urban resilience planning.