Spotlight on… Urban resilience: is it old wine in a new bottle?

Abstract

This article discusses the concept of resilience and its theoretical contributions to urban geography. After a review of the evolution of resilience in studies of engineering, ecology and social sciences, the article outlines the potential contributions of resilience with regard to related concepts such as stability, competitiveness and sustainability. It highlights that resilience thinking challenges the conventional mentality of planning and recognises the ubiquity of change and potential for novelty for the reconfiguration of urban spaces. By revealing how particular cities or regions have responded to challenges, and how such challenges have reshaped and impacted upon the long-term development of that place, this article argues the potential of resilience to become integral to development studies and geographical research. Resilience studies pay greater attention to local- specific factors that enable places to deal with uncertainties, risks and unpredictable shocks. Brief insights into examples of urban resilience remind us of the necessity of accommodating turbulence and the role of place and context in better understanding urban resilience.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Xin Mai

Xin Mai is Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Geography, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China (email: [email protected]).