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The turbulent world of resilience: interpretations and themes for transdisciplinary dialogue

Author

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  • Susanne Moser

    (Susanne Moser Research & Consulting)

  • Sara Meerow

    (Arizona State University, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning)

  • James Arnott

    (Aspen Global Change Institute
    University of Michigan, School for Environment & Sustainability)

  • Emily Jack-Scott

    (Aspen Global Change Institute)

Abstract

Resilience has experienced exponential growth in scholarship and practice over the past several decades. We conduct a meta-analysis of recent review papers on resilience from all relevant fields to distill key themes emanating from both research and practice. These themes reflect prevalent debates, trends and insights from the thousands of underlying papers. The seven themes are: 1) the distinction between resilience as a system trait, process, or outcome; 2) the importance of resilience as a strategy for dealing with uncertainty; 3) a shift from understanding resilience to active resilience building; 4) the incorporation of transformation into resilience; 5) the increasingly normative interpretation of resilience; 6) the growing emphasis on measuring and evaluating resilience; and 7) the mounting critiques of the resilience agenda demanding attention. We discuss each in detail and find that they help explain both why resilience has attracted widespread attention, but also why it is an increasingly contested concept. We offer several steps to engage in productive dialogue across differences in resilience interpretations and conclude that this interand transdisciplinary dialogue is the difficult and necessary work that must be done, if resilience scholarship and practice is to advance in productive ways in the future.

Suggested Citation

  • Susanne Moser & Sara Meerow & James Arnott & Emily Jack-Scott, 2019. "The turbulent world of resilience: interpretations and themes for transdisciplinary dialogue," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 153(1), pages 21-40, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:153:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s10584-018-2358-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-018-2358-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Riffat Mahmood & Li Zhang & Guoqing Li & Munshi Khaledur Rahman, 2022. "Geo-based model of intrinsic resilience to climate change: an approach to nature-based solution," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(10), pages 11969-11990, October.
    3. Nikko Torres Ner & Seth Asare Okyere & Matthew Abunyewah & Louis Kusi Frimpong & Michihiro Kita, 2023. "The Resilience of a Resettled Flood-Prone Community: An Application of the RABIT Framework in Pasig City, Metro Manila," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-23, April.
    4. Mary Fastiggi & Sara Meerow & Thaddeus R Miller, 2021. "Governing urban resilience: Organisational structures and coordination strategies in 20 North American city governments," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(6), pages 1262-1285, May.
    5. Liang Wang & Jingye Li & Ligang Lv, 2023. "Urban Resilience and Its Links to City Size: Evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-25, December.
    6. Mathias Schaefer & Nguyen Xuan Thinh & Stefan Greiving, 2020. "How Can Climate Resilience Be Measured and Visualized? Assessing a Vague Concept Using GIS-Based Fuzzy Logic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-30, January.
    7. Jesse M. Keenan, 2020. "COVID, resilience, and the built environment," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 216-221, June.
    8. Soubry, Bernard & Sherren, Kate, 2022. ""You keep using that word...": Disjointed definitions of resilience in food systems adaptation," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    9. Vinzenz Peters & Jingtian Wang & Mark Sanders, 2023. "Resilience to extreme weather events and local financial structure of prefecture-level cities in China," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 176(9), pages 1-21, September.

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