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What Is Resilience?

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Planning for Community Resilience

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Abstract

To begin tackling the problem of increased vulnerability to natural disasters, we must understand what we are trying to achieve. In recent years, the term resilience has gained popularity, but it is used in widely varying ways. All communities should strive for resilience, but what does it mean? Resilience has different definitions arising from a range of disciplines that use the concept, including natural hazard management, ecology, psychology, sociology, geography, psychiatry, and public health. These different perspectives mean that resilience is a widely used term that can take on different meanings in different contexts. The following is an in-depth look at the ecological and social aspects of resilience as defined in various fields of research.

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Authors
  1. Dr. Jaimie Hicks Masterson
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  2. Walter Gillis Peacock
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  3. Shannon S. Van Zandt
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  4. Himanshu Grover
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  5. Lori Feild Schwarz
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  6. John T. Cooper Jr.
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© 2014 Jaimie Hicks Masterson, Walter Gillis Peacock, Shannon S. Van Zandt, Himanshu Grover, Lori Feild Schwarz, and John T. Cooper Jr.

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Masterson, J.H., Peacock, W.G., Van Zandt, S.S., Grover, H., Schwarz, L.F., Cooper, J.T. (2014). What Is Resilience?. In: Planning for Community Resilience. Island Press, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-586-1_2

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