IV. Resilience and power relations

Question 1

Theoretical criticism of resilience:
A general lack of clarity with respect to meaning; too ambiguous and difficult to operationalize or measure; there is concern that it may lose meaning and become an “empty signifier”

Answer 1

Vague meaning

Question 2

Theoretical criticism of resilience:
Failure to sufficiently address scalar dimensions and trade-offs; this happens when ecological principles are transferred into social systems resilience approaches and this leads to an oversimplification of issues of spatial scale because they tend to view cities or communities as a “self-organizing” unit, akin to an ecosystem, that must protect itself from external threats.

Answer 2

Scale and trade-off problem

Question 3

Theoretical criticism of resilience:
The resulting preservation of the status quo; assume that complex systems naturally go through adaptive cycles of collapse and reorganization, thus “accepts change somewhat passively,” often precluding the consideration of the social causes of crises.

Answer 3

Conservatism

Question 4

• A key critique therefore argues that resilience stresses the scientific, the technical and the rational while paying inadequate attention to the human and the social.
• Underemphasizing “people” in resilience thinking results in blindness to the inherent political complexity in issues of managing risk.
• Limited attention is then paid to the structures and forces that shape these challenges.

Answer 4

Technology trap

Question 5

The emphasis on systems (within resilience thinking) for understanding interlocked social−ecological−technological processes across multiple scales can also be critiqued for failing to populate these systems with individuals.

Answer 5

Systems trap

Question 6

Different people and groups frame or seek systems that are resilient in order to realize their needs and agenda mediated by the ways through which different framings of resilience acquire credibility, legitimacy, authority and power

Answer 6

Systems trap

Question 7

The existence of different framings means that resilience as a term and narrative can be hijacked by particular interests to marginalize particular actors in a particular setting.

Answer 7

Systems trap

Question 8

There can be trade-offs among different groups seeking resilience where resilience for one could lead to heightened vulnerability for another.

Answer 8

Systems trap

Question 9

Ability of an urban system, and all its constituent socioecological and socio-technical networks across temporal and spatial scales, to maintain or rapidly return to desired functions in the face of a disturbance, to adapt to change, and to quickly transform systems that limit current or future adaptive capacity (Meerow et. al., 2016)

Answer 9

Urban resilience

Question 10

Attributes

• Goes beyond bouncing back
• Adaptation to change
• Transformative element

Answer 10

Urban resilience (more dynamic definition)

Question 11

Equitable distribution of goods, services and opportunities

Answer 11

Distributional

Question 12

Acknowledgement and respect of different groups

Answer 12

Recognitional

Question 13

Equitable participation in decision-making processes

Answer 13

Procedural