Climate change and urban resilience

The notion of resilience is gaining increasing prominence across a diverse set of literatures on cities and climate change. Although there is some disagreement among these different literatures about how to define and measure resilience, there is broad consensus that: (1) cities must become resilient to a wider range of shocks and stresses in order to be prepared for climate change; and (2) efforts to foster climate change resilience must be bundled with efforts to promote urban development and sustainability. Emerging issues for future study highlight some of the challenges associated with practical application of resilience approaches. These include responding to equity concerns associated with uneven patterns of resilience both within and across cities, assessing the costs of implementing resilience strategies, and identifying options for harnessing the innovation potential in cities as a means to foster resilience and sustainability.

Research highlights▶ Cities must become resilient to a wider range of shocks and stresses. ▶ Climate resilience must be bundled with efforts to promote urban development. ▶ Promotion of resilience raises equity concerns both within and across cities. ▶ Cities must identify ways to meet the costs associated with resilience efforts. ▶ Harnessing urban innovation potential is necessary in order to foster resilience.