Community Resilience
Assessing the resilience of communities is a complex process as it involves the interaction of individuals, families, groups and the environment. There are many theoretical models which address this concept. Most focus on the issues which reduce the vulnerability of communities, such as information and knowledge, supportive networks, shared community values, and the community’s ability and willingness to adapt.
Vulnerability arises from the intersection of human systems, the natural environment and the built environment. The most obvious factor contributing to community vulnerability is its proximity to hazards such as coasts, floodplains, seismic zones, highly combustible forests, industrial contamination, or to explosive remnants of war such as minefields. Poorly constructed buildings, inadequately maintained public infrastructure and the density of the built environment also increase the vulnerability of communities.
Equally important is the economic health of the community, which is closely tied to commercial and industrial development. Finally, there are demographic and social characteristics of residents that make some communities more vulnerable than others. The social vulnerability of communities is borne from inequalities which affect access to resources and information, the ability to absorb the impacts of hazards and disasters without government interventions, housing choice and location, and the political marginalisation of impoverished residents.
The resilience of communities is dependent on social interaction and collective action based on networks of relationships, reciprocity, trust, and social norms. A number of researchers promote the concept of capital as a means of assessing the potential of a community to demonstrate resilience to disruptive hazards. The attraction of using a capital approach is the ability to measure the capital of a community, and hence its potential resilience to cope with future disruptive events. For example, the elements of social capital (trust, norms and networks), economic capital (income, savings and investment) and human capital (education, health, skills, knowledge and information) can be used as indicators of community resilience.
Downloads