Six foundations for building community resilience

Abstract

EFFORTS TO BUILD COMMUNITY RESILIENCE often focus on growing the capacity to “bounce back” from disruptions, like those caused by climate change. But climate change is not the only crisis we face, nor is preparing for disruption the only way to build resilience. Truly robust community resilience should do more. It should engage and benefit all community members, and it should consider all the challenges the community faces, from rising sea levels to a lack of living wage jobs. In addition, it should be grounded in resilience science, which tells us how complex systems-like human communities-can adapt and persist through changing circumstances.