Review: In the complex epoch is sustainability “out” resilience “in”?

Abstract

The scientific literature since 2000s shows that sustainability definitions have been evolving by fascinating new notions. The main concern of sustainability which is to preserve resources from generation to generation is always an indispensable approach for systems stability, however it has to be questioned if sustainability can still maintain stability when there comes an unexpected condition. In this case, often, the concept is coupled with resilience. Resilience stresses a new way of thinking by providing the uncertainty and dynamism based perspective and guiding in terms of orientation in the face of uncertainties. Even if there is an increasing attention in literature to address the “sustainability-resilience relation”, there is not a clear unique scheme about how to bind two concepts. Based on this realization, this paper aims to address what has to be clarified to draw attention to the link between resilience and sustainability through in-depth literature review, focusing on the basic attributes of sustainability which have to be continuously updated in this complex unpredictable epoch and the basic attributes of resilience which provides this required upgrade. It can be summarized that the paper fundamentally; 1. emphasizes the fact that sustainability has to be updated and upgraded considering uncertainty based challenges; 2. points out that the main argument between sustainability and resilience is the passage from stability to dynamism; 3. highlights the connection between resilience and sustainability through the relation between the principal attributes of two concepts; 4. underlines that resilience helps to rearrange the basic principles of sustainability.