Learning for Resilience

ABSTRACT:
Throughout human history, communities have responded to challenges in urban and rural contexts by engaging multiple agents and actors, including individuals, institutions and governments. Disciplinary expertise, including deep knowledge and practice, has contributed to economic, social, technological, and political change. However, it is increasingly apparent that the complex global, systems-level challenges facing 21st-century communities require responses that transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries.

 

The ability of communities to respond to challenges faced by globalisation, from natural and anthropogenic hazards to the systemic threat of climate change, is often referred to as community resilience. However, despite increasing scholarly interest, there appears to be a lack of consistency in understanding and applying community resilience amongst cross-disciplinary practitioners. This ambiguity can limit the potential of collaborative action and impact at the community level.

 

This study explores cross-disciplinary perspectives of community resilience to understand better how the term is described and applied in practice. Drawing on the experiences of international respondents to an online survey, this study analyses the emerging themes to consider the potential of transdisciplinary community resilience in realising the potential value of collective action.

 

Keywords: Community Resilience, Transdisciplinary, Education, Built Environment, Design