The past decades gave birth to an urban way of life which is very demanding. Those who do not have the means to adapt to an ever evolving socio-economic environment are more vulnerable. And it can be fairly assumed that the number of people who will face difficulties will grow: according to the United Nations […]
Author: Yky
The ephemerality of urban resilience
By nature, urban resilience leads to ephemerality. What has been built should possibly be undone as no one can predict what our future will be. Such principle is intelligently reflected in the guidelines of the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England, in charge of the sustainable management of historic environment, page 46, “In reality, […]
When Urban Resilience deals with our cultural heritage
The need to protect the so-called “tangible form” of our cultural heritage, such as historical monuments, has been recalled by notorious institutions (UNESCO 1972 General Conference, UN 2015 World Conference). Acknowledging the key role played by its conservation in preserving our identity, in strengthening the community cohesion and in developing sustainability has achieved a broad […]
Are cities fragile or vulnerable?
The question can surprise but it is not just semantics. The difference between fragility and vulnerability has been thoroughly discussed and it goes without saying that this post doesn’t aim to cover the diversity of fields where both concepts apply. But seen from the point of view of the urban citizen, it is worth to […]
Can urban resilience cope with earthquakes?
Earthquakes are devastating at different levels. They impact the cities, the organizations and the persons. Though short in duration, they may destroy not only infrastructures but our historical heritage too. They talk about an irrational fear: the destruction of our matrix. According to C. Strupp (1), it is estimated that earthquakes caused 2 million deaths […]
Should Urban Resilience reject Finance?
In a sense, the ever growing number of urban resilience definitions is symptomatic of a conceptual drift that goes beyond expert sensitivities. Established centralized institutions are (too) often opposed to local initiatives on the ground of their supposed incompetence in appraising the human dimension of urban resilience. The historical background can be understood. The western […]
Was Baron Georges Eugène Haussmann (1809-1891) the founding father of engineering resilience?
Architecture is facing a dilemma: urban buildings are aimed to last. Our society celebrates “architects-stars” who leave their marks in the urban grid. The cultural legacy of “historical” cities strengthens the sociological link between buildings, duration and property. In such a context, M. Laboy and D. Fannon expressed a critical view on the way architectural […]
Is urban planning the right tool to improve Urban Resilience?
In 2017, seventeen renowned experts gathered together to brainstorm about the expected conditions to develop urban planning into a large-scale and transformative tool (1). The title of the article, Conceptualizing Dimensions and Characteristics of Urban Resilience: Insights from a Co-Design Process, though conceptual, should not hinder anyone having interest in the complex process of implementing […]
How resilient is a community?
J. Leroy & Al. in an article published on the Katrina floods of New Orleans, explain how social links and community culture helped the Vietnamese community to come back to a state of balance much quicker than the Afro-American living in the same neighborhood (1). The difference in the way two communities react on the […]
Opposing mitigation to adaptation ?
Examples of urban frames contributing to resilience are not to be found on every street corner… Whatever the hazard, and particularly in the case of climate change, most of the literature examines the social dimension of adaptation or mitigation. But very little is said about the design and architecture of the urban frame, though closely […]
