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Avoiding Decline: Fostering Resilience and Sustainability in Midsize Cities

Author

Listed:
  • Craig R. Allen

    (U.S. Geological Survey, Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA)

  • Hannah E. Birge

    (Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA)

  • Shannon Bartelt-Hunt

    (Department of Civil Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA)

  • Rebecca A. Bevans

    (Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA)

  • Jessica L. Burnett

    (Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA)

  • Barbara A. Cosens

    (College of Law, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844, USA)

  • Ximing Cai

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA)

  • Ahjond S. Garmestani

    (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA)

  • Igor Linkov

    (United States Army Corps of Engineer, Engineer Research and Development Center, Concord, MA 01742, USA)

  • Elizabeth A. Scott

    (Urban Design Center, University of Idaho, Boise, ID 83702, USA)

  • Mark D. Solomon

    (Idaho Water Resources Research Institute, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844, USA)

  • Daniel R. Uden

    (Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA)

Abstract

Eighty-five percent of United States citizens live in urban areas. However, research surrounding the resilience and sustainability of complex urban systems focuses largely on coastal megacities (>1 million people). Midsize cities differ from their larger counterparts due to tight urban-rural feedbacks with their immediate natural environments that result from heavy reliance and close management of local ecosystem services. They also may be less path-dependent than larger cities due to shorter average connection length among system components, contributing to higher responsiveness among social, infrastructural, and ecological feedbacks. These distinct midsize city features call for a framework that organizes information and concepts concerning the sustainability of midsize cities specifically. We argue that an integrative approach is necessary to capture properties emergent from the complex interactions of the social, infrastructural, and ecological subsystems that comprise a city system. We suggest approaches to estimate the relative resilience of midsize cities, and include an example assessment to illustrate one such estimation approach. Resilience assessments of a midsize city can be used to examine why some cities end up on sustainable paths while others diverge to unsustainable paths, and which feedbacks may be partially responsible. They also provide insight into how city planners and decision makers can use information about the resilience of midsize cities undergoing growth or shrinkage relative to their larger and smaller counterparts, to transform them into long-term, sustainable social-ecological systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Craig R. Allen & Hannah E. Birge & Shannon Bartelt-Hunt & Rebecca A. Bevans & Jessica L. Burnett & Barbara A. Cosens & Ximing Cai & Ahjond S. Garmestani & Igor Linkov & Elizabeth A. Scott & Mark D. So, 2016. "Avoiding Decline: Fostering Resilience and Sustainability in Midsize Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-24, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:9:p:844-:d:76820
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cate Fox-Lent & Matthew E. Bates & Igor Linkov, 2015. "A matrix approach to community resilience assessment: an illustrative case at Rockaway Peninsula," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 209-218, June.
    2. Barbara Cosens & Lance Gunderson & Craig Allen & Melinda Harm Benson, 2014. "Identifying Legal, Ecological and Governance Obstacles, and Opportunities for Adapting to Climate Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-19, April.
    3. Trisha L Spanbauer & Craig R Allen & David G Angeler & Tarsha Eason & Sherilyn C Fritz & Ahjond S Garmestani & Kirsty L Nash & Jeffery R Stone, 2014. "Prolonged Instability Prior to a Regime Shift," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(10), pages 1-7, October.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Assela Pathirana & Mohanasundar Radhakrishnan & Richard Ashley & Nguyen Hong Quan & Chris Zevenbergen, 2018. "Managing urban water systems with significant adaptation deficits—unified framework for secondary cities: part II—the practice," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 149(1), pages 57-74, July.
    2. Romana Hajduková & Alžbeta Sopirová, 2022. "Perspectives of Post-Industrial Towns and Landscape in Eastern Slovakia—Case Study Strážske," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-20, July.
    3. Yihao Jiang & Zhaojin Chen & Pingjun Sun, 2022. "Urban Shrinkage and Urban Vitality Correlation Research in the Three Northeastern Provinces of China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-22, August.
    4. Dustin L. Herrmann & Wen-Ching Chuang & Kirsten Schwarz & Timothy M. Bowles & Ahjond S. Garmestani & William D. Shuster & Tarsha Eason & Matthew E. Hopton & Craig R. Allen, 2018. "Agroecology for the Shrinking City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-14, March.
    5. Dustin L. Herrmann & William D. Shuster & Audrey L. Mayer & Ahjond S. Garmestani, 2016. "Sustainability for Shrinking Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-9, September.
    6. Daniel R. Uden & Craig R. Allen & Francisco Munoz-Arriola & Gengxin Ou & Nancy Shank, 2018. "A Framework for Tracing Social–Ecological Trajectories and Traps in Intensive Agricultural Landscapes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-14, May.
    7. Alexandru Bănică & Marinela Istrate & Ionel Muntele, 2017. "Challenges for the Resilience Capacity of Romanian Shrinking Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-20, December.

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