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From Rhetoric to Reality: Which Resilience, Why Resilience, and Whose Resilience in Spatial Planning?

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  • Iain White

    (Geography, Tourism and Environmental Planning, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand)

  • Paul O'Hare

    (Geography and Environmental Management, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M15 6BH, England)

Abstract

This paper analyses contrasting academic understandings of ‘equilibrium resilience’ and ‘evolutionary resilience’ and investigates how these nuances are reflected within both policy and practice. We reveal that there is a lack of clarity in policy, where these differences are not acknowledged with resilience mainly discussed as a singular, vague, but optimistic aim. This opaque political treatment of the term and the lack of guidance has affected practice by privileging an equilibrist interpretation over more transformative, evolutionary measures. In short, resilience within spatial planning is characterised by a simple return to normality that is more analogous with planning norms, engineered responses, dominant interests, and technomanagerial trends. The paper argues that, although presented as a possible paradigm shift, resilience policy and practice underpin existing behaviour and normalise risk. It leaves unaddressed wider sociocultural concerns and instead emerges as a narrow, regressive, technorational frame centred on reactive measures at the building scale.

Suggested Citation

  • Iain White & Paul O'Hare, 2014. "From Rhetoric to Reality: Which Resilience, Why Resilience, and Whose Resilience in Spatial Planning?," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 32(5), pages 934-950, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirc:v:32:y:2014:i:5:p:934-950
    DOI: 10.1068/c12117
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Erik Swyngedouw, 2009. "The Antinomies of the Postpolitical City: In Search of a Democratic Politics of Environmental Production," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 601-620, September.
    2. Brendan Gleeson, 2008. "Critical Commentary. Waking from the Dream: An Australian Perspective on Urban Resilience," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 45(13), pages 2653-2668, December.
    3. Ann Markusen, 2003. "Fuzzy Concepts, Scanty Evidence, Policy Distance: The Case for Rigour and Policy Relevance in Critical Regional Studies," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(6-7), pages 701-717.
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    1. Manyena, Bernard & Machingura, Fortunate & O'Keefe, Phil, 2019. "Disaster Resilience Integrated Framework for Transformation (DRIFT): A new approach to theorising and operationalising resilience," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 1-1.
    2. Fayazi, Mahmood & Yeh, Emily T. & Li, Fan, 2019. "Development and divergent post-disaster trajectories in a mountain village: Temporal dynamics of differentiation after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 1-1.
    3. Grazia Brunetta & Stefano Salata, 2019. "Mapping Urban Resilience for Spatial Planning—A First Attempt to Measure the Vulnerability of the System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-24, April.
    4. Grazia Brunetta & Rosario Ceravolo & Carlo Alberto Barbieri & Alberto Borghini & Francesca de Carlo & Alfredo Mela & Silvia Beltramo & Andrea Longhi & Giulia De Lucia & Stefano Ferraris & Alessandro P, 2019. "Territorial Resilience: Toward a Proactive Meaning for Spatial Planning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-17, April.

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