Assessment of urban form resilience: A review of literature in the context of the Global South

Abstract

Abstract Building resilient and sustainable cities in the face of rising climate change have captured the attention of the research community as well as decision-makers. Despite the sizable quantum of research on different aspects of urban resilience, the physical form of cities has received little attention from researchers. Another difficulty lies in generalizing these studies in varying settings and heterogeneous contexts. This study investigates different tools and frameworks proposed for assessing urban form resilience. The literature analysis has been done based on attribute selection, study context, methodology, and resilience perspective. Additionally, the applicability of these frameworks in the context of the Global South has been investigated. The result shows fragmentation in the selection of attributes, approaches, and perspectives in the literature assessing urban form resilience. Also, there are conflicting arguments regarding the influence of urban form attributes on urban resilience, i.e., density and city size. Apart from that, the study highlights the complications of imbibing these assessment frameworks in the distinct urban morphology of cities of the Global South, where informal development prevails. This study can help researchers and planners understand the relationship between resilience and urban morphology and utilize these concepts for assessing urban form resilience, particularly in the context of the Global South.