Perceptions of Urban Community Resilience: Beyond Disaster Recovery in the Face of Climate Change

Abstract

Resilience of human systems has increasingly become a popular topic of research. The aim of this article is to present a juxtaposition of public officials’ and residents’ perceptions of community resilience along the three-class typology of resilience (basic, adaptive, and transformative) using Dayton, OH as a case study. A two-pronged data collection approach was designed to recruit public officials and residents. This approach was structured using the Community Capitals Framework. A multi-chain referral sampling process (and subsequent snowball sampling) was initiated subsequently. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 75 participants. The interviews were analyzed using a three-tiered deductive structural coding approach. The findings highlight the similarities and differences in resilience perceptions between public officials and community members along the three-class typology of resilience that could inform creative policy initiatives. The factors that might undergird residents’ and public officials’ perceptions of resilience are discussed. Based on these perceptions, the importance of social capital, communication infrastructure, and addressing chronic stressors are discussed as important strategies to build community resilience, in addition to focusing on essential community infrastructure systems (such as roads, energy, water, sewer, and gas systems).