Resilient Community Essay

Establishing resilient communities is vital to maintaining a geographic location’s quality and standard of living. Alexander (2013) defines resilience as a positive reaction or adaptation (p. 2710). The integration of social resilience, economic resilience, institutional resilience, infrastructural resilience, and community capital while understanding how current governance practices influence the extent of their achievability, is essential to creating resilient communities. Social resilience relates to the demographic makeup of the community. Cutter et al. (2008) explained that “communities with higher levels of educational equality, and those with fewer elderly, disabled residents, and non-native English speaking residents likely exhibit greater resilience than places without these characteristics” (p. 8). While age is an uncontrollable factor, many of the other factors which determine social vulnerability and resilience are indeed controllable. Economic resilience refers to the economic base and stability of a community. A community that has high employment rates, high property values, large businesses with a stable economic foundation, and a diversified businesses market will exhibit higher resilience than communities with

Poor prioritization and budget constraints are often major factors which inhibit good governance practices. Many critical mitigation efforts that should be undertaken are pushed aside because the money needed is either unavailable or allocated to other projects. Gaining the necessary support to enforce building codes and zoning laws, fund mitigation projects, and repair critical infrastructure are important areas that currently lack support (Chen, Chen, Vertinsky, Yumagulova, & Park, 2013, p. 131). Overcoming these biases, while educating officials and the public, is necessary to change the current state of governance practices, thereby increasing