1 Answer

A resilient city is a sustainable network of physical systems
and human communities. Physical systems are the constructed
and natural environmental components of the city. They include
its built roads, buildings, infrastructure, communications, and energy
facilities, as well as its waterways, soils, topography, geology,
and other natural systems. In sum, the physical systems act
as the body of the city, its bones, arteries, and muscles. During a
disaster, the physical systems must be able to survive and function
under extreme stresses. If enough of them suffer breakdowns
that can not be repaired, losses escalate and recovery slows. A city
without resilient physical systems will be extremely vulnerable to
disasters.
Human communities are the social and institutional components
of the city. They include the formal and informal, stable and
ad hoc human associations that operate in an urban area: schools,
neighborhoods, agencies, organizations, enterprises, task forces,
and the like. In sum, the communities act as the brain of the city,
directing its activities, responding to its needs, and learning from
its experience. During a disaster, the community networks must
be able to survive and function under extreme and unique conditions.
If they break down, decision making falters and response
drags. Social and institutional networks exhibit varying degrees of
organization, identity, and cohesion. Just as engineers analyze the
fragility of physical structures under stress, social scientists seek
to develop ‘‘fragility curves’’ for organizations under stress ~Zimmerman
2001!. A city without resilient communities will be extremely
vulnerable to disasters.
Traditional hazard mitigation programs have focused on making
physical systems resistant to disaster forces. This is reasonable,
since immediate injury and damage results from their failure.
However, future mitigation programs must also focus on
teaching the city’s social communities and institutions to reduce
hazard risks and respond effectively to disasters, because they
will be the ones most responsible for building ultimate urban
resilience. Geis ~2000! argued that the term disaster resistant is
both more fitting and more marketable than disaster resilient, but
he also stressed the need for a holistic and integrated approach
that is concerned with connections and relationships and not just
the structural integrity of buildings. While in the final analysis the
term chosen is less important than what it encompasses, many
contemporary writers use resiliency to indicate concern with the
linkage of physical and social systems ~Olshansky and Kartez
1998; Tobin 1999; van Vliet 2001!.
Resilient cities are constructed to be strong and flexible, rather
than brittle and fragile. Their lifeline systems of roads, utilities,
and other support facilities are designed to continue functioning
in the face of rising water, high winds, shaking ground, and terrorist
attacks. Their new development is guided away from known
high hazard areas, and their vulnerable existing development is
relocated to safe areas. Their buildings are constructed or retrofitted
to meet code standards based on hazard threats. Their natural
environmental protective systems are conserved to maintain
valuable hazard mitigation functions. Finally, their governmental,
nongovernmental, and private sector organizations are prepared
with up-to-date information about hazard vulnerability and disaster
resources, are linked with effective communication networks,
and are experienced in working together. http://www.tc.umn.edu/~blume013/Godschalk_urb_haz_mit2003.pdf 

resiliency

re·sil·ience [ri-zil-yuhns, -zil-ee-uhns] 
noun
1.
the power or ability to return to the original form, position, etc., after being bent, compressed, or stretched; elasticity.
2.
ability to recover readily from illness, depression, adversity, or the like; buoyancy.