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German Annual of Spatial Research and Policy 2010 pp 1–13Cite as

Urban and Regional Resilience – A New Catchword or a Consistent Concept for Research and Practice?

Remarks Concerning the International Debate and the German Discussion

Part of the German Annual of Spatial Research and Policy book series (GERMANANNUAL)

Abstract

Resilience seems to have become the new catchword of our times. “Resilience is to the 2000s and 2010s what sustainability was to the 1980s and 1990s ” (Foster, n.d.). The term is highly attractive as, in general, to be resilient refers to something positive: to be able to withstand hardship and disturbance, to recover from disaster and destruction, to regain one’s original shape after deformation, to be cautious enough to prepare for the unforeseen, and to deal with risks in an appropriate way. A high degree of resilience is related to a low degree of vulnerability. The attention the term receives may be“a response to a generalized contemporary sense of uncertainty and insecurity and a search for formulas for adaptation and survival” (Christopherson, Michie, & Tyler, 2010).

Keywords

  • Natural Hazard
  • Regional Development
  • Building Resilience
  • Risk Mitigation Strategy
  • Resilience Research

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

1 Special thanks to Paulina Schiappacasse from TU Dresden and Universidad de Chile, who has considerably inspired and enriched this article through her ongoing research in urban and regional resilience.

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  1. IOER, 01217, Dresden, Germany

    Bernhard Müller

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  1. Raumentwicklung (IÖR), Leibniz-Institut für Ökologische, Weberplatz 1, Dresden, 01217, Germany

    Bernhard Müller

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Müller, B. (2011). Urban and Regional Resilience – A New Catchword or a Consistent Concept for Research and Practice?. In: Müller, B. (eds) German Annual of Spatial Research and Policy 2010. German Annual of Spatial Research and Policy. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-12785-4_1

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