RESILIENCE THINKINGEMBRACING CHANGE, TRANSFORMING THE CITYBy: Prof . Chrisna du Plessis & Edna Peres (PhD candidate)University of PretoriaUrban Design Seminar 2013

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URBAN RESILIENCE THINKING is a value neutral concept that represents the strength and

weakness of a system, to help us make decisions on how to navigate (and hopefully thrive in) an uncertain future.

RESILIENCE?

RESILIENCE (noun)1. The mental ability to recover

quickly from depression, illness or misfortune

2. The physical property of material that can resume its shape after being stretched or deformed; elasticity

3. The positive ability of a system or company to adapt itself to the consequences of a catastrophic failure.

RESILIENCE?

ENGINEERING

EMERGENCIES

ECOLOGY

SYSTEMS

PSYCHOLOGY

BUSINESS

And….

CITIES

1970’S

URBAN RESILIENCE HAS POTENTIAL TO

INTEGRATE ALL OF THESE ASPECTS OF RESILIENCE

WHEN STRENGTHENING POSITIVE PARTS OF THE CITY SYSTEM THAT NEED TO BE MORE RESILIENT

AND DECREASING RESILIENCE IN THOSE THAT ARE

NEGATIVELY AFFECTING THE CITY SYSTEM

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….the capacity of a system, enterprise, or a person to maintain its core purpose and integrity in the face of dramatically changed circumstances… [Zolli] ortransform in response to these circumstances in order to maintain its integrity.

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In a rapidly transforming ‘post-sustainability’ world, resilience thinking offers a positive future vision to embrace change while also integrating all systems of life. ?

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ECOLOGICAL VIEW

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SYSTEMS

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SOCIAL ECOLOGICAL

Image: http://news.noahraford.com/?p=648

THE

PHAS

ES O

F TH

E AD

APTI

VE C

YCLE

- HO

LLIN

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ADAPTIVE CYCLE

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REORGANISATION

GROWTH RELEASE

CONSERVATION

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Residential Industry Green Commerce

Shack PavementSeamstress Window box

Townhouse Cooperative Garden Spaza shop

Mansion Factory Local park Formal shop

Apt. building Multinational Reserve Chain

DIVERSITY

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IDENTIFY LEVERAGE POINTS IN THE SYSTEM FOR EXPERIEMENTATION

LEVERAGE POINTS + EXPERIMENTATION

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LEAVE ROOM FOR…

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TAKE HOME MESSAGES…

1Urban resilience = an

integration of different

resilience fields

Resilience offers the opportunity to transform our systems to

something new, positive, and with the capacity to evolve.

Resilie

nce i

s

value

neut

ral

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EDNA PERES - e d n a . m . p e r e s @ g m a i l . c o m

CHRISNA DU PLESSIS - c h r i s n a . d u p l e s s i s @ u p . a c . z a

Blog - THINK TANK ON RESILIENT URBAN SYSTEMS IN TRANSITION h t t p : / / t r u s t s a . w e e b l y . c o m /

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