We have been hearing a lot about 'Resilience' nowadays . Whether we believe in Human-driven Anthropogenic global warming or climate change , we are aware that the change in climate patterns impacts Cities more than any Human conglomerations and we need to worry about whether Cities are 'Resilient' because never in the history of mankind have more humans migrating to Cities which is pressurizing the Infrastructure of these Cities. Countries like India and China are facing massive Urbanization in past few decades and it is said that it is ought to continue in years to come , which is giving rise to Mega-Cities.
So coming back to 'Resilience' . What is meant by 'Resilience' ?
Resilience is the capacity of a system to continually change and adapt yet remain within critical thresholds.
As Brian Walker of CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystem (Australia) asks us a simple question, which is , " How much can you change without losing your Identity , before you become a different kind of person ? " .
" How much can a city change before it becomes a different kind of City ? " .
And he says that these two questions are about 'Resilience' , the word for which we are seeking a meaning and perspective to look at .
Well , he states that , the underlying principle of 'Resilience' is self - organization and quotes Human body as an example .
Human body is an Self Organizing system as we maintain a constant temperature . If the surrounding temperature increases , the body sweats there in cooling it through Evaporative-cooling and when the temperature goes down , the body shivers , therein through muscle activity the temperature increases . But as always there are limits , the limits to how much can anything change .
So that is what 'Resilience' is all about .
It is the question of how do you maintain a Self-Organizing capacity ability of a system .
To know more about the Question of 'What is Resilience' check out this short video .
Stuffs to Google :
1. Stockholm Resilience Centre : http://www.stockholmresilience.org/
2. Sustainable Development Solution Network (SDSN) : www.sdsnedu.org
3. Open MOOC on Planetary Boundaries and Human Opportunities : https://www.sdsnedu.org/learn/planetary-boundaries-and-human-opportunities-fall-2014
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