'Peace is a virtue of civilisation, war is its crime.'

Urban resilience is crucial for cities facing escalating global challenges, including climate change and geopolitical conflicts. While structural resilience focuses on pre-planned measures, emergent resilience emphasizes spontaneous responses that arise during crises. The Landscape Ecology Group (Dagmar Haase) explored the concept of emergent urban resilience in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine. By examining how Ukrainian cities have responded to the Russian invasion, they aimed to develop a deeper understanding of the nature of emergent resilience in acute crisis situations and its significance for urban planning and recovery efforts. If you want to know more about the evolving discourse on urban resilience check out their Ekonomichna ta Sotsialna Geografiya Article! 

Abstract

The concept of urban resilience is becoming increasingly significant as cities across the globe grapple with an array of pressing challenges, including those posed by climate change, socio-political conflicts, and economic instability. In contrast to structural resilience, emergent resilience arises spontaneously in response to unforeseen challenges, namely during or at the time of the challenge. One such challenge is the Russian military aggression against Ukraine and its cities. This paper presents an initial investigation into the concept of emergent urban resilience in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine. The principal aim is to develop a systematic understanding of the nature of emergent resilience in such a crisis context and to emphasize the importance of examining the phenomenon of emergent resilience in urban contexts during periods of acute crisis, as well as in the subsequent period. This represents a hitherto under-explored type of case within the resilience discourse.