Governing for Resilience in Vulnerable Places

Governing for Resilience in Vulnerable Places provides an overview and a critical analysis of the ways in which the concept ‘resilience’ has been addressed in social sciences research. In doing so, this edited book draws together state-of-the-art research from a variety of disciplines (i.e. spatial planning, economic and cultural geography, environmental and political sciences, sociology and architecture) as well as cases and examples across different spatial and geographical contexts (e.g. urban slums in India; flood-prone communities in the UK; coastal Japan). The cases present and explore challenges and potentials of resilience-thinking for practitioners and academics. As such, Governing for Resilience in Vulnerable Places aims to provide a scientifically robust overview and to generate some conceptual clarity for researchers, students and practitioners interested in the potential of resilience thinking as well as the application of resilience in practice.

Elen-Maarja Trell is Assistant Professor of Spatial Planning and Environment at the Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, The Netherlands. In 2014, she was the lead organizer of the international workshop ‘Resilience: Just do it?! Governing for Resilience in Vulnerable Places’ (with Britta Restemeyer, Melanie M. Bakema and Gwenda van der Vaart). She is interested in the role of local-level initiatives and public participation in creating more resilient and sustainable places. The themes she explores within this context include: community resilience in declining (rural) areas, flood resilience, urban food systems and gardening, and governance of renewable energy initiatives. In her previous projects, she has explored young people’s place attachment and influential aspects for the well-being of rural youths in their everyday context.

Britta Restemeyer, MSc, is a lecturer and PhD researcher at the Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, The Netherlands. Her research focuses on resilience, adaptive governance and flood risk in urban areas. By studying the cases of Hamburg, London and Rotterdam, she explores how policy-makers deal with the tension between accepting uncertainties and providing security for people and businesses on a strategic as well as local level. Overall, she aims at informing policy strategies for creating more flood resilient cities, by improving the linkage between flood risk management and urban planning. In the past, she has participated in various German, as well as European, research projects (RIMAX, Climate Proof Areas, KLIFF, MARE) on climate change adaptation and flood risk.

Melanie M. Bakema, MSc, is a PhD researcher at the Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, The Netherlands and the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Leuven, Belgium. In her PhD research, she focuses on resilience in the context of disasters. Her interest lies in particular in disaster governance as a multi-level approach to overcome the social vacuum in disaster studies. Cases that she is investigating for her PhD research include Christchurch, New Zealand, Chiloe, Chile and the North of the Netherlands. By exploring the dynamic interactions between nature and societies in these cases, she aims at fostering transitions towards improved governance structures for creating more resilient social-ecological systems in the face of disasters.

Bettina van Hoven is Associate Professor of Cultural Geography at the Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, The Netherlands. Her recent research has concentrated on the feelings of belonging, the attachment of various population groups to the place where they live. In addition, she is researching community resilience and the role of arts practice and expression in building resilient communities in coastal areas. In the past, she has worked on projects involving: women in Eastern Europe, diaspora and migration, institutions, ethnicity, sexuality, disabilities, youth and nature. She is a member of the editorial board for 'Emotion, Space and Society’ and has co-edited various publications in the past (e.g. den Toonder and van Hoven, 2012; van Hoven and Hoerschelmann, 2005).