Exploring disciplinary perspectives on community resilience

Throughout human history, communities have responded to challenges in urban and rural contexts by engaging multiple agents and actors, including individuals, institutions, and governments. Disciplinary expertise, including deep knowledge and practice, has contributed to economic, social, technological, and political change. Yet, it is increasingly apparent that the complex global, systems-level challenges facing twenty-first century communities require responses that transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries. The ability of communities to respond to challenges faced, from natural and anthropogenic hazards to the systemic threat of climate change, is often referred to as 'community resilience'. Despite increasing scholarly interest, there appears to be, however, a lack of consistency in understanding and applying community resilience among cross-disciplinary practitioners. This ambiguity can limit the potential of collaborative action and impact at the community level. This study explores cross-disciplinary perspectives of community resilience to better understand how the term is described and applied in practice. Drawing on the experiences of more than 100 international respondents to an online survey, this study analyses the emerging themes to gauge the potential of transdisciplinary community resilience in realising the possible value of collective action.