415
assume less uncertainty and more calculable risks. Under such governance, stability
(against shocks) or endurance (against stresses) of a system are believed to be maintained or restored by actions of control and order. Recognizing the inherent uncertainty of complexity also acknowledges limits to a control-style of governance.
Managing the resilience of an urban system for health depends on how system
changes are perceived and on whether controlled or adaptive, flexible actions are
performed (Fig. 18.1). The co-production of knowledge for urban health resilience
management and integrated systems of flexible governance for urban health are
responses to urban complexity and an attempt to harness it for sustainability.
The World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network
1
is an example of governance strategies for resilience. It is set up to respond to unpredictable external shocks (outbreaks) with a flexible response network that can be
mobilised when needed. Another example of resilience management for health is
the Epidemic Intelligence and outbreak responses provided by the European Centre
for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) to the EU Member States. ECDC continuously monitors and assesses epidemic outbreaks in the EU region. In case of
emergencies and response needs, ECDC provides both assessment missions and
different levels of epidemic response actions. An example of integrated, flexible
systems governance for urban health in the context of climate change are the urban
Knowledge-Action Systems (KAS) analysed by Muñoz-Erickson et al. (2017).
KAS are social networks of actors involved in the production, sharing and use of
knowledge for action and all other types of infrastructure, facilitating the flow of
resources, including data and knowledge, and thereby enabling feedback, response
and learning for action. Such KAS, once institutionalised as an organisational entity,
could be referred to as the collective mind of a city, or the ‘urban brain’. An example
is the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Compact,
2
which came together to
upgrade their resilience knowledge systems for climate adaptation.
18.1.3 Urban Complexity and Resilience
When people think of urban resilience, it is generally in the context of response to
sudden impacts, such as a hazard or disaster recovery (see Alberti et al. 2003; Alberti
and Marzluff 2004; Vale and Campanella 2005; Cutter et al. 2008; Wallace and
Wallace 2008). However, the resilience concept goes far beyond recovery from single disturbances, as demonstrated by the above example of knowledge-action
systems. Resilience is a multi-disciplinary concept that explores persistence, recovery, and adaptive and transformative capacities of interlinked social and ecological
systems and subsystems (Holling 2001; Folke et al. 2002; Walker et al. 2004; Biggs
et al. 2012).
1 https://extranet.who.int/goarn/
2 http://www.southeastfloridaclimatecompact.org/about-us/what-is-the-compact/
18 Resilience Management for Healthy Cities in a Changing Climate
assume less uncertainty and more calculable risks. Under such governance, stability
(against shocks) or endurance (against stresses) of a system are believed to be maintained or restored by actions of control and order. Recognizing the inherent uncertainty of complexity also acknowledges limits to a control-style of governance.
Managing the resilience of an urban system for health depends on how system
changes are perceived and on whether controlled or adaptive, flexible actions are
performed (Fig. 18.1). The co-production of knowledge for urban health resilience
management and integrated systems of flexible governance for urban health are
responses to urban complexity and an attempt to harness it for sustainability.
The World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network
1
is an example of governance strategies for resilience. It is set up to respond to unpredictable external shocks (outbreaks) with a flexible response network that can be
mobilised when needed. Another example of resilience management for health is
the Epidemic Intelligence and outbreak responses provided by the European Centre
for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) to the EU Member States. ECDC continuously monitors and assesses epidemic outbreaks in the EU region. In case of
emergencies and response needs, ECDC provides both assessment missions and
different levels of epidemic response actions. An example of integrated, flexible
systems governance for urban health in the context of climate change are the urban
Knowledge-Action Systems (KAS) analysed by Muñoz-Erickson et al. (2017).
KAS are social networks of actors involved in the production, sharing and use of
knowledge for action and all other types of infrastructure, facilitating the flow of
resources, including data and knowledge, and thereby enabling feedback, response
and learning for action. Such KAS, once institutionalised as an organisational entity,
could be referred to as the collective mind of a city, or the ‘urban brain’. An example
is the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Compact,
2
which came together to
upgrade their resilience knowledge systems for climate adaptation.
18.1.3 Urban Complexity and Resilience
When people think of urban resilience, it is generally in the context of response to
sudden impacts, such as a hazard or disaster recovery (see Alberti et al. 2003; Alberti
and Marzluff 2004; Vale and Campanella 2005; Cutter et al. 2008; Wallace and
Wallace 2008). However, the resilience concept goes far beyond recovery from single disturbances, as demonstrated by the above example of knowledge-action
systems. Resilience is a multi-disciplinary concept that explores persistence, recovery, and adaptive and transformative capacities of interlinked social and ecological
systems and subsystems (Holling 2001; Folke et al. 2002; Walker et al. 2004; Biggs
et al. 2012).
1 https://extranet.who.int/goarn/
2 http://www.southeastfloridaclimatecompact.org/about-us/what-is-the-compact/
18 Resilience Management for Healthy Cities in a Changing Climate