Community Resilience Assessment: Implementation of a Novel Resilience Framework in Four Different European Case Study Areas

Abstract

Global warming and population density increase in urban areas under natural risks highlight the need for better quantifying and measuring community resilience. A new resilience framework was developed in the course of the European project C2IMPRESS, proposing an innovative way to assess community resilience through a multifaceted lens focused on 5 dimensions: a) social, b) governmental/institutional, c) economic, d) infrastructural, and e) environmental. The framework was tested in the four Case Study Areas (CSAs) of the C2IMPRESS project; Egaleo in Greece, Mallorca in Spain, Ordu in Turkey, and Centro in Portugal. Here, we exhibit the methodology process for the framework’s development (literature review, identification of resilience indicators, feedback from the CSAs) and its operationalisation, including a presentation of the data collection process and the scoring techniques used. Although there are alterations between the CSA’ resilience scores, all areas have showcased fundamental deficiencies in disaster management planning and preparedness. There were also important deficiencies in their protective infrastructure and healthcare systems. On the other hand, high scores were observed in educational attainment, digital connectivity, and average life expectancy capacities of the communities.