Contributions to the Summary of Current Knowledge about Community Resilience

Lead Investigator: Dr. Susan Cutter, University of South Carolina

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Community and Regional Resilience Initiative (CARRI) (http://www.resilientus.org) is a regional program designed to develop a process by which communities and regions can be better prepared to withstand the effects of natural and human-made disasters. This project facilitates collaboration with CARRI to advise on research and its implementation at three study sites: Memphis, TN; Charleston, SC; and Gulfport, MS. This project also provides state-of-the-art reviews of human responses to hazards and disasters and community resilience indicators. Using knowledge from the research traditions of hazard response and emergency preparedness, the project team prepared a written summary of current knowledge in the field of research related to community resilience, framed in connection with four characteristics of a resilient community: it anticipates, it reduces vulnerabilities, it responds, and it recovers.

Results

Cutter, S. L., L. Barnes, M. Berry, C. Burton, E. Evans, E. Tate, and J. Webb, 2008. Community and regional resilience: Perspectives from hazards, disasters, and emergency management. CARRI Research Report 1. Oak Ridge National Lab: Community and Regional Resilience Initiative.

Cutter, S. L., L. Barnes, M. Berry, C. Burton, E. Evans, E. Tate, and J. Webb. 2008. A place-based model for understanding community resilience to natural disasters. Global Environmental Change 18 (4) 598-606.