In the face of today’s complex urban challenges, the whole
of society must work together to adapt and find ways to
thrive. Lessons learnt through responding to shocks and
stressors have shown that community resilience—built upon
social infrastructure and social capital—drives recovery.
So how can we build community resilience within our
cities? What is the role of community engagement and
participatory design in strengthening social infrastructure
and building social capital? How might we give form to and
enhance the invisible sense of community resilience in the
built environment?
This playbook documents research undertaken by the Centre
for Liveable Cities to measure and strengthen social capital
and community resilience through a co-creation journey.
It showcases how a multi-stakeholder framework nurtures
citizen-initiated projects that can not only address local
challenges but also support broader national efforts.
The research also demonstrates how a range of indicators
offer insights into the state of community resilience and
enables communities and policymakers to track progress as
well as identify strengths and areas for improvement. We
hope that the insights captured in this playbook will inspire
cities to work with their citizens to develop a comprehensive
strategy for resilience—which involves not only improving its
hardware but also enhancing its software. Ultimately, there
can be no resilient city without a resilient community.