RESISTANCE OR RESILIENCE : SOFT & HARD ADAPTATION

The concept of “resilience” attributed to floods questions the way of thinking about urban planning and its ability to adapt to disturbances. Resilience as a word has many definitions. However, for this study, flood resilience is the improvement of the built environment and the rapid recovery of its community after such floods.

It’s a whole new experience that continues a trend of “living with water” that began about 50 years ago. Even though the word “resilience” comes from the Latin word “resilire, resilio”, meaning “to bounce back”, it will only be used here as a new tool / a new philosophy of flood risk management.

Traditionally, society at risk has tended to adopt a resistance-based strategy of resistance, also known as “hard” flood defenses. Historically, cities took refuge behind their walls to counter the risk of looting during wars. The same was true for natural hazards. From then on, the flood walls became levees. The construction of these resistance / “hard adaptation” strategies and equipment poses two major problems.

The socioeconomic state in dry condition

The socioeconomic state in dry condition

Floods

Floods preventable Flood magnitude

Floods beyond the threshold create desasters and move the system out of the desirable regime

Floods beyond the threshold create desasters and move the system out of the desirable regime

The socioeconomic state in dry condition

Floods pre-

Floods beyond the threshold create desasters and move the system out of the desirable regime

Floods beyond the threshold create desasters and move the system out of the desirable regime

Redraw in 2022 from reference : The risk management cycle - Atkinson et al, 2006