What is the definition of resilience?
According to dictionary.com:
noun
1.the power or ability to return to the original form, position, etc., after being bent, compressed, or stretched; elasticity.
2.ability to recover readily from illness, depression, adversity, or the like; buoyancy.
Resilience is a term that can be used to describe a healthy community. It is important for communities to come together and learn how to recover and bounce back. The Institute of Sustainable Communities take on this definition of resilient communities. The mission of ISC is to give communities the tools and skills they need to tackle climate change and environmental factors. They aim to promote activity within the community to uphold a healthy citizenship.
What I found interesting in ISC article was that they stated that it isn't just about bouncing back, but about bouncing forward. This encouragement to reach towards improving the environment. When they refer to the term environment, it is referring to the social and economical health and well-being. There are three interrelated components of resilience according to ISC.
1. Environmental
2. Social
3. Economic
Why does community resilience matter in our design for a health campus?
Design of the physical infrastructure is just as important as social infrastructure. To design with a strategy of resilience we must recognize that it doesn't all come from physical brick and mortar buildings, but it comes from the cultivation of networks that we can provide within our design. With a basis of understanding this, we must then research how we can approach this from various angles to create these kinds of spaces where this can begin to happen.
Lena and I plan to use this term within our mission statement for our health campus. We believe that this term encompasses the vision we have for our design. A healthy community creates a healthy way of life. If we can design with this term in mind and create spaces that cultivate community experiences, we can improve the health and the future of this community in Lawndale. Check out my next blog as a continuation of this research!
Sources:
Images:
https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/resilience-activities-worksheets/
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