Emergent Urban Resilience in Ukraine: Adapting to Polycrisis in Times of War

Abstract

The concept of urban resilience is becoming increasingly significant as cities across the globe grapple with an array of pressing challenges, including those posed by climate change, socio-political conflicts, and economic instability. In contrast to structural resilience, emergent resilience arises spontaneously in response to unforeseen challenges, namely during or at the time of the challenge. One such challenge is the Russian military aggression against Ukraine and its cities. This paper presents an initial investigation into the concept of emergent urban resilience in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine. The principal aim is to develop a systematic understanding of the nature of emergent resilience in such a crisis context and to emphasize the importance of examining the phenomenon of emergent resilience in urban contexts during periods of acute crisis, as well as in the subsequent period. This represents a hitherto under-explored type of case within the resilience discourse.