ABSTRACT
This chapter is dedicated to tracing the evolution of “urban resilience” in science, academia, and policy. First, the most common definitions of resilience from a conventional, “problem-solving” perspective are discussed. Second, the chapter explores the critical perspective of resilience as a politically performative term. Its underlying purposes and contradictions are addressed in order to question its neutrality and universal applicability. Third, a genealogical perspective explores the conditions of emergence of “urban resilience” as a paradigm of a kind, in the context of cities. The momentum of the 2000s is explored to show how a set of urban disasters, coupled with austerity, made resilience a policy buzzword. Finally, a review of urban resilience literature provides a scholarly reflection of the previous discussion.
