Preprint
English

Resilience, violence and the globalization of ordinary cities

Publication date2021
Abstract

Despite a growing critical corpus on the use of resilience in urban planning and international relations, this contested concept continues to feature prominently in the conversation on the development of cities. Taking the 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) network pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation as a case study, this article exposes some of the challenges inherent in the implementation of a global model of resilience. Exploring initiatives related to violence prevention in the member-cities of Medellin, Cali (Colombia), New Orleans, Chicago (USA) and Belfast (Northern Ireland), this study will look at the practices of “Chief Resilience Officers”, a position created by the 100RC network, and determine if it can be considered as a new profession in the field of resilience planning. It will also present some original elements of comprehension on how these resilient cities call into question the category of “global cities”. It suggests that networks centered on urban resilience can serve as globalizing agents for cities usually considered as “secondary” or “ordinary”. This article maintains that while the broad and elusive definition promoted by 100RC facilitated a global circulation of the concept of resilience, its one-size-fits-all approach also created resistances on the ground and led in some cases to its depoliticization.

Keywords
  • Urban Resilience
  • 100 Resilient Cities
  • Global Cities
  • Urban Geography
  • Violence
Research groups
Citation (ISO format)
NAEF, Patrick James. Resilience, violence and the globalization of ordinary cities. 2021.
Main files (1)
Preprint
accessLevelPrivate
Identifiers
  • PID : unige:147051
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Creation09/01/2021 11:08:00
First validation09/01/2021 11:08:00
Update03/06/2024 06:31:52
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