The concept of resilience has become part of the lexicon for disaster researchers in universities and government agencies. The concept has evolved significantly over the past 10-20 years. In 2010-11, the engineering community was coming to grips with the two paradigms of resilience: 1) an engineering approach that focused on predictability and stability in a steady state; and 2) an ecological definition that focused on persistence and the ability to reorganize while undergoing change. In the past 5 years, the concept of resilience is again being redefined, in part because of experience with the Covid pandemic, and climate change, and in part because recent disasters have overwhelmed humanitarian aid and recovery programs. There simply have not been sufficient resources to meet disaster recovery needs in a timely fashion even with a resilience rebuilding approach.

In this talk Professor Comerio will focus on what we have learned from recent disasters, from the pandemic, and from evolving polices for addressing climate change as well as disasters. It is important to discuss what goes wrong and what works with case studies from multiple disaster recovery efforts, but equally important to evaluate policies and programs that are designed to improve resilience as an ex-ante recovery measure. Professor Comerio will discuss two examples of lifeline policies and programs with a community resilience focus, and one on investment in the creation of housing programs to meet baseline needs and reduce housing losses in future disasters. There are similar opportunities for resilience through investment in many infrastructure sectors, as well as schools, health care, and other services. A new approach to resilience requires policies and programs that include linking needs in multiple sectors and improving public and private sector capacity in the full range of critical services before disaster strikes.