Department of System Ecology and Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Sweden.
Ambio. 2010 Dec;39(8):531-45. doi: 10.1007/s13280-010-0081-9.
Urbanization is a global multidimensional process paired with increasing uncertainty due to climate change, migration of people, and changes in the capacity to sustain ecosystem services. This article lays a foundation for discussing transitions in urban governance, which enable cities to navigate change, build capacity to withstand shocks, and use experimentation and innovation in face of uncertainty. Using the three concrete case cities--New Orleans, Cape Town, and Phoenix--the article analyzes thresholds and cross-scale interactions, and expands the scale at which urban resilience has been discussed by integrating the idea from geography that cities form part of "system of cities" (i.e., they cannot be seen as single entities). Based on this, the article argues that urban governance need to harness social networks of urban innovation to sustain ecosystem services, while nurturing discourses that situate the city as part of regional ecosystems. The article broadens the discussion on urban resilience while challenging resilience theory when addressing human-dominated ecosystems. Practical examples of harnessing urban innovation are presented, paired with an agenda for research and policy.
城市化是一个全球化的多维过程，由于气候变化、人口迁移和维持生态系统服务能力的变化，不确定性也在增加。本文为讨论城市治理转型奠定了基础，使城市能够应对变化，建立承受冲击的能力，并在面对不确定性时利用试验和创新。本文使用新奥尔良、开普敦和凤凰城这三个具体的案例城市，分析了阈值和跨尺度相互作用，并通过整合地理学的一个观点来扩展城市弹性讨论的规模，即城市构成了“城市系统”的一部分（即，不能将它们视为单一实体）。基于这一点，本文认为，城市治理需要利用城市创新的社会网络来维持生态系统服务，同时培养将城市作为区域生态系统一部分的论述。本文拓宽了关于城市弹性的讨论范围，同时在处理以人为主导的生态系统时挑战了弹性理论。本文提出了利用城市创新的实际例子，并提出了研究和政策议程。
