Open Access Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington
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Sowing the seeds of resilience: Community perspectives

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thesis
posted on 2021-11-15, 12:56 authored by Arona, Tui

The term sustainability is one that has been critiqued as a buzzword which, although popular, holds very little meaning. The same is now being claimed with regard to the term resilience. This research seeks to understand community members’ interpretations of the terms resilience and community resilience in response to the Wellington City Council's adoption of a resilience focused outlook. These plans assert that building the city’s resilience is a collaborative responsibility, inclusive of both the community and Council. With a wealth of meanings connected to the term resilience, it is important to understand the communities’ understandings and expectations of the resilience building process.  Joseph (2013) has critiqued the resilience literature, highlighting that it may be used as a way for governing institutions to reduce their responsibilities and instead put the responsibility of community resilience onto community members. As a second research focus, this study explores participants expectations of both their and the Council’s roles in this process. Using a case study of Wellington City community gardens, this research looks at how the current community led initiatives influence community resilience.  Corroborating lessons learnt from pre-existing literature, participants drew from a range of meanings to define the word resilience. Understandings of the term community resilience were much more cohesive. Participants highlighted an appetite for driving the process of community resilience while designating a role characterised by support for the Wellington City Council. The case study of Wellington City community gardens exposed that the initiatives contribute to community resilience through the enhancement of bridging and linking social capital as well as through providing access to human resources, such as skills, knowledge and networks. Although community gardens also provided some physical resources i.e. produce, land, buildings, tools, etc., this area still requires further development.

History

Copyright Date

2015-01-01

Date of Award

2015-01-01

Publisher

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Rights License

Author Retains Copyright

Degree Discipline

Environmental Studies

Degree Grantor

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Degree Level

Masters

Degree Name

Master of Environmental Studies

ANZSRC Type Of Activity code

1 PURE BASIC RESEARCH

Victoria University of Wellington Item Type

Awarded Research Masters Thesis

Language

en_NZ

Victoria University of Wellington School

School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences

Advisors

Haalboom, Bethany; Abrahamse, Wokje