Urban Social Resilience
Urban Social Resilience
Why urban social resilience?
Cities are facing increasing pressures from climate change, demographic shifts, economic instability, technological transformations, and growing social inequalities. While resilience is often discussed in terms of infrastructure, technology, and environmental adaptation, cities ultimately depend on people, relationships, and collective action.
By bringing together expertise in design, architecture, planning, and policy, the initiative investigates how social innovation and civic engagement can contribute to more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient futures.
The vast majority of social resilience definitions and models are anchored specifically in acute natural disasters, emergency management, or shock-recovery cycles. However, less attention has been given to the social capacities that enable communities to respond to disruption, uncertainty, and transformation.
This leaves a significant gap in understanding how social resilience functions in non-crisis settings, during everyday life transitions, or under chronic socio-economic stressors such as housing insecurity, systemic discrimination, and precarious legal status.
This project focuses on the social and cultural dimensions of resilience, positioning citizens and communities as key actors in sustainable urban transformation.
Contributing to Aalborg University's mission
Urban Social Resilience is part of a larger strategic initiative at Aalborg University aimed at addressing complex societal challenges through interdisciplinary and mission-driven research.
The research theme aligns closely with AAU Mission 02, which focuses on addressing pressing societal challenges, and AAU Mission 03, which emphasizes social innovation and the development of new approaches to creating sustainable futures.
Through collaborative research projects, knowledge is produced both within and beyond academia. The initiative aims to foster collaboration, strengthen research environments, and create new opportunities for external partnerships, funding, and societal engagement.
Research vision and approach
This research area builds on strong expertise in urban design, mobility and infrastructure, architecture, urban planning, and industrial design. The research works with people and communities, placing human needs and experiences at the center while connecting design, planning, and policy.
The research is jointly covered by the Department of Architecture, Design and Media Technology (CREATE) and the Department of Sustainability and Planning (PLAN).
The core research activities are currently carried out by two PhD candidates and one Postdoctoral researcher, who contribute to developing the research agenda, conducting empirical studies, and strengthening collaboration across disciplines.
Specifically, the collaboration involves the research groups:
CREATE
Urban Design
Integrated Architecture
AAU Design Lab
PLAN
Sustainability, Innovation and Policy
Planning for Urban Sustainability
Expected results
This research group brings together complementary expertise to conceptualize, investigate, and advance social resilience through interdisciplinary collaboration. Its members share an interest in exploring the social and cultural dimensions of resilience through participatory processes and design-based approaches.
- CREATE has research expertise in the social, cultural, and societal roles of architecture and design, with a particular focus on universal design and on speculative and participatory approaches. Social sustainability and user involvement are central concerns. The group develops co-creation practices and examines how architecture and objects shape the body, everyday life, and communities.
- PLAN contributes expertise in integrative and systemic resilience approaches, where social, ecological, and technological dimensions are understood as interconnected parts of a holistic system. In addition, PLAN has a strong position in the development of planning methods that promote stakeholder engagement, stakeholder mapping, and empowerment processes across diverse social worlds.
Urban Social Resilience