Resilience is defined as the capacity of the community to recover quickly from stressors and jump back into its previous shape. It is the elasticity of the any entity to bounce back after stressors change its natural shape. Different fields have resilience defined in their own words; each adapting the idea into their own context and needs.

1. Psychology: The ability of the individual to cope with physical and mental stresses and adversity, and bounce back to a previous normal state, by learning from the exposure to stressors. Inherent personal qualities will define the individuals’ ability to thrive in the face of challenges and transform the adverse situation into positive outcome. This could act as a catalyst for development. Such individuals are said to be resilient.
2. Ecology: The capacity of an ecosystem to absorb disturbances and reorganize while undergoing change, allowing to retain the same functionality as before. The structure, identity and feedbacks present in the system will have to be similar as before for the ecosystem to be called resilient. The ecosystem could face several stressors such as fires, floods, and human disruption.
3. For e.g., when we look at materials, it is the ability of the material to withstand the supplied energy when it is subjected to elastic loading and release that energy when the load/energy source is taken off. In ecology, When we talk about the community particularly, it is the ability to withstand the impacts from natural or man-made hazards and bounce back . There are many topics that we will discuss that links back to resilience, such as hazards, climate change, infrastructure networks, and socio-economic aspects of the community.

Fields	Definition	Stressors	Recovery Elements	State Afterwards
Psychology	Ability to cope with stress and bounce back or grow.	Trauma, loss, personal crises.	Social support; therapy/counseling; coping-skills training; mindfulness; self-efficacy; access to care; routines; meaning-making.	Restored daily functioning; maintained wellbeing; possible post-traumatic growth and improved coping capacity.
Ecology	Ecosystem’s capacity to absorb disturbances and maintain functions.	Environmental changes, disasters.	Biodiversity and functional redundancy; habitat connectivity; refugia; keystone species; soil/seed banks; adaptive management; controlled disturbance within natural range.	Key functions restored or reassembled; may return to prior state or shift to a new stable state with comparable function.
Engineering	System’s capability to prevent, withstand, recover from adverse conditions.	Natural disasters, system failures.	Robust design margins; redundancy; modularity; fail-safes; preventive maintenance; emergency response; rapid repair; spare parts/stockpiles; mutual-aid compacts.	Service levels restored within acceptable downtime; possible upgrade/retrofit to higher standards and reduced failure risk.
Social Sciences	Community’s ability to respond to and recover from adverse situations.	Economic downturns, social disruptions.	Social capital (bonding/bridging/linking); trusted communication; inclusive governance; mutual aid; emergency planning; equitable resource distribution; livelihood support.	Basic services and cohesion re-established; adaptive practices adopted; vulnerability reduced for future events.
Business and Organizational Theory	Business’s ability to survive and prosper through change or disruptions.	Market changes, operational disruptions.	Business-continuity and disaster-recovery plans; cash/liquidity buffers; product and revenue diversification; flexible supply chains; cross-training; data backups; scenario planning; insurance.	Operations resumed with minimal loss; cash flow stabilized; market position retained or improved; resilient processes institutionalized.
Economics	Economy’s capacity to withstand or recover from market shocks.	Financial crises, market volatility.	Monetary policy (liquidity, rates); fiscal stimulus; automatic stabilizers (UI, safety nets); credit facilities; restructuring programs; trade diversification; regulatory reforms.	GDP/employment recover; inflation/financial stability restored; potential structural adjustments that improve long-run resilience.
Information Technology	Network or system’s ability to operate effectively despite failures.	Hardware/software failures, cyber attacks.	Redundancy and high availability; backups and version control; failover/DR sites; zero-trust security; monitoring/observability; incident response and patching; regular DR testing.	Service availability meets SLAs; data integrity preserved; hardened security posture and faster recovery times.
Urban Planning	Design of cities to absorb, recover, and prepare for future shocks.	Environmental stress, infrastructural strain.	Hazard-informed land use; resilient building codes; distributed/green infrastructure; redundancy in lifelines; evacuation routes/shelters; nature-based solutions; community engagement.	Critical services and mobility restored; risk exposure reduced; neighborhoods adapt via retrofits and land-use changes.

Is resilience a new concept? A devout scientific scholar might point out early 1800s when we were looking at a material’s ability to absorb energy and spring back; later formalized as modulus of resilience in mechanics. Or a enthusiastic ecologist might point to C.S. Holling’s “ecological resilience”, which is how much disturbance a system can absorb before it shifts state) from mere stability. Or our friends that delve deep into the human psyche might highlight longitudinal studies in psychology in the late 20th century that spotlight protective factors that help people thrive despite adversity. And in terms of disaster risk reduction, community resilience is a fairly new lingo in communities and urban policy.

However, if we trace back to our ancestors, they have been doing this forever. That is what has let us push this