Project Director: Deborah Platts-Fowler
Project Duration: 2012-2013

Working in partnership with Sheffield City Council, a team from the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research set out to establish a working definition of neighbourhood resilience for the city and to identify factors promoting resilience. Resilience was viewed not as a panacea for the social and economic disadvantages many communities are facing, but as a strategy for helping communities cope with this adversity. A measure of resilience is provided, focusing on neighbourhoods that are evidencing better than expected outcomes given the intensity of the stress and pressure they are exposed to. Neighbourhoods evidencing relatively high levels of resilience are identified and the factors that help to explain the resilience are explored in four case study neighbourhoods. Some suggestions for how local policy makers might nurture neighbourhood resilience are also spotlighted.

The project team also included David Robinson (University of Sheffield).