What Is Resiliency?

In many people’s minds, resilience is related exclusively to redundancy or robustness – the ability of a system to “take a punch” without collapsing or experiencing an unacceptable loss of functional performance. However, resilience goes beyond redundancy and robustness. It also involves the ability of a system to adapt to changing conditions and recover within an acceptable period of time after it experiences a disruptive event. As part of this process, resource allocation and preparedness are of paramount importance and should be integral components of resiliency planning at all levels, including individual buildings, building clusters, lifeline systems, and communities.