The Interaction of Resilience Concepts and Flood Adaptation Strategies in Vancouver, British Columbia

This study explores the interaction between adaptation, resilience, resident perceptions of risk management, and flood policy in Vancouver, British Columbia. A systematic policy analysis determines how four adaptation strategies (protect, accommodate, retreat, and avoid) are employed in the municipality and interprets the degree to which current flood risk reduction efforts are capable of enhancing resilience across three conceptualizations established in literature (resistance, recovery, and creative transformation). Survey analysis of how residents understand and prioritize the concept of resilience is then applied to policy analysis findings to reveal a misalignment of policy targets and expectations. Findings indicate that protect and accommodate strategies dominate policy to compensate for ongoing floodplain development while the retreat and avoid strategies are ignored despite their utility in addressing exposure. Such policy fails to align with resident perceptions that resilience defined by creative transformation should be the objective of flood adaptation efforts.