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Historical Regimes and Social Indicators of Resilience in an Urban System: the Case of Charleston, South Carolina

Regina Bures, University of Florida
William Kanapaux, University of Florida

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-04293-160416

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Abstract

Employing the adaptive cycle and panarchy in perturbed urban systems can contribute to a better understanding of how these systems respond to broad-scale changes such as war and sea level rise. In this paper we apply a resilience perspective to examine regime shifts in Charleston, South Carolina from a historical perspective. We then look more closely at changes that occurred in Charleston in recent decades, including Hurricane Hugo, and the potential effects of these changes on resilience of the social-ecological system to future shocks. We close with a discussion combining social and ecological perspectives to examine future regime-shift scenarios in the Charleston case and suggest ways to better understand resilience in other coastal urban systems.

Key words

Charleston, South Carolina; regime shifts; resilience; sea-level rise; social-ecological systems

Ecology and Society. ISSN: 1708-3087