The Centrality of Communication and Media in Fostering Community Resilience

Abstract

A community is resilient if it is able to “bounce forward” after an adverse event. Community resilience is generally considered a process that is indicated by community adaptation following a disaster or crisis. In this article, we employ media and communication perspectives (communication ecology, public relations, and strategic communication) to review the community resilience literature and propose a revised community resilience model. Our proposed model includes four components: communication systems and resources, community relationships, strategic communication processes, and community attributes. Each of these components includes several elements that are described. Implications for research and practice are discussed.