Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. The resilience framework: five characteristics --
2. A mindset: roots of the thinking --
3. A practice: readiness, responsiveness, revitalization --
4. Disruption: a world of stresses and shocks --
5. How crisis becomes disaster: the human factor --
6. Awareness: yes, it can happen here --
7. Readiness: we're all responsible --
8. Getting ahead of threats: addressing vulnerabilities --
9. Responsiveness: social cohesion in the first responder --
10. Leadership emerges: institutions and individuals step up --
11. After the crisis: bouncing forward --
12. Revitalization: energizing, affirming, sharing a vision --
Conclusion: Realizing the resilience dividend.

In recent years, dozens of cities across the globe have been hit by large-scale catastrophes of every kind: natural disaster, geopolitical conflict, food shortages, disease and contagion, terrorist attacks. If you haven't been directly touched by one of these cataclysms yourself, in our interconnected world you are sure to have been affected in some way. They harm vulnerable individuals, destabilise communities and threaten organisations and even whole societies. We are at greater risk than ever from city-wide catastrophe, and as the severity and frequency of these disasters increase, we must become better at preparing for, responding to and recovering from them.