Resilient urban governance: Adaptation and innovation in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic

Abstract

The pervasive, unpredictable, and unmanageable outcomes gener- ated by the coronavirus pandemic portray many features of what have been defined as “super-wicked ”problems ( Levin et al., 2012 ). In this regard, defeating COVID-19 is not the only issue. The main problem is, rather, how to make our societies more resilient also to possible similar kinds of viruses that might affect our lives in the near future, provided the structure of the socio-economic and ecological systems where we live. As noted by Levin et al. (2012 , p. 124), ‘super-wicked’ problems “comprise four key features: time is running out; those who cause the problem also seek to provide a solution; the central authority needed to address them is weak or non-existent; and irrational discounting occurs that pushes responses into the future. Together these features create a tragedy because our governance institutions, and the policies they gen- erate (or fail to generate), largely respond to short-term time horizons even when the catastrophic implications of doing so are far greater than any real or perceived benefits of inaction”.