Urban Resilience and Virtual Communities

Urban resilience is perceived as the response of governments towards unforeseen events. However, communities also develop their own mechanisms to transform and adapt more efficiently. With the integration of ICT in cities, rapid response and predictive capabilities are expected to improve urban management. Currently, cities face a critical, unprepared challenge: immigration. If inadequately addressed, immigration can strain national cohesion, identity, and economic stability. This paper examines urban resilience within virtual communities, focusing on how networking platforms foster integration and social cohesion enhancing urban and economic resilience. The networking platform Meetup, being used in 230 cities aiming to enhance trust among members and a faster integration through online and face-to-face interaction. With a qualitative approach including surveys, it is possible to measure how these communities’ foster resilience and self-directed development.