Urban Resilience in Secondary Cities in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Multidimensional Spatial Approach

Abstract

The rapid pace of urbanization in low- and middle-income countries has increased the importance of secondary cities as intermediary centers connecting rural areas with urban centers and markets. At the same time, these cities have become increasingly exposed to climate-related, economic, health, and logistical disruptions. In this context, the concept of urban resilience has emerged as a framework for understanding cities’ capacity to maintain their essential functions, respond to disruptions, adapt to their impacts, and restore their functional capacities in the face of multiple crises.

   The study draws on the evolution of the concept of urban resilience, from an initial focus on resistance and recovery toward a dynamic, multidimensional approach encompassing adaptation and transformation. It further expands this perspective by considering the city as an interconnected system of economic, social, environmental, institutional, and infrastructure components. The theoretical analysis demonstrates that the resilience of secondary cities cannot be explained by a single factor; rather, it is shaped by the interaction among economic capacity, social cohesion, infrastructure efficiency, institutional and governance capacity, and environmental capacity to withstand pressures and disruptions, within spatial relationships that connect the city to its rural and regional surroundings and to broader urban networks.

   Accordingly, the study adopts a multidimensional and spatial approach to measuring urban resilience, combining the construction of a composite index of its components with an analysis of their spatial distribution. This approach makes it possible to identify strengths, vulnerabilities, and disparities both among and within secondary cities. The framework highlights the need to move beyond approaches that focus primarily on major cities and to develop analytical tools that account for the functional and spatial characteristics of secondary cities, as well as their role in achieving balanced development and strengthening their capacity to withstand, adapt to, and transform in response to changing crises.