Regulating urban resilience: the need for interconnected standards and responsibilities for climate change resilience in UK urban areas

Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of disruptions to urban infrastructure, while growing interdependencies heighten the risk of cascading failures. Drawing on a scoping review and qualitative analysis of UK legislation and policy, this study examines how infrastructure resilience is conceptualised, governed and operationalised. Findings reveal fragmented governance, inequitable vulnerability, policy–implementation gaps and a lack of interconnected resilience standards. These weaknesses hinder coordinated adaptation and place-based assessment. The paper proposes a place-based ex-ante resilience benchmark to support interconnected standards, strengthen accountability, inform adaptation pathways and provide a consistent basis for assessing resilience across UK urban areas.