This document reviews the state of current knowledge on the role of community assets in supporting community resilience, recovery and wellbeing, focusing on disaster recovery and resilience building processes.

This literature review was shaped based on the following definitions:

• Community resilience: the ability to cope with, and adapt to, adversity and changing circumstances, to transform systems to reduce exposure to adversity, and the ability to capitalise on emerging opportunities
• Community recovery: ‘the restoring or improving of livelihoods and health, as well as economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets, systems and activities, of a disaster-affected community or society, aligning with the principles of sustainable development and ‘build back better’, to avoid or reduce future disaster risk.’ (UNDRR 2020).
• Community wellbeing: the ability of a community to support a high quality of life for the people residing in it, including provision of services, governance, amenity and social connection, amongst others.
• Community assets: the collective resources available within a community that can be mobilised in a range of ways to improve community conditions (in this case, to support disaster recovery, the building of resilience to disaster and community wellbeing). These can include people-based assets – community leaders, social and cultural networks, governance systems, and financial resources; and place-based assets – cultural, built and natural assets.

Community assets can include government, non-government organisations, voluntary associations, individuals, families or interest groups. Similarly, they can include a physical structure, a place/location within the community, or a community service. If someone, or something, supports quality of life in a community, it can be considered a community asset.