This study aims to present the findings of afield research on “urban resilience” as wellas offering an overview of some recenttheoretical developments concerning theconcept, which has recently enjoyed widecurrency in the field of urban planning. First,it discusses the scope of resilienceassessment from the social-ecologicalsystemic viewpoint and then scrutinizes thecontribution of social-ecological networkanalysis to the field of urban planning byemploying this method in an empirical case.For the social-ecological network analyzingand resilience assessment, this study dealswith the case of Sultanbeyli, Istanbul. It is adistrict which came into being in ahaphazard fashion in the 1980s and whichhas grown very rapidly ever since due toinformal housing and shanty settlements.The residents of Sultanbeyli are particularlyvulnerable in terms of a number of socioeconomic and spatial issues. Moreover, thewhole area of the district lies within theÖmerli Basin, one of the largest fresh watersources for Istanbul. Unplanned growth ofthe district gives rise to very importantenvironmental problems such as theshrinkage of the basin and water pollution.Thus, a resilience assessment analysis onSultanbeyli bears on some vital issuesconcerning the entire city. The studycomprises two main parts. First of all, aliterature overview is presented regardingthe current definitions and scope of urbanresilience as well as the attempts to developmethods to assess it. Secondly, an empiricalcase is examined so as to shed light onresilience assessment by employing themethod of social-ecological networkanalysis. It is found that the analysis ofresilience assessment alongside with itsmethod and instruments contributes tosustainable urban development and strategicurban planning. It is also argued that themethod of social-ecological networkanalyzing is of great benefit to partneranalysis, information flow, and participatoryprocesses in urban planning.