Increased urbanization rates and the growing effects of climate change in the world have made many cities vulnerable to greater vulnerability to natural disasters and other kinds of environmental, socio-economic, and political disruptions. Resilience has gained such an interest among various stakeholders to use it in shaping urban policies to be directed toward cities to be strengthened against such adversities. Despite the attention it garners and the ease with which it is referred to, defining the concept of resilience is challenging; in effect, even defining resilience has led to the creation of multiple interpretations of both policy deliberations and academic discourses of urban contexts. This paper addresses this challenge by critically assessing the different schools of thought on urban resilience and sustainability by revisiting a series of conceptualizations within both academic and operational domains. This analysis used Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework, co-occurrence networks through a meta-analysis and bibliometric review from publication from 2001 to 2023. This study advances a supposition that resilience and sustainability are interdependent paradigms that bring out the functionality of a system in realizing the potential towards predetermined, desirable development paths. The results show a dearth of robust tools and methodologies in evaluating resilience and, in turn, shed light on this significant issue and one of the ways forward for the following possible significant studies on urban resilience. This work also seeks to define an urban resilience concept that policymakers could use to get the perception and use it while deciding on a more prudent basis.