The waterfront area along Shanghai’s Suzhou Creek exemplifi es a typical socio-ecological system that faces multiple challenges, including water pollution and human–water confl icts, amid ongoing urbanization. To advance the sustainable development of urban waterfront spaces and inspired by the ecological wisdom of “human–water symbiosis” in the Jiangnan region, this study designates the waterfront area in the central urban zone of Suzhou Creek in Shanghai as the research object, adhering to the framework of the triple resilience theory and adaptive cycle theory. It relies on the Pressure-State-Response (PSR) model to construct a comprehensive resilience evaluation system. The study screens eight key indicators across three dimensions of pressure, state, and response, determines their weights using the entropy weight method, and completes a comprehensive socio-ecological resilience assessment based on multi-source data. Furthermore, it proposes “human–water symbiosis” smart landscape strategies that integrate ecological restoration and cultural construction for improvement units in the pressure–state, pressure–response, state–response, and pressure, state, and response dimensions, respectively. The aim is to provide theoretical references and practical guidance for enhancing the resilience of urban waterfront spaces.