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Making cities resilient: Increasing resilience to disasters at the local level
Abstract
Half of humanity is now living in cities, according to the United Nations Population Division. The urban population exceeded the rural for the first time in 2008, and by 2050 urbanisation will rise to 70 per cent with increased urban risk. 'Today, 100 cities are in control of 30 per cent of the world's economy.' The need for maintenance and upkeep of these cities makes safety measures for their citizens crucial. In this context, urban risk, city planning and the role of local governments in dealing with risk reduction have been recognised as key factors to build communities resilient to disasters. While many local governments have taken action to reduce vulnerability, especially when it comes to government organising capacity to deal with disasters, much remains to be done. Disaster risk has become an acute and increasingly urban issue. Poorly-planned urban environments, weak urban governance, an old and fragile infrastructure, and rapid population growth have increased pressure on the urban environment and triggered exposure to disaster risk. More and more people are settling in potential danger zones such as flood plains, volcanic flanks or earthquake faults and coastal areas. They do so because planners and local governments fail to provide alternatives, or because they cannot afford safer land. Local government officials are confronted with the threat of disasters daily, and need improved access to policies and tools to cope with them effectively.
... Thus far, most flood protection efforts in the Northland have focused on physical infrastructures, such as flood protection infrastructure, erosion management, and channel maintenance [10][11][12]. Individuals and communities are required to IOP Publishing doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/1101/2/022035 2 undertake primary responsibility for their health, safety, and livelihoods due to floodplain urbanisation [13][14][15]. Both government and communities played the current leadership role in the FRM for its shortterm and long-term plans [5,16]. ...
... Both government and communities played the current leadership role in the FRM for its shortterm and long-term plans [5,16]. The local community is the finest resource for discovering insights gained from previous experiences and recommending future practices [13,[17][18][19]. ...
The Northland river is characterised by having a short stream and large catchments. Heavy rains in the region trigger the rapid rise of the water levels and causes flooding, affecting the urban community in the flood plain with flash floods and river overflow as double threats. The government-initiated programs to protect urban communities such as ‘predict and mitigate’ but primarily focuses on physical infrastructure protection. While providing infrastructure is beneficial, developing a resilient community comprises more holistic strategies. There is a need for improving the local capacity to enhance resilience. A resilient, human-focused mitigation strategy which includes the affected communities, as well as the existing infrastructure, can reduce flood risks more efficiently. This paper explores the ways the Northland communities follow to mitigate existing flood risks, including their perceptions of the current flood protection strategies. This study investigates also the social and cultural elements that influence responses to flood risks. The main recommendation, of the study advocates a community-based risk management plan to complement the government’s strategy to efficiently mitigate flood risk in the urban Northland.
... An important stream in resilience research is concerned with identifying risks and vulnerabilities. This research promotes the improvement of risk assessment and planning capacities to mitigate and prepare for potential crises (Aigbogun, Ghazali, & Razali, 2014;Albrito, 2012;Aldrich & Meyer, 2014;Edgeman & Williams, 2014;Jaaron & Backhouse, 2014;Lee, Vargo, & Seville, 2013;Mallak, 1998;McManus, Seville, Vargo, & Brunsdon, 2008;Norris et al., 2008). ...
... Thereby, they support the relevance of the communicative act of sensemaking before and during a crisis, and they show that institutions need to be aware of this issue in their planning processes (Hutter & Kuhlicke, 2013). Albrito (2012) proposes to provide technical infrastructure and to establish precautionary measures such as bundling responsibilities and providing an appropriate amount of resources. Prioritizing these resistance-increasing measures is said to be more cost-effective when compared to the costs of disaster relief (Albrito, 2012: 294). ...
Academic debates surrounding the notion of resilience still face dissent about definitions, contexts, and managerial implications. By summarizing recent literature on resilience, this paper reveals two dominating paradigms, which I label the Plan to Resist Approach and the Containing Crisis Approach. By pinpointing and challenging the underlying assumptions of both approaches, I elucidate their potential shortcomings. To overcome these limitations, I develop an integral, capability‐based concept of organizational resilience, which builds on a temporal perspective on crises. Thereby it highlights the importance of enacting different yet specific capabilities at different phases of crises. This concept allows integrating the insights of the reviewed literature and sheds light on the recovery phase as being a so far neglected aspect in resilience research.
... As such, natural disasters are considered to be a major threat to the entire world and have become a global concern. Recent literature highlighted the vulnerabilities of cities and the need of making cities resilient to threats posed by natural disasters (UN-ISDR, 2010;Godschalk, 2003;Albrito, 2012;Dubbeling et al., 2009;Kreimer et al., 2003). It is therefore important to prioritise investment in cities in order to mitigate the impacts of disasters in the short term and to reduce risks in the future (Dubbeling et al., 2009). ...
... As a result of the rapid urbanisation, cities are becoming extremely vulnerable to threats posed by natural hazards . The urban population exceeded the rural for the first time in 2008 and by 2050 it is predicted that the urbanisation will rise to 70% (Albrito, 2012). As a result of rapid urbanisation, cities face many challenges. ...
With the increase in occurrences of high impact disasters, the concept of risk reduction and resilience is widely recognised. Recent disasters have highlighted the exposure of urban cities to natural disasters and emphasised the need of making cities resilient to disasters. Built environment plays an important role in every city and need to be functional and operational at a time of a disaster and is expected to provide protection to people and other facilities. However, recent disasters have highlighted the vulnerability of the built assets to natural disasters and therefore it is very much important to focus on creating a disaster resilient built environment within cities. However the process of making a disaster resilient built environment is a complex process where many challenges are involved. Accordingly the paper aims at exploring the challenges involved in building a disaster resilient built environment. Paper discusses the findings of some expert interviews and three case studies which have been conducted in Sri Lanka by selecting three cities which are potentially vulnerable to threats posed by natural hazards. The empirical evidence revealed, lack of regulatory frameworks; unplanned cities and urbanisation; old building stocks and at risk infrastructure; unauthorised structures; institutional arrangements; inadequate capacities of municipal councils; lack of funding; inadequacy of qualified human resources; and corruption and unlawful activities as major challenges for creating a disaster resilient built environment within Sri Lankan cities. The paper proposes a set of recommendations to address these prevailing concerns and to build a more resilient built environment within cities.
... This method was also useful because it gave room for unclear issues to be clarified as well as participants to elaborate on their responses Druetz et al. (2015) (The collected data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel as well as Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) where simple descriptive statistics were obtained and results were summarized as graphs and pie charts for discussions. Albrito (2012) states that data processing and analysis starts in the field, with checking for completeness of the data and performing quality control checks after collecting data from a household. This follows sorting the data by instrument used. ...
The main purpose of this study was to examine institutional preparedness in handling malaria control in Mwinilunga District of Zambia. It was guided by the following objectives, which were to identify the challenges faced by public health institutions in implementing effective malaria prevention and control measures. To assess the capacity and preparedness of health institutions to respond to malaria outbreaks, including resource availability, staff training, and surveillance systems. To analyse the role of community engagement and behavioural practices in influencing the success of malaria prevention efforts in Mwinilunga District. The study employed a case study design. A total sample of 50 respondents were sampled using probability sampling by purposive sampling method. Semi-structured questionnaires and key-informant interviews were used for data collection. The collected data was analysed in form of descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of Microsoft Word and Excel. From the research findings, the study highlighted significant gaps in the preparedness and effectiveness of health institutions in Mwinilunga District to manage malaria outbreaks. Addressing these gaps through enhanced training, better resource allocation, and robust surveillance systems is essential for reducing malaria incidence. Engaging the community through culturally relevant education and communication strategies is also crucial for fostering preventive behaviours and improving health outcomes. Strengthening these areas will not only control malaria more effectively but also contribute to the overall improvement of public health in the district. The study recommends that, allocate more resources to ensure the adequate supply of ITNs, RDTs, and antimalarial drugs. This funding should also support training programs, infrastructure improvements, and the establishment of robust surveillance systems, Establish and maintain comprehensive malaria surveillance systems to enable early detection and timely response to outbreaks. This includes improving data collection, analysis, and reporting mechanisms within health institutions. Implement regular evaluations of healthcare workers to identify training needs and improve service delivery. Feedback from these evaluations should be used to inform training programs and support professional development. Expand health education programs using culturally sensitive communication strategies to improve the uptake of malaria prevention measures. Engage local leaders and use local languages to enhance the effectiveness of health education initiatives.
... Effective strategies for local governance to increase seismic resilience are an essential part of preparing urban and regional communities to be able to cope with the impacts of earthquakes and recover [54][55][56]. These methods are very important for earthquake-vulnerable areas because they help in reducing earthquake damage and promote sustainability. ...
Enhancing resilience against seismic hazards in earthquake-prone regions is essential for reducing the devastating impacts of disasters. Seismic resilience refers to a community’s ability to withstand and recover from earthquake impacts, while preparedness gaps are the areas where current measures are insufficient to effectively respond to or mitigate earthquake damage. This study focuses on Montenegro – a region with frequent seismic activity – aiming to assess resilience levels, identify critical gaps in preparedness, and evaluate the effectiveness of existing response strategies. Using qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews, the research gathered insights from residents of Montenegro’s most vulnerable cities: Nikšić, Podgorica, Bar, Kotor, Cetinje, Budva, Herceg Novi, and Berane. Participants, chosen for their first-hand experience with significant earthquake impacts, provided valuable perspectives on various aspects of resilience, from local government response to individual preparedness. This research revealed significant disparities in resilience across communities: for instance, approximately 62.5% of the respondents highlighted inadequate education as a barrier to effective earthquake preparedness, and only 37.5% reported awareness of basic earthquake response procedures. Furthermore, while some communities, such as urban areas with accessible services, reported higher preparedness levels, rural areas showed deficiencies, with 50% of the respondents from these areas identifying a lack of organized drills and limited public awareness initiatives. These findings underscore the urgent need for community-specific preparedness programs and enhancements in both structural resilience and public education to bolster community readiness effectively. Also, findings highlight the need for customized preparedness programs tailored to specific community needs, alongside improvements in structural safety measures and educational outreach. The study underscores the importance of a comprehensive approach involving detailed risk assessments, community-focused preparedness training, and stronger public awareness initiatives. Furthermore, the study calls for enhanced local government capabilities to sustain proactive response measures, including rapid mobilization of emergency resources and regular disaster simulations, to build long-term resilience across communities.
... In urban areas, urbanisation has increased the susceptibility of the area to the risks of natural hazards (Malalgoda et al., 2013). According to Albrito (2012), in 2008, the urban population surpassed the rural population for the first time. It is projected that by 2050, the urbanisation rate will increase to 70 percent. ...
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), commonly known as the Global Goals, were approved by the United Nations in 2015 as an international call to eradicate poverty, safeguard the environment, and guarantee that by 2030, everyone may live in peace and prosperity. The 17 SDGs are interconnected; they acknowledge that actions in one area will impact others and that sustainable development must balance social, economic, and environmental sustainability. SDG 9 aims to develop resilient infrastructure, advance sustainable industry, and support innovation. This is because economies with a diverse industrial sector and resilient infrastructure suffered less harm and recovered faster. Malaysia experiences flood disasters more frequently than any other ASEAN nation, coming in second after Indonesia. According to a special report on flood impact in Malaysia by the Department of Statistics, overall losses for public assets and infrastructure recorded Rm 2 billion in 2021 and Rm 232.7 million in 2022. Hence, this data reveals that public assets and infrastructure record the highest losses due to flood occurrences in Malaysia. The paper identifies the resilient infrastructure currently existing in Malaysia in response to flooding. The research implements a qualitative approach by examining secondary sources such as studies, print, and online sources. In addition, open-ended questionnaires were used to interview key stakeholders to better understand the situation. This study summarizes that flood-resilient infrastructures require further implementation to safeguard people and the environment. Given the frequency and severity of flooding in Malaysia, it is necessary to concentrate more on SDG 9. Further research is recommended to explore the issues in the implementation of SDG 9 in Malaysia.
... Similarly Rowlands (2013, p. 20) discusses the responsibility of disaster management as spread over both national and state governments and the recent move towards community resilience and community responsibility and participating in all phases of the disaster management framework, linking neatly the concepts of community development and disaster management. Albrito (2012) outlines the pertinence of the concept of urbanisation to community development driven disaster recover management with her discussion about the increased number of cities now having evolved in low elevation, coastal zones coupled with population growth and insufficient development of infrastructure required to cope with this influx of people. Albrito (2012) describes one consequence with regard to disaster management is that of more significant impact from disasters including economic loss and also loss of life. ...
... Climate change has paved the way for more frequent and intense weather events, often causing large-scale disruptions to urban infrastructure systems [1]. These impacts are exacerbated by inadequate urban planning, aging infrastructure, and population growth, which subject the infrastructure to increasing levels of stress [2]. Recent weather-related extreme events, such as 2017 Hurricane Harvey in Houston-Galveston region, 2021 Texas winter storm in Central Texas [3], [4], and 2022 European heatwaves have resulted in extensive disruptions to regional infrastructure systems and significant socio-economic impacts [5]. ...
Climate change is increasing the frequency and the intensity of weather events, leading to large-scale disruptions to critical infrastructure systems. The high level of interdependence among these systems further aggravates the extent of disruptions. To mitigate these impacts, models and methods are needed to support rapid decision-making for optimal resource allocation in the aftermath of a disruption and to substantiate investment decisions for the structural reconfiguration of these systems. In this paper, we leverage infrastructure simulation models and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to develop resilience prediction models. First, we employ an interdependent infrastructure simulation model to generate infrastructure disruption and recovery scenarios and compute the resilience value for each scenario. The infrastructure-, disruption-, and recovery-related attributes are recorded for each scenario and ML algorithms are employed on the synthetic dataset to develop accurate resilience prediction models. The results of the prediction models are analyzed and possible design strategies suggested based on the resilience enhancement attributes. The proposed methodology can support infrastructure agencies in the resource-allocation process for pre- and post-disaster interventions.
... In this context, urban risk, city planning, and the role of local governments in dealing with risk reduction have been recognized as key factors to build communities resilient to disasters. While many local governments have Adi Ekopriyono 26 -JSH taken action to reduce vulnerability, especially when it comes to government organizing capacity to deal with disasters, much remains to be done (Paola, 2012). ...
Semarang City is the first city in Indonesia to be selected in the 100
Resilient Cities (100 RC) Program. This position raises the hope that this
city has more potential than other cities to prevent and control the spread of
Covid-19. The policies pursued through Restrictions on Community
Activities and the Candi Hebat Siaga Village Program have not yet been
optimal in breaking the chain of Covid-19 spread. This study uses a
descriptive qualitative approach, examines the factors that influence, and
formulates the steps that need to be taken to increase its effectiveness. The
most prominent factor found in this study is the weak resilience of local
culture concerning the prevention and control of Covid-19. This weakness
causes the community to be less disciplined in implementing health protocols
and the apparatus less control over the implementation of policies
... The aging infrastructure systems in the U.S. make cities more susceptible to environmental shocks. Further, poor urban environmental planning, urban governance and population growth have made cities more susceptible to natural disasters (Albrito 2012). ...
Transportation is a critical infrastructure, which is crucial for the functionality of urban communities during routine situations and extreme events. Diversity is recognized as a key property of a resilient transportation system since it determines the abundance and distribution of transportation modes in an urban area. Further, transportation diversity influences how a transportation system responds to and recovers from extreme events like natural hazards. In this study, the transportation diversity-based on modal availability and distribution-of zip codes in New York City is measured; subsequently, the socioeconomic characteristics of zip codes with varying levels of transportation diversity are analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results show that zip codes with similar transportation diversity generally have comparable socioeconomic factors. For example, residents in low transportation diversity zip codes have lower average income and higher vehicle ownership; further, these zip codes have higher commute time than other zip codes. The findings can support more comprehensive transportation and community resilience planning. For instance, the results pinpoint low transportation diversity zip codes with more disadvantaged residents, which can improve evacuation, shelter planning, and post-disaster recovery actions. In addition, improving transportation diversity will likely decrease car dependency of residents in low diversity zip codes and enhance their ability to reduce commute time.
... Disaster risk has become an acute and increasingly urban issue. Poorly-planned urban environments, weak urban governance, an old and fragile infrastructure, and rapid population growth have increased pressure on the urban environment and triggered exposure to disaster risk [10]. Currently there is no universal definition of personal disaster preparedness, but in the literature, there are two operational constituents of personal preparedness: preparation of an emergency kit and creation of a family emergency plan [11]. ...
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 was adopted at the Third UN World Conference in Sendai, Japan, in 2015. It is the successor instrument to the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters. The Sendai Framework emphasizes the need for a shift from disaster management to disaster risk management, rather than reactive response. The new DRR framework also revised its priority areas which can be aligned to the new “Ten Essentials of Making a City Resilient”. An independent preliminary assessment using the LGSAT as a guide can inform us if the new priority areas are addressed. This paper presents the assessment of a city in Laguna, namely Santa Rosa City to gather baseline data for a more rigorous and detailed study. The assessment report presents the scores on the level of progress that focuses on Essential 9, “Ensuring Effective Preparedness and Disaster Response” aligned to priority 4 of the Sendai Framework. Based on the assessment of City of Santa Rosa, the major natural hazards that the city will face are typhoons, flood due to its proximity to Laguna Lake and Earthquake due to West Valley fault that passes through Barangay Sto. Domingo. The City of Santa Rosa is doing its best to effectively prepare the city for disasters to happen and to respond quickly to avoid further damage to people and infrastructure. However, City of Santa Rosa only has an average score of 3.67 based on the score on the level of progress on the preliminary assessment to “Effective Preparedness and Disaster Response”, substantial achievement has been attained, but with some recognized deficiencies in commitment, financial resources or operational capacities.
... More specifically, large river deltas, combining fluvial and coastal hazards, are today populated by approximately 500 million people around the world (Aerts et al., 2009;Bohannon, 2010). Those risks bring major challenges for cities and their surrounding territories (Rosenzweig et al., 2010;Leichenko, 2011;Albrito, 2012;Jabareen, 2013). The extension and the consequences of these risks on human societies are unique in human history, but small scale systems involving complex urban societies also had to face such quick changes in the past. ...
Ostia is one of the most extensively excavated cities of the Roman period. The port-city of Rome, which today lies 4 km from the coastline, was established in a very constrained environment at the mouth of the River Tiber. Based on a review of the geoarchaeological and archaeological research at Ostia, 4 new cores analysed through palaeoenvionmental methods, and 21 new radiocarbon dates, we propose a new model of the fluvio-coastal landscape of Ostia from its origin: (1) the coastline shifted rapidly westward between the 8th and the 6th c. BCE followed by a slow progradation and possible erosion phases until the end of the 1st c. CE; (2) the castrum of Ostia (c. late 4th–early 3rd c. BCE) was founded away from the river mouth but close to the River Tiber; (3) between the 4th and the 1st c. BCE, the River Tiber shifted from a position next to the castrum, below the northern Imperial cardo of Ostia, to 150 m to the north; (4) a possible harbour was established to the north of the castrum during the Republican period; (5) the city expanded and a district was built over the harbour and the palaeochannel between the Republican period and the beginning of the 2nd c. CE, showing that Ostia was a dynamic and resilient city during that time. Finally, we suggest the possibility to combine urban fabric analysis (the orientation of the structures) and palaeoenvironmental analysis for reconstructing the evolution of the city in relation to the fluvio-coastal mobility.
... There is widespread agreement that urban disasters are growing rapidly, resulting in increasing human and economic losses (Wamsler, 2014). As a result of escalating impacts of urban disasters, more emphasis is now been given to the tackling of urban risks (UN-ISDR, 2012;Godschalk, 2003;Albrito, 2012;Dubbeling et al., 2009;Kreimer et al., 2003;Sanderson et al., 2012). Disasters that happen in urban context, or in cities can be identified as urban disasters (Wamsler, 2014). ...
Purpose
Although, a number of initiatives have been taken after the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami to institutionalise disaster risk reduction (DRR), gaps still exist in the Sri Lankan local government sector. Even after ten years, local governments are still struggling to overcome a number of challenges in relation to making resilience in the built environment. DRR has not yet been properly integrated into the local government system and, as a result, poses a significant challenge. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to discover the hindrances for local governments in creating disaster resilient built environment within cities and to propose ways of overcoming the identified limitations.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted among experts from Sri Lanka who are involved in disaster management, local governments and built environment fields of study. The interviews were conducted with the intention of gaining expert knowledge pertaining to this field of study. The interviews were mainly designed to capture the current practices for instigating DRR initiatives within Sri Lanka, the role of local governments in creating a disaster resilient built environment and the associated challenges, and ways of overcoming such challenges to ensure an effective contribution to city resilience.
Findings
Primary data discovered 36 challenges along with some associated sub-challenges. The challenges were categorised under eight main themes: legal framework; lack of adequate tools, techniques and guidelines; human resource constraints; funding constraints; weaknesses in the internal systems and processes; weaknesses in the external systems; community engagement; and other challenges. The paper analyses these challenges in detail and proposes a set of recommendations to overcome the challenges in order to create disaster resilient built environments within cities.
Research limitations/implications
The paper provides a descriptive analysis of how the Sri Lankan local government sector could overcome the underpinning challenges of contributing to disaster resilience in the built environment and no comparative studies were conducted with in other tsunami affected regions. Furthermore, the paper analyses partial findings of a broader research, which was aimed at developing a framework to empower local governments in creating a disaster resilient built environment.
Originality/value
The paper provides an extensive analysis of the challenges faced by local governments in contributing to the resilience of their built environment and proposes how these challenges could be overcome while making a worthwhile contribution to both theory and practice. Accordingly, the paper recommends major changes in policy and practice with respect to bringing local governments into DRR.
... It is further observed that none of these role players can act in isolation and a successful and effective system requires integration and coordination of all these role players (Malalgoda et al, 2013). Many authors have argued that out of all the stakeholders the local government is the key stakeholder in the process of making cities resilient to disasters and as such there is widespread agreement within the literature that local governments have a vital role to play in implementing disaster risk reduction initiatives and to create cities resilient to disasters (MacManus and Caruson, 2006;Kusumasari et al, 2010;Manyena, 2006;Albrito, 2012;Wamsler, 2014;UNISDR, 2010, Red Cross, 2010. ...
A conceptual framework visually illustrates the linked concepts of a broader research. Hence, it is considered to be a key part of the research design. Therefore, developing a conceptual framework is an important aspect of the research process and guides the researcher in the data collection and analysis. The paper elaborates the conceptual framework of a research study aimed at making recommendations to empower local governments in making disaster resilient built environment within cities. The conceptual framework was developed based on literature review and further refined based on expert opinions. Through the literature review it was able to identify the key concepts for research and these were further refined through the opinions of experts. The key concepts identified are: increased disaster risk in cities; the need for disaster resilient cities; the role of stakeholders in making disaster resilient cities; the role and challenges for local governments in creating disaster resilient cities; and the need for empowering local governments in making cities disaster resilient. The paper discusses these key concepts and explains the development process of the conceptual framework. The process includes, identifying the key concepts, their interrelationships and the boundary of the study. Accordingly, the conceptual framework illustrates the process for empowering local governments in making disaster resilient built environments within cities.
... It is further observed that none of these role players can act in isolation and a successful and effective system requires integration and coordination of all these role players (Malalgoda et al, 2013). Many authors have argued that out of all the stakeholders the local government is the key stakeholder in the process of making cities resilient to disasters and as such there is widespread agreement within the literature that local governments have a vital role to play in implementing disaster risk reduction initiatives and to create cities resilient to disasters (MacManus and Caruson, 2006;Kusumasari et al, 2010;Manyena, 2006;Albrito, 2012;Wamsler, 2014;UNISDR, 2010, Red Cross, 2010. ...
A conceptual framework visually illustrates the linked concepts of a broader research. Hence, it is considered to be a key part of the research design. Therefore, developing a conceptual framework is an important aspect of the research process and guides the researcher in the data collection and analysis. The paper elaborates the conceptual framework of a research study aimed at making recommendations to empower local governments in making disaster resilient built environment within cities. The conceptual framework was developed based on literature review and further refined based on expert opinions. Through the literature review it was able to identify the key concepts for research and these were further refined through the opinions of experts. The key concepts identified are: increased disaster risk in cities; the need for disaster resilient cities; the role of stakeholders in making disaster resilient cities; the role and challenges for local governments in creating disaster resilient cities; and the need for empowering local governments in making cities disaster resilient. The paper discusses these key concepts and explains the development process of the conceptual framework. The process includes, identifying the key concepts, their interrelationships and the boundary of the study. Accordingly, the conceptual framework illustrates the process for empowering local governments in making disaster resilient built environments within cities.
... In 1990, 43 per cent (2.3 billion) of the world's population lived in urban areas and by 2014 this was 54 percent. The urban population exceeded the rural population for the first time in 2008 and by 2050 it is predicted that urbanisation will rise to 70% (Albrito, 2012). This increase in urban population has not been evenly spread throughout the world. ...
The growth of cities has resulted in a concentration of risk for people and assets alike. Catastrophes such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and Cyclone Nargis (which struck Myanmar just four years later) have led to the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives. These disasters also brought economic catastrophe: millions lost their homes and livelihoods; cities were reduced to rubble; economic growth and development were set back by years, or even decades in some cases. Left unchecked, the cost of climate change could account for some 20% of global GDP by the end of this century.
... It has been predicted that by 2015 the number of people affected yearly by climate-related disasters alone will have risen to 375 million (Department for International Development, 2011). Additionally, as urbanisation increases in under-developed countries, infrastructure can be poorly planned and when disaster strikes the consequences are catastrophic (Albrito, 2012). Disasters can quickly overwhelm local services necessitating assistance from external sources (Redmond, 2005;Djalali et al., 2014). ...
Purpose
– The number of disasters has increased by 30 per cent worldwide in the past 30 years. Nurses constitute the largest clinical group within a hospital and their ability to respond to disasters is crucial to the provision of quality patient care. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate a four-year disaster preparedness partnership between two tertiary hospitals from the perspective of executive staff, senior clinical managers and specialist nurses. The national disaster response centre was situated in one hospital and the other hospital was located 3,500 km away.
Design/methodology/approach
– The intervention involved selected nurses working at the partner hospital to enable familiarisation with policies, procedures and layout in the event of a request for back-up in the event of a national disaster. A mixed-methods design was used to elicit the strengths and limitations of the partnership. Surveys, in-depth interviews and focus groups were used.
Findings
– In total, 67 participants provided evaluations including ten executive staff, 17 clinical management nurses and 38 nurses from the disaster response team. Improvements in some aspects of communication were recommended. The successful recruitment of highly skilled and committed nurses was a strength. A disaster exercise resulted in 79 per cent of nurses, able and willing to go immediately to the partner hospital for up to 14 days.
Research limitations/implications
– During the four year partnership, no actual disaster occurred that required support. This limited the ability to fully trial the partnership in an authentic manner. The disaster exercise, although helpful in trialling the processes and assessing nurse availability, it has some limitations.
Originality/value
– This innovative partnership successfully prepared specialist nurses from geographically distant hospitals for a disaster response. This together with a willingness to be deployed enhanced Australia’s capacity in the event of a disaster.
Deprem, heyelan, sel, yangın gibi doğal afetler, toplumsal hayatı ve kentsel yaşamı yakından etkilemektedirler. Merkezi yönetimin ve yerel yönetimlerin afet ve depremlere dayanıklı kentler oluşturulmasında yasalarla verilen önemli sorumlulukları bulunmaktadır. Bu çalışmada afet ve deprem sorunu, yerel yönetimlerden belediye özelinde incelenmektedir. Belediyelerin kentsel yaşamda, ulaşım, çevre, sağlık, kültür, alt tapı, üst yapı, imar planları başta olmak üzere oldukça geniş yetki ve sorumlulukları bulunmaktadır. Bu sorumluluklarını belirli bir plan, program dahilinde yerine getirmektedirler. Belediyeler seçim sonrasında hazırladıkları stratejik planlar ile beş yıl boyunca yapacakları hizmet ve faaliyetleri, önceliklerini kamuoyu ile paylaşmaktadırlar. 6 Şubatta yaşanan Kahramanmaraş depremi başta Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Malatya ve Adıyaman illeri olmak üzere birçok şehirde önemli can ve mal kayıplarına sebep olmuştur. Çalışma kapsamında deprem felaketinden en fazla etkilenen şehirlerden Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Malatya ve Adıyaman belediyelerinin stratejik planları afet ve deprem özelinde incelenmektedir. Birinci derecede fay hattı üzerinde bulunan bu kentlerdeki belediyelerin stratejik planlarında afet ve deprem konusundaki farkındalıkları, faaliyetleri, projeleri karşılaştırmalı olarak değerlendirilmektedir.
Bu çalışma, dirençli kentler çerçevesinde kentsel dönüşüm ve toplumsal dirençlilik kavramlarını bibliyometrik analiz yaklaşımı ile araştırmaktadır. Scopus veri tabanından elde edilen ve VOSviewer aracılığıyla görselleştirilen veriler kullanılarak, kentsel dönüşüm ve toplumsal dirençlilik konularında yayınlanan makaleler; yayın sayısı, atıf sayısı, yazarların kurumsal bağlantıları ve anahtar kelime analizi gibi ölçütlere göre değerlendirilmiştir. Bulgular, bu konular üzerindeki akademik söylemde önemli eğilimleri, öne çıkan araştırmacıları ve ana odak alanlarını ortaya koymaktadır. Bu araştırma, kentsel dönüşüm projelerinin toplumsal dirençliliği nasıl güçlendirebileceğine ve afet yönetim stratejileriyle nasıl uyumlu hale getirilebileceğine dair değerli bilgiler sunarak, daha güvenli ve sürdürülebilir kentsel çevrelerin oluşturulmasına katkıda bulunmaktadır.
Research Objective: The main objective of this article is to identify the role of rural local governance in disaster management in India especially in Odisha. Theoretical framework: Rappaport et al., (2018) suggested the use of resilience theory which will help the local governance in disaster management. Within this theory, collaborative governance and partnership methods help understand the relationship between local governance and disaster management. Method: Searching literature helps to understand the use of collaborative governance and partnership methods by rural local governance in disaster management. Through a systematic literature review, there will be the integration of knowledge from past works. Result and Discussion: Through this review article there is the identification of various methods that exist within collaborative governance and partnership methods. Those sub-methods are like “participatory mapping”, and “partnership assessment tools”. Theoretical contribution: The methodologies used in this article help to understand the role of rural local governance in disaster management theoretically. It also targets different contexts to identify the commonalities and differences among those methods. Originality: Through systematic review, this review article will identify the use of collaborative governance and partnership methods by rural local governance in disaster management.
Küresel çapta artan doğal afetler, kentlerin sürdürülebilirliği ve kamu güvenliği açısından önemli bir risk oluşturmaktadır. Dirençli kent kavramı, afetlerin olumsuz etkilerini azaltmak ve vatandaşların refahını artırmak açısından giderek daha önemli hale gelmektedir. Bu nedenle farklı disiplinlerdeki akademik çalışmaların, kentlerin ve toplumların dirençliliğini artırmaya odaklandığı görülmektedir. Bu çalışmada, afet yönetimi bağlamında dirençlilik ve dirençli kent konusunda yapılan araştırmaların bibliyometrik bir analizi gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bu analizde, çalışmaların yıllara, dergilere, en sık kullanılan kelimelere, atıf sayılarına ve ülkelere göre dağılımı ele alınmıştır. Analiz sonucunda, son yıllarda dirençlilik ve dirençli kent kavramlarına odaklanan akademik çalışmalarda, önemli bir artış olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca bulgular, akademik çalışmaların kentsel alanlar, çevresel riskler, iklim değişikliği, afet yönetimi, kaynak yönetimi ve sürdürülebilirlik kavramlarına odaklandığına işaret etmektedir. Bu çalışmanın bulguları, dirençli kentlerin tasarımı ve yönetimi konusunda daha fazla çalışma yapılması gerektiğini ortaya koymaktadır. Bu çalışmanın afet yönetimi bağlamında, dirençlilik ve dirençli kentlere ilişkin akademik çalışmaların genel bir değerlendirmesini sunarak gelecek araştırmalara yol göstermesi beklenmektedir.
Afetler her geçen gün sıklığını ve şiddetini artırarak hayatı olumsuz etkilemeye devam etmektedir. Afetlerin olumsuz etkilerinden korunmanın en önemli unsuru etkin bir afet yönetimidir. Son yıllarda elde edilen deneyimler geleneksel olarak yürütülen afet yönetiminin yetersiz olduğu görülmüştür. Bu nedenle merkezi yönetim yaklaşımları yerine yerel yönetimlerin ön planda olduğu afet yönetim sistemlerine yönelme eğilimi artmaktadır. Birleşmiş Milletler başta olmak üzere uluslararası birçok örgüt yerel yönetimlerin afet yönetimi açısından kurumsal kapasitelerinin güçlendirilmesi için çaba göstermektedir. Türkiye’de afet yönetimi merkezi idare tarafından organize edilmekte olup, belediyelere afet yönetimi sürecinde destek görevleri verilmiştir. Risk odaklı afet yönetimi sürecinde vatandaşa en yakın olan kamu kurumu olarak belediyelere önemli görevler ve yetkiler verilmelidir. Bu çalışmada afet yönetiminde belediyelerin önemi vurgulanmaktadır. Afet yönetimi açısından mevzuatta ve planlarda belediyelere verilen sorumluluklar çerçevesinde, büyükşehir belediyeleri, il belediyeleri, ilçe belediyeleri ve belde belediyelerin kurumsal afet yönetimi yapılanmaları, hazırlamış oldukları stratejik planlar, yönetmelikler, afet müdahale planları ve yapılan çalışmalar değerlendirilerek öneriler geliştirilmiştir.
The aim of this chapter is to analyze the implications of theoretical, empirical, and typologies into failures and enhancement of organizational resilience. It is assumed that the application of conceptual, theoretical, and empirical knowledge base to specific knowledge and practice integrated into organizational resilience will help, but it is unclear to what extent it can be designed and supported because of lack of empirical evidence. The method employed is the analytical reflection sustained in the review of theoretical and empirical literature and observation. It is concluded that each organizational system transformation needs different and specific conceptual, theoretical, and empirical knowledge bases to take advantage of failures and enhance organizational resilience.
Floods, landslides, and climate change hazards, to name a few, are all common natural hazards that have significant economic and social consequences in India. Tornadoes and floods have aided in the slowing down of progress toward the accomplishment of sustainable development goals. Recent observations of extreme weather events in different countries, as well as a growing understanding of their threat and increased risk of flooding, should compel authorities to act. This work focuses on Integrated Disaster Management strategies, Extreme events and the main causal factors. It was discovered that these events have rather complex components, which are reflected in the combined climatological characteristics, geological substrate properties, and human activity, all of which played a role in the rapid change. In addition, present study aims key findings, conclusions and recommendations arising from the policy space. Floods, landslides, drought etc. are usually regarded as dreadful dangers that pose a severe threat to societal growth and economic development at diverse spatial and temporal scales an important aspect in developing community resilience to hydro metrological disasters is establishing policies and actions to strengthen early warning systems. Results from this study suggest some of the mitigation strategies at national as well as on regional levels, the provision of knowledge to enhance the prevention of hazards and the development of appropriate response plans.
Local government is the lowest level of government anywhere in the world. Its significance lies in the fact that it is closer to the people. Local governments were created to serves a two-fold purpose. The first purpose was the administrative purpose which was the supplying of goods and services; the other purpose was to represent and involve citizens in determining specific local public needs and how these local needs would be met. It carries a multi-purpose role in terms of carrying out socio-economic service in the local areas, promoting the democratic process, serving as training ground for national political leaders and serving as medium of communication between the people and the higher tiers of government. In Zambia, local government is seen through the town mayor to the cancellers, market chairmen among others. These people reach the citizens and act as a link between the people and the government (Eisenstein, 2019). Despite the unfortunate part that most political cadres have filled most areas of the fraternity; leading to blockages in the efficiencies of the local resource mobilization strategies, Inequalities in financial resources, economic and social inequality, little or no citizen participation in the development process among many others.
This paper took a systematic approach in solving various highlighted problem through the goal of assessing the roles and challenges faced by Local government in community development in Monze district which was specifically achieved by investigating the challenges of local government in the implementation of programs in Monze district local council, examining the level of citizen participation in the district local community projects and discovering the extent of sensitization of the people on the district projects in Monze.
The study was conducted on a total of eighty respondents who included sixty respondents from among the community citizens and twenty key informants who were the Monze district council workers.
The results were analyzed using the statistical package for social science (SPSS) which made it possible to cord the responses for descriptive statistics through tables and charts. The last part coined the possible solutions to the problems which were discovered in the study.
This study is mainly concerned to assess the role of Risk Communication in Earthquake Vulnerability and its impacts on Building Resilience in District Bagh Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Disaster resilience is gaining attention from all over the world. More specifically, seismic resilience in buildings is of prime concern among governmental bodies of developed as well as developing countries. This is partially due to the fact that the collapsing of vulnerable structures contribute to a great proportion of the number of fatalities in the wake of increasing Seismicity. Secondly, the recurrence of earthquakes on a global scale is increasing with increase in its magnitude. This study was focused to assess the impact and role of risk communication in earthquake vulnerability in district Bagh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir in enhancing resilience of residential buildings and also its moderating role between Earthquake Vulnerability and resilience of residential buildings in study area. In fact there is great gape; people in the vulnerable areas do not get required information about various hazards. For this study District Bagh of Azad Jammu and Kashmir was selected due to the facts, it suffered a lot during 2005 Earthquake and still it is prone to more damages due to lack of implementation of building codes and requisite information on the vulnerability. An exploratory type of study has been conducted. For pilot study 50 respondents were approached for collection of data with the help of questionnaires in different areas of District Bagh. Findings of the pilot study along with recommendations for policy makers, managers and target readers have been given in detail. Contribution to the body of knowledge and future call is also jotted down. If people are educated well about various hazards they can reduce the vulnerability to a great extent. Nevertheless, through better integration of risk communication means and enhancing level of awareness would prove instrumental in overcoming the lapses Keywords: Risk communication, Earthquake vulnerability and Resilience.
Infrastructures are interdependent systems and their interdependency can influence their resilience to routine failures and extreme events. Even though infrastructure resilience has been widely explored, few studies have considered physical, spatial, and social dimensions simultaneously. In this paper, we propose a resilience assessment framework for interdependent water and transportation infrastructures. The framework incorporates the physical network of these infrastructures, social vulnerability indicators, and predictive analytics for a sociotechnical resilience assessment. It enables us to measure the impact of random failures due to aging infrastructures, natural disasters, and their cascading failures. We applied the proposed framework to the City of Tampa, FL. The results indicated that areas with higher social vulnerability are more prone to cascading failures caused by both random breakdowns and natural disasters. While natural disasters affect all land use classes similarly, random failures have a greater impact on residential and institutional land use. The findings of this study highlight that infrastructure interdependency and the consequences of cascading failures should be taken into account in a coordinated infrastructure resilience assessment and planning. Further, socioeconomic factors and land use features should be incorporated in interdependent resilience assessment for a more comprehensive and equitable resilience planning.
This research aimed to determine the preparedness of the students of Macalaya National High School in Castilla, Sorsogon to natural disasters for the school year 2019-2020.The descriptive research was used in the study using the one hundred eighty students of Macalaya National High School as the respondents. A self-made questionnaire and rubrics to describe the level of preparedness. Mean and standard deviation and Pearson r correlation using an alpha level of .05 were used as the statistical tools.The study revealed the following findings. The students of Macalaya National High School preparedness to natural disaster like typhoon has an overall mean of 4.62 and has a standard deviation of 0.626 with a variance of 0.3924 was rated as Very Great Extent. Landslide has an overall mean of 4.63 and has a standard deviation of 0.617 with a variance of 0.3813 was rated as Very Great Extent. Storm surge has an overall mean of 4.61 and has a standard deviation of 0.632 with a variance of 0.3992 was rated as Very Great Extent. Earthquake has an overall mean of 4.62 and has a standard deviation of 0.630 with a variance of 0.3976 was rated as Very Great Extent. The findings show that there is a significant correlation between the level of natural disaster and disaster preparedness of the students of Macalaya National High School at 0.05 level of significance. It shows that the null hypothesis stating that There is no significant correlation between the level of natural disaster and disaster preparedness of the students of Macalaya National High School is rejected. Thus, the alternative hypothesis is accepted. It inferred that there is a significant correlation between them.It was recommended that the School Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council must sustain the preparedness of the school. Constant reminders and promotions about preparedness against natural disaster is a must. Also, training and seminars must be included in the inset of the teachers with the special participation of the students governing council.
In 1990, 43% (2.3 billion) of the world’s population lived in urban areas, and by 2014 this
percentage was at 54%. The urban population exceeded the rural population for the first
time in 2008, and by 2050 it is predicted that urbanization will rise to 70% (see Albrito,
“Making cities resilient: Increasing resilience to disasters at the local level,” Journal of
Business Continuity & Emergency Planning, 2012). However, this increase in urban
population has not been evenly spread throughout the world. As the urban population
increases, the land area occupied by cities has increased at an even higher rate. It has
been projected that by 2030, the urban population of developing countries will double,
while the area covered by cities will triple (see United Nations, Department of Economic
and Social Affairs, “World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision”). This emphasizes
the need for resilience in the urban environment to anticipate and respond to disasters.
Realizing this need, many local and international organizations have developed tools and
frameworks to assist governments to plan and implement disaster risk reduction
strategies efficiently. Sendai Framework’s Priorities for Action, Making Cities Resilient:
My City is Getting Ready, and UNISDR’s Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities are
major documents that provide essential guidelines for urban resilience. Given that, the
disaster governance also needs to be efficient with ground-level participation for the
implementation of these frameworks. This can be reinforced by adequate financing and
resources depending on the exposure and risk of disasters. In essence, the resilience of a
city is the resistance, coping capacity, recovery, adaptive capacity, and responsibility of
everyone.
Rapid urbanisation, particularly driven by rural-urban migration, can pose a wide range of security challenges in the global south and global north. The management of such a transition, in terms of the provision of social goods and quality of life raises significant challenges. Security of contemporary urban environments has become more complex due to a greater range of risk drivers, many of which can be exacerbated by the observed and portended impacts of climate change. This chapter outlines the phenomena underlying the transition to urbanisation – and the security challenges that have been exacerbated by these transitions. In doing so this work a holistic approach to security and highlights a gradual trend in the increased securitisation of issues (such as climate change) that in the past were not considered part of typical ‘security’ dialogues. It also introduces a decision support framework that can aid a broad range of stakeholders in making decisions about the enhancement of security of urban spaces in a context of multiple threats exacerbated by these new security challenges.
Introduction: The occurrence of landslides and floods in East Africa has increased over the past decades with enormous Public Health implications and massive alterations in the lives of those affected. In Uganda, the Elgon region is reported to have the highest occurrence of landslides and floods making this area vulnerable. This study aimed at understanding both coping strategies and the underlying causes of vulnerability to landslides and floods in the Mt. Elgon region.
Methods: We conducted a qualitative study in three districts of Bududa, Manafwa and Butalejja in the Mt. Elgon region in eastern Uganda. Six Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and eight Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were conducted. We used trained research assistants (moderator and note taker) to collect data. All discussions were audio taped, and were transcribed verbatim before analysis. We explored both coping strategies and underlying causes of vulnerability. Data were analysed using latent content analysis; through identifying codes from which basis categories were generated and grouped into themes.
Results: The positive coping strategies used to deal with landslides and floods included adoption of good farming methods, support from government and other partners, livelihood diversification and using indigenous knowledge in weather forecasting and preparedness. Relocation was identified as unsustainable because people often returned back to high risk areas. The key underlying causes of vulnerability were; poverty, population pressure making people move to high risk areas, unsatisfactory knowledge on disaster preparedness and, cultural beliefs affecting people’s ability to cope.
Conclusion: This study revealed that deep rooted links to poverty, culture and unsatisfactory knowledge on disaster preparedness were responsible for failure to overcome the effects to landslides and floods in disaster prone communities of Uganda. However, good farming practices and support from the government and implementation partners were shown to be effective in enabling the community to lessen the negative effects disasters. This calls for high impact innovative interventions focused in addressing these underlying causes as well as involvement of all stakeholders in scaling the effective coping strategies in order to build resilience in this community and other similarly affected areas.
Key words: Coping, Underlying causes, Floods, Landslides, Mt. Elgon, Uganda
Government and real estate sector is utilizing “disaster risk discourse” as an ideological tool to legitimize the ongoing rush for urban redevelopment in Turkey. This article aims to explain “how” “disaster risk discourse” is institutionalized and became the primary tool in reproducing urban space. We argue that, the ongoing “disaster risk discourse” defining the neoliberal urban transformation in Turkey is a versatile tool serving for state’s ideological, political and economical interests. These interests include defining redistributive and social policies, organisation of land-based interest groups, managing conflicts related to attempted urban strategies and centralisation of the power. Istanbul clearly illustrates the institutional dynamics of urban redevelopment policies and formation of “disaster risk discourse”. Therefore, in this article we will analyse the urban political processes in the areas subject to “Law no. 6306, for the Regeneration of Areas under Disaster Risk” in relation to aforementioned dynamics. The article is based on the findings of the research carried for the PhD Thesis on “Dynamics of Reproduction of Urban Space in Istanbul”1. © 2015, Istanbul Teknik Universitesi, Faculty of Architecture. All rights reserved.
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