Earthquake Hazard Impact And Urban Planning

​The classical field dealing with earthquakes is called “earthquake engineering” and considered to be a branch of structural engineering. In projects dealing with strategies for earthquake risk mitigation, urban planning approaches are often neglected. Today interventions are needed on a city, rather than a building, scale. This work deals with the impact of earthquakes, including also a broader view on multihazards in urban areas. Uniquely among other works in the field, particular importance is given to urban planning issues, in conservation of heritage and emergency management. Multicriteria decision making and broad participation of those affected by disasters are included.

This book presents practical guidelines and recommendations for the design in seismic-prone regions. It is based on extensive research and it includes original drawings and sketches at the macro and micro levels. It is the first time that an attempt has been made to publish a book on urban design in the seismic-prone regions, covering the needs of government officials, planners, economists, architects, engineers and scientists, with the purpose of planning for seismic risk reduction and the practical implementation of methodologies and findings in earthquake affected regions. The guidelines presented are expected to be immensely beneficial to all countries in the earthquake prone regions, particularly in the developing world.

Urban seismic risk is growing worldwide and is, increasingly, a problem of developing countries. In 1950, one in four of the people living in the world's fifty largest cities was earthquake-threatened, while in the year 2000, about one in two will be. Further, ofthose people living in earthquake-threatened cities in 1950, about two in three were located in developing countries, while in the year 2000, about nine in ten will be. Unless urban seismic safety is improved, particularly in developing countries, future earthquakes will have ever more disastrous social and economic consequences. In July 1992, an international meeting was organized with the purpose of examining one means ofimproving worldwide urban safety. Entitled "Uses ofEarthquake Damage Scenarios for Cities of the 21st Century," this meeting was held in conjunction with the Tenth World Conference ofEarthquake Engineering, in Madrid, Spain. An earthquake damage scenario (EDS) is adescription of the consequences to an urban area of a large, but expectable earthquake on the critical facilities of that area. In Californian and Japanese cities, EDSes have been used for several decades, mainly for the needs of emergency response officials. The Madrid meeting examined uses of this technique for other purposes and in other, less developed countries. As a result of this meeting, it appeared that EDSes bad significant potential to improve urban seismic safety worldwide.

As levels of urbanization increase around the world, the growing concentrations of population and economic activity increases vulnerability to natural disasters. Interdependencies among urban populations mean that damage to the built environment, including water, sewer and energy infrastructure, can affect millions. Even if there is no change in the rate of occurrence of natural disasters (an unlikely prospect in the face of ongoing climate change) the potential for human and economic loss will continue to increase, along with the time required to recover. How do cities prepare for and recover from natural disasters? In this book, the authors provide a broad overview of the issues related to the impacts of disasters on cities around the world, from assessing risks to accounting for damages. The comparative approach across different types of disasters in a range of urban locations is useful in identifying opportunities for policy transfer. While there is no ’one size fits all’ solution to hazard mitigation, valuable lessons can be learned from the experiences of others. The chapters emphasize different modes for assessing hazard risk, as well as strategies for increasing the resiliency of vulnerable populations.

With the major growth of the world’s population over the past century, as well as rapid urbanisation, people increasingly live in crowded cities. This trend is often accompanied by proliferation of poorly built housing, uncontrolled use of land, occupation of unsafe environments and overstretched services. When a natural hazard strikes such a city many people are vulnerable to loss of life and property. This book explores what these people think and feel about the threats that they face. How do they live with perils ranging from earthquakes to monsoons, from floods to hurricanes, in the 21st century? The authors are drawn from a large range of disciplines: Psychology, Engineering, Geography, Anthropology and Urban Planning. They also reflect on how perils are represented in multiple cultures: the United States, Japan, Turkey, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. The book therefore not only brings to light the ways that different cultures represent natural hazards but also the different ways in which various disciplines write about living with perils in the 21st century. The book is addressed both to researchers and to organizations involved with risk management and risk mitigation.

Great loss of human life, structural damage, and social and economic upheaval occur repeatedly due to such natural hazards as earthquakes, typhoons, hurricanes, landslides, floods and tsunamis. Both the US and Taiwan, along with many other countries, have a history of such occurrences and a common need to reduce their effects. This volume includes papers from the fourth symposium workshop, held jointly between the US and Taiwan to discuss research and its application to multiple hazard mitigation. The workshop, Urban Disaster Mitigation, The Role of Engineering and Technology, discussed lessons learned from recent natural disasters; assessed results of Taiwan's multiple hazards research program and potential application to the US; and proposed further studies on subjects of mutual concern. Topics include recent scientific findings obtained in various natural hazard areas and assessment of actual and potential damage from earthquakes, floods and landslides. Of particular importance are measures that can be taken to mitigate these hazards ranging from use of new algorithms for structural engineering to warning systems for a given region. At a time when natural disasters are widespread, engineers play a key role. Construction methods and building codes are changing; current knowledge shapes the direction of these changes. The research results presented in these proceedings will benefit both the academic and practicing communities around the world, strengthening the relationship between these two important parties.

An all-encompassing guide to environmental planning for earthquakes. Discusses prediction and preparation as well as emergency management and recovery. Examines how to enact and evaluate protection strategies. Considers site selection, seismic hazard assessment and improving earthquake resistance of buildings. Addresses loss estimation, risk and vulnerability analysis. Assesses possibilities for reducing earthquake disasters. Includes recommendations for further reading.