Seismic Risk Reduction Sparks Community Resilience

Abstract eng:
The consequences of complex urban disasters can provide an impetus for U.S. communities to improve the built environment, increase social capacity and adopt sustainable development practices. Given the potential benefits, questions arise about the current state of the nation’s seismic hazard mitigation: Despite the technical ability to reduce risk, why do jurisdictions typically defer such action? Can policy interventions focus policymakers on prudent risk reduction and recovery investment? Examining the seismic hazard mitigation efforts of American cities and regions sheds light on these issues. Communities can take protective measures to ensure sustainability that call for adoption of progressive public policies; employ innovative fiscal instruments to fund capital upgrades; and, address the adaptive challenge faced by political and citizen leaders to safeguard cities and residents. Few do. Active political and practical engagement from all levels of government—local, state and federal—must be factored into the mitigation calculus. Research initiatives, like Harvard University’s “Acting in Time,” program and the ongoing recovery in America’s Gulf Coast region point to the crucial need for policy and practice as sparks for community recovery and resilience.

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