a systems approach to building urban resilience. a system... · disaster risk reduction, poverty...
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A Systems Approach to Building
Urban Resilience
TERI – Rockefeller International Workshop
Resilient Cities – Experiences from ACCCRN in Asia and Beyond
Ms Jo da Silva , Director, Arup International Development
29th January 2013
4 countries, 10 cities
Vulnerability • Exposure: location of settlements on high
risk areas such as flood plains, coastlines and inclined slopes susceptible to landslides.
• Susceptibility: poor quality construction, lack of drainage or solid waste management, ground water extraction.
• Poverty: limited access to basic infrastructure and services (potable water, sanitation), lack of secure tenure or political voice;, poor education and health care, limited employment opportunities
Grass-roots action at a community level is valuable, but many of these challenges can only be overcome by actions and interventions at a city scale.
Direct and indirect impacts
• Climate change impacts vulnerable populations:
i. Directly;
ii. Indirectly - as a result of dependency on the effective operation of the wider urban system.
• Action to reduce exposure and improve the adaptive capacity of urban populations must simultaneously address:
a. disaster risk reduction;
b. urban poverty reduction;
c. urban systems resilience
= Urban Climate Change Resilience (UCCR)
a. b.
c.
i.
i.
ii.
Dependencies and interdependencies
• Climate change will affect the ecosystems, infrastructure , knowledge
networks and institutions that collectively enable a city to function.
• Traditional risk assessments founded on spatial analysis and climate projections
are insufficient since they fail to recognise the complexity of cities.
Cities as systems - conceptualising
Urban condition Rural condition
Cities as systems – urban boundary
CONTROL
• Administrative boundary
• Urban and suburban/peri-urban
• Sub-divided in smaller discreet administrative
boundaries (boroughs, districts, wards, etc.)
INFLUENCE
• Wider institutional policy and socio-economic
factors. Eg. national policy
• Includes spatial and non-spatial dynamics at
regional, national and global levels Eg.
– surrounding and distant ecosystems;
– neighbouring settlements;
– industrial and economic activities.
Urban systems analysis – Surat
• Infrastructure, early warning
systems and emergency
preparedness plans exist to
mitigate flood risk; .
• Flood risk is linked to operation
of the reservoir which is outside
the municipal boundary.
• Hydrological modelling and
information exchange
between key institutions,
notably rainfall forecasters, dam
managers and Surat
municipality is critical to
improving resilience
Urban systems analysis – Indore
• Severe water shortages due to
limited local water supply,
compounded by poor
management.
• Opportunity for community-level
interventions centred on
improving knowledge of
water resources, how to use
water efficiently and improving
water quality
COMMUNITY SELF ORGANISATION
Defining (and measuring) resilience
• Resilience is system attribute
that reflects its ability to perform
(or function) in response to
shocks and stresses.
• System resilience cannot be
measured directly, except in
terms of changing performance
to similar shocks and stresses
over time.
Characteristics of elements of resilient systems
• As a proxy, the elements of the
system (infrastructure,
institutions, ecosystems and
knowledge networks) in a resilient
city, will demonstrate a number of
key characteristics .
• A first step towards developing
measurable indicators
Summary - Key points
• City scale actions (and interventions) is needed to address many of the
challenges faced by poor or vulnerable groups.
• Urban Climate Change Resilience (UCCR) must simultaneously address:
disaster risk reduction, poverty reduction; and urban system resilience.
• Spatial analysis alone is insufficient; it does not recognise the flows of goods,
services and people that enable a city to function.
• Systems analysis recognises the interdependencies between eco-systems,
institutions, infrastructure and knowledge networks and flow of goods and
services that enable urban communities and business to flourish.
• A simplified systems model can be used to identify weaknesses and
opportunity for intervention; ie. what to do?
• Measuring resilience is problematic; targeting enhancing the characteristics (or
qualities) of system elements serves as proxy.
Thank you
Further information:
Jo da Silva [email protected]
Sam Kernaghan [email protected]
Full article is in the International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development © 2012 Taylor & Francis. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19463138.2012.718279