Making Cities Safe and Resilient to Disasters
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?Making Cities Safe and Resilient to Disasters
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??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????* Jit Kumar Gupta
Introduction
Globally, nations are urbanizing ??rapidly, ?making large contributions to the ?national wealth and population of the cities. Cities are growing disproportionately, with larger cities growing faster than smaller sized cities. The way world is urbanizing and cities are growing, it is estimated that by 2050,?more than two thirds of the world population is projected to live in urban areas, and most of this urban growth will take place in lower and lower-middle income countries. Fast growing cities and urban areas of the world are considered and valued as promoter of growth and ?accumulators and generators of wealth. This growth positively impacts ?physical development, social, cultural and educational improvements ?in the urban area. In addition, it leads to concentration of the activities in a small and a compact area.
Urban areas are invariably distinguished by the concentration of people in the buildings and concentration of buildings on the land, making the ?urban development highly ?dense. But densely built-up urban spaces tend to come with their own opportunities and challenges. If dense development leads to economy of scale and making all specialized activities economically viable and operationally efficient, evidences also demonstrate that fast economic growth, combined with fast population expansion and dense development in urban areas, also increase disasters and expose urban settlements to larger risk of ?vulnerability. Therefore, looking at the criticality of cities in leveraging economy, growth and employment, there is an urgent need to ensure that urban areas should be appropriately secured and ?made safe, inclusive, sustainable and resilient.
The?Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change?(IPCC), in the year 2012 noted that next few decades will witness colossal ?economic damage ?and losses from disasters and ?these damages ??will have genesis in the increasing concentration of people and assets, largely in the hazardous locations in the urban areas. Based on the studies made and analysis carried out in 2014, IPCC also found that major proportion of the world’s population, adversely impacted by extreme weather events, is concentrated in urban centres and that too in the areas prone to disasters. However, despite repeated onslaught of disasters, these urban centres ?continue to lack ?basic knowledge, capacity, expertise and necessary infrastructure to reduce effectively and deal ?efficiently with these risks and disasters.
In the decade, 2005-15, disasters are known to have ?taken a heavy toll globally and accordingly, well-being and safety of large number of human beings, communities and nations had been adversely impacted. Over 700 thousand people were estimated to have lost their lives, over 1.4 million faced injuries and approximately 23 million were rendered homeless, as a result of disasters during the said decade. Globally, more than 1.5 billion people were known to been ?adversely impacted by disasters in various ways. Women, children and people, in vulnerable situations, were known to be major victims and were disproportionately impacted by such disasters. The total economic loss, during the decade, was placed at more than $1.3 trillion. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina in the Atlantic, with ?wind velocity ?going up to 140 mph, hitting the US Gulf Coast, killed ?over 1,800 people and caused $160 billion worth of damage. Between 2008 and 2012, 144 million people were known to have faced displacement due to disasters.
Disaster ?related risks continue to increase globally, with more people and assets ?getting localized in the hazardous areas. Available figures and data reveal that, during the past 30 years period, the proportion of the population living in the flood‐prone river basins, increased by 114 per cent and on cyclone‐exposed coastlines by 192 per cent. More than half of the world's large cities, with population ranging from 2 to 15 million, are currently located in areas of high risk of seismic activity. The World Urbanization Prospects, 2011, highlighted ?that approximately 890 million people were living in areas prone to immanent ?disasters in the cities of Latin America, ?Northern America and ?Asia. Flooding remains ?the most frequent and greatest hazard that ?repeatedly affects cities and urban agglomerations. Globally, it has been estimated that at least 250 cities are located in/close to areas, ?that face high risk of flooding, potentially affecting 663 million inhabitants.
Disasters, many of which are generally propelled by the climate change( which are increasing ?both in frequency and intensity), significantly impede progress towards sustainable development. Evidence indicates that exposure of persons and assets in all countries has increased faster than ?reduction in their vulnerability, thus generating new risks and a steady rise in disaster-related losses, with a significant economic, social, health, cultural and environmental impact in the short, medium and long term, especially at the local and community levels. Recurring small-scale disasters and slow-onset disasters particularly affect communities, households and small and medium-sized enterprises. Such disasters constitute ?high percentage of all losses. All countries – especially developing countries, where the mortality and economic losses from disasters remain disproportionately higher – are faced with increasing levels of possible hidden costs and challenges, to meet financial and other obligations arising out of disasters.
?Main drivers of ?disaster and vulnerability have been found to be poorly planned and managed urbanization, environmental degradation, poverty and weak governance. As per, United Nation International Strategy for Disaster Reduction,2015, disaster vulnerability can be reduced to?a large extent by ?launching cities on the path of sound development. On the occasion of?World Cities Day 2018, UNU-EHS Senior Scientist?Dr. Simone Sandholz, called upon the need of evolving appropriate strategies and options ?to make cities and their growing populations ?safe, sustainable and resilient. Accordingly, it will be critical to anticipate, plan and implement the strategies which, reduce disasters and risks , protect persons, communities and countries, their livelihoods and make human settlements safe and secure places to live and work.
Issues
Disasters have existed since the origin and inception of this planet earth and are going to stay here till planet earth remains. Disasters form integral part of, the process and have genesis in the very systems, which have led to the formation of the planet earth including sea, land, bio-diversity flora and fauna. Accordingly, disaster are the most dynamic forces/events on this universe, which remain ever evolving , ever evolving, never static, never finite and never defined. ?Considering the large-scale destruction and damages caused to the built environment, flora, fauna, bio-diversity, economy, infrastructure, human life, social and economic fabric of a society/ area, disasters have emerged as an area of major concern and focus of international, national, state, local governments and communities. Disasters in majority of cases shatter the economy of the area, requiring long span of time for putting them back on the rails.?In the process, large number of families are destroyed, numerous human lives are lost and social fabric in many cases is damaged beyond repair; development programmes get shattered and the resources earmarked for development are used and consumed in rebuilding the infrastructures and built environment. The disasters are not bound by political boundaries and have no social/economic considerations. They not only have local and national implications but also global implications, because extent of losses and needs of reconstruction and rehabilitation sometimes exceed the ?existing capacity of the impacted country.
As per Secretary General’s Report in 43rd U.N. General Assembly, the major disasters contributing to the enormous loss of human life and property (1900-1987) were earthquakes (50.9%), Floods (29.7%) and Cyclonic Storms (16.8%), whereas Volcanic Eruptions (1.9%), Tsunamis (0.5%) and Landslides (0.1%) caused only minor damages. Between 1991-2000, Asian countries accounted for 83% of the population impacted by disasters globally. While people affected by the disasters in the rest of world were placed at 1,11,159, whereas Asian number was placed at 5,54,439. Majority of the deaths occurred in India. Further it has been observed large scale destruction was caused in the developing regions of the World comprising of Asia, South and West pacific (85.5%), whereas developed regions, like Europe and America, accounted for comparatively small share (14.5%) of the total loss.?
Economic losses due to this natural phenomenon are also multiplying rapidly and increasing at an alarming rate of 400% for each decade. High intensity earthquake in Haiti ?caused colossal loss in terms of life and property with human causalities placed at more than 1,50,000, highest recorded so far in the human history. With rapidly growing population and increasing economic activities alongwith their concentration in few cities/pockets, the destruction of human lives and economic activities have also been rising very rapidly.?It has also been observed that vulnerability of the poorer strata of society is much more in the face of these disasters and as such poorer people are hit much harder and suffer the maximum damage during the disasters.
Indian Context
As per studies made by Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council, Indian?sub-continent is prone to natural hazards as depicted in ?the Vulnerability Atlas of India. Most parts of India suffer from one or other natural hazards, most common among them are earthquakes, cyclones and floods. Vulnerability to natural disasters in India can be largely attributed to its unique geo-climatic conditions. As per studies made, it has been estimated that 60% of the land mass of the country is liable to moderate and severe damage during earthquakes of various intensities, over 40 million hectares of land remain prone to floods, 8.4% of the total area ?prone to cyclonic winds and storm surges, besides 68% of the land is susceptible to drought. Thus, more than two third area of the country suffers from one or other natural disasters. Further, as mandated through ??Disaster Management Act, India needs to be more pro-active rather than reactive while considering threat ?posed and damage caused by the earthquakes, tsunami, etc. It is also learnt from recurrent earthquake which occurred for last two to three decades in Indian subcontinent that in order to have pro-active approach, it is pre-requisite that we prepare ourselves better for disasters by generating know-how, mapping hazard scenarios, creating?risk maps, vulnerability & risk analysis, retrofitting strategy and more and most importantly, building capacities within communities and cities.
Accordingly, it is essential that appropriate strategies are worked out to minimize the adverse impact of the natural disasters and eliminate the loss and damage caused to built areas, economy and social fabric of the community. To achieve the defined agenda, it would be essential to ensure sustainable development of the area on long term basis, for making optimum utilization of scarce resources available with the developing countries and to safeguard the interest of vulnerable strata of society. Sustainable Development Goals also mandate to make all cities safe against natural and manmade disasters.
During natural disasters, the sector prone to maximum damage is the built environment in urban spaces, which has wider implication due to enormous loss ?caused to the ?human lives and property.??It is said that human losses are more due to failure of structures/buildings rather than natural disasters. ?It has been estimated that country loses more than a million housing units every year due to earthquakes, floods and cyclones, causing enormous strain on development efforts.?Six earthquakes in India over the past 14 years have provided constant reminders of the vulnerability of Indian constructions.?Each of these earthquakes emphasized on at least one aspect of the seismic behavior.?In the 1988 Bihar-Nepal earthquake, the widespread liquefaction of soil was experienced in addition to the damages to structures. The hill-constructions of Himalayan regions performed poorly during the 1991 Uttarkashi earthquake. ?The 1993 Killari earthquake resulted in large scale deaths, owing to failure of stone masonry (in mud mortar) dwellings in the villages.?The semi-urban and urban constructions were severely impacted in the 1997 Jabalpur earthquake.?Occurrence of the 1999 Chamoli earthquake in the hill districts of Himalayas near the area affected by the 1991 Uttarkashi earthquake, ?provided an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of some of the earthquake-resistant features, introduced in the region after the 1991 event. However, it was the 2001 Bhuj earthquake that stirred up maximum concern of the vulnerability of Indian constructions, particularly of the modern reinforced concrete structures.?This tragic event vividly exposed the inadequacies prevalent both in design practices and the construction industry.
?Looking Forward
If ?strategy of pre-disaster mitigation rather than post-disaster relief is adopted, the loss to human life and property to a large extent can be avoided.?Resources used and investment made in disaster mitigation are much more productive and cost-effective than expenditure on relief and rehabilitation. Thus, approach has to be preventive rather than curative. Unfortunately, in majority of cases, agencies vested with the power of managing disasters only believe in firefighting and come into action, when disaster strikes that area and that too after damage is done to human life and property. Disaster preparedness always remain a long term strategy, involving looking holistically at the entire gamut of ?typologies of disasters striking the settlements; identifying the area prone to disasters; extent of vulnerability of the area, people and buildings located therein; creation of basic and essential support services required, to mitigate the impact of disasters; empowering, creating awareness and involving communities; creating options for mitigation and minimizing damage etc.
Based on the studies made and analysis carried out, appropriate strategies can be evolved and put in operation, to prepare the area/settlements, for facing the challenges posed by the disasters. Pre-disaster mitigation has proved to?more effective, more efficient and a highly ?productive strategy, while considering the life-cycle assessment and impact of making provision of disaster related amenities, services and infrastructures. It will be important and vital, to know and evaluate the typologies and extent of risks faced and vulnerabilities existing in the place of disasters, ?for evolving pre-disaster management ?strategies. This will help in bringing down and mitigate ?the ?adverse impact of disasters in the rapidly changing urban environment.
Carrying out Land Suitability Analysis
Disaster mitigation and disaster management has to be initiated right at the inception of any project or development of any area. In order to minimize the disaster, it will be essential to consider the vulnerability of the site to the disasters. If care and caution is taken at the stage of site selection, then impact of ?disasters can be minimized on life and property. Therefore, it will be vital that Vulnerability Atlas prepared by BMTPC is duly considered, studied, analyzed and evaluated, while selecting the site for the project, so that safety is built, right at the inception of the project. It will be appropriate that sites prone to earthquake, cyclone, flooding and tsunamis are invariably ??avoided while locating projects in the coastal areas; areas subjected to earthquakes, flooding and eco-sensitive areas. In addition, Atlas can help you ?avoiding the area, which fall under the high seismic zones. Study of the past history and record related to disasters can also form a good guide and basis to choose a ?suitable, appropriate and safe site. Atlas can also help in detailing measures, to promote safety in vulnerable areas, in case there is no other option or alternate where site is being selected.
Once site is selected and area is identified for development, it will be important to do the evaluation of the entire site, for its suitability for development. It will be vital and essential, to carry out a land suitability analysis of the entire area in order to identify the appropriate uses to which the ?different parcels of land in the site can be used in the development. Land development strategy and development options must invariably be based on carrying out a land suitability analysis. This analysis helps in identifying areas, which are to preserved, conserved, protected and promoted through value addition. All areas under/containing heritage (both manmade and natural); areas under bio-diversity; eco-fragile areas; areas under forest/ protected forests and area under ?water bodies, will fall under this category. These areas will not be permitted to be used for any kind and form of urbanization and shall be reserved for protection and promotion in their natural form.
Areas, which are low lying and are known to be subjected to disasters, shall also be labeled as areas, where no urban development should be permitted. This area shall always ?be used for promoting recreation in the city by using them for creating green belts/parks/ zoos/ botanical gardens, so as to be used as green lungs for the project . These low lying areas can also be used for creating water bodies in the shape of lakes at the local/city level, depending upon their location and size. This will help in avoiding flooding of the areas and mushroom growth of slums/illegal developments. Creating water bodies will help in ?improving the micro climate of the area/city, making them cool and energy efficient. Water bodies also help in ground water recharging besides absorbing and storing large quantum of ?rain water. In addition, all existing water bodies must be clearly defined and protected from being urbanized by creating a well-defined green belt along/around them. This would help the city in not only retaining nature but also help in making drainage more effective and efficient, These water bodies/channels can be easily gelled with development of residential/commercial/institutional areas, to integrate the natural and manmade development by bringing them on the same platform.All areas, which are subjected to legal restrictions ie areas falling under the High Tension Electric Lines; areas falling along the major roads/national highways/bye-passes; areas under heritage sites; areas around defence sites; or areas restricted for urbanization and urban development, under various acts/laws applicable at the local level, should ?invariably be used for creating green belts and similar uses and should not for urbanization
After having done the land suitability analysis, area which are derelict and not falling under any above mentioned categories shall be permitted to be used for urbanization. Carrying out a detailed, objective and professional land suitability analysis, will help in making cities/development safe against majority of manmade and natural disasters.
Redefining Master Plans
Majority of the cities in India, are faced with large number of disasters and remain unsafe/vulnerable to ?both, manmade and natural disasters. Looking at this context, it has been seen that safety and security have never been made integral part of planning and development prices. Majority of the master plans prepared in the country, defining the future urban agenda of growth and development of cities and towns, have simply marginalized the principles of promoting safety to the cities and focused only on the land-use planning ,without undertaking a detailed land suitability analysis. Accordingly, in order to make cities more livable , safe and sustainable , disaster mitigation and disaster management has to be included and made integral and essential part of city planning.
Making cities safe against disasters, would require a new approach, methodology and process to achieve the objective of safety. Cities will need decentralization and division into self- contained and self-sustaining ?neighborhoods, to be planned on the principle of safety and security against disasters. Size of such neighborhoods could be in the range of 10,000- 15,000, considering the element of 10-15 minutes walkability. These neighborhoods will need to be planned and designed by involving the principles that all institutions imparting education, healthcare, shopping, leisure ?etc., connected with community, are placed in the core of the unit, surrounded by the residential units in the periphery. The core and periphery of the neighborhood shall remain connected perpetually, with footpaths, streets, roads for uninterrupted and universal pedestrian and ??vehicular access on 24x7x365 basis. Link between them shall remain undisturbed and accessible, even when the area is hit by disasters.
The core shall be designed with sufficient green/open spaces, in and around, so that even when earthquake/cyclone/flood ?hit the area, it remains safe and excludes all possibilities of ?damage/destruction due to falling/destruction/damage of the surrounding buildings. The core shall be positioned in the safest zone/highest ?level of the neighborhood, to avoid any damage and destruction. The core shall have adequate provision of accommodating the community in the buildings in the case of ?pre/post disaster period. All the ?public buildings in the core shall be designed based on highest norms of structural safety and shall include space for providing shelter. These buildings shall be planned, ?designed and constructed ?considering the highest order of flexibility to accommodate the entire impacted population in the neighborhoods. It shall also include a disaster control centers , communicating with/across the local/other communities and coordinating the work of protecting, providing relief and rehabilitation. Buildings in the neighborhoods shall be planned and ?designed ?with appropriate setbacks, so that even in the event of destruction and damage they don’t block the roads/access to the core of the neighborhood and avoid making use of the facilities located in the core. Buildings created in the core, will have to be designed for multiple uses so that they can cater to all unforeseen requirements of space. Terraced housing is known for its distinct advantages of ?being more secure against earthquakes when compared with detached/semi-detached buildings. Building typologies will accordingly ?be selected, to ensure safety of buildings and community.
Open spaces ?in the projects shall be ?provided and distributed, based on equity and population housed, so that they can be used for community in the case of any disaster. All residential houses shall invariably be planned, zoned and provided with front/rear setbacks for securing safety of the people. Early warning system shall be installed covering the entire neighborhood for?preparedness and safety. Neighborhood shall be planned in such a manner that it is appropriately divided into well-defined clusters for promoting community living. These communities shall be made partner and should be actively involved in facing any disasters. Core shall also house ?uninterrupted supply of essential services like water supply, power, telecommunication, which shall operate without any encumbrances, even in the hour of disasters. Road pattern and hierarchy of roads will have to be carefully defined, planned and designed to promote safe and ?secure driving/mobility/accessibility based on the principle of 24x7x365.
Thus, ?cities can be planned and designed ?by including and making safety against disasters, as integral an essential part of city planning, development and management process. However, each city will have to evolve its own agenda of planning and development to make them safe and secure. Numerous options, possibilities and opportunities are available for planners and architect to redefine the agenda for safer cities.
Making Cities Spongy
?Cities globally are suffering from the unending disasters caused by flooding. Few of the large cities like Chennai, Mumbai, Cochin etc. have been seen to suffer from flooding on annual basis. This calls for looking at the entire context of city planning, development and management to make cities safe against flooding.
?Cities are becoming victim of flooding for two prime reasons which include lack of land suitability analysis in the planning of such cities and secondly metaling of all available spaces in the city, both public/private. Cities can effectively respond to the challenges of flood-ability and ward off their repeated occurrence, provided they make the city spongy, by creating options of absorbing the major portion of the storm water by the open land created ?and minimizing the creation of hard surfaces in the city. It is seen that ?flow of storm water takes place five times faster when compared with water discharge through the open/green land. Since the capacity of the storm water network provided in the city remains limited ,in the event of concentrated rainfall, metaled spaces invariably leads to draining the rain water with high speed and high intensity on to the roads, leading ?to the flooding of urban spaces. This challenge can be effectively met by making the city spongy so as to enable them to take away major portion of rain water into the ground. In addition, slowing the flow, of the rainwater by the open spaces created, can also help cities meet the challenge of the flooding.
To check the disaster created by flooding of the area, carrying out land suitability analysis would remain valuable for identifying low-lying area and taking out low lying spaces, out of the development agenda for creating water bodies/green spaces, because these are the areas which bear the immediate onslaught of flooding.?Slums ?located in such places invariably face large-scale flooding, loss of life and property on repeated basis. Eliminating urbanization and making them green/creating water bodies in such areas helps, not only in avoid flooding but also help in creating a reservoir where excess rain water can be stored, to save the city from getting flooded. In addition, all public spaces should be kept green to the extent possible.
Areas along the rods should not be metaled completely but provided with porous tiles for absorption of rain water into the ground. Making provision of green spaces@9 sqm/person, will not only help in minimizing the quantity of outflow of rain water and would also ?help in slowing the flow of water. Trees hold large capacity to absorb water, accordingly planting large number of trees and creating city forests in small area, spread across the city can help minimizing the threat of flooding. All institutions, group housing societies, housing complexes, townships existing in the city, should be mandated to keep minimum 25% of their land areas to be made as green and planted with trees, for absorbing the rain water. Planting more trees can help cities to have adequate supply of fresh oxygen, which was so much sought after, in the ongoing pandemic Covid I9.
Attempt needs to be made to reduce hard surfaces in the city to the extent possible and substituted by porous surfaces. In the case of residential plotted development, setbacks provided in front/rear shall be mandated to be kept green upto 50% of the area of such setbacks. In case of concreting the surfaces, like the parking spaces created in the city, they shall all be ?mandated to use porous concrete for surfacing, so as to minimize the outflow of ?water by making the water percolate in the soil below. Maintaining the ?existing water channels in the city and prohibiting urbanization on such spaces can ?help?drainage of the storm water effectively and efficiently. Creating a network, connecting all existing water bodies can help avoid flooding in the cities.
Promoting green roofs and green walls are known for their efficacy and efficiency in effectively managing the rain water. Promoting rain water harvesting in all houses at individual /community levels, can reduce the adverse impact of the rain water, Creating large size storage under the traffic rotaries/round abouts can help in minimizing flooding of the roads. The water stored, under rotaries, can be used for watering the ?green spces created on the round abouts. Levying a storm water charge on the individual households for discharging the storm water on the roads on pro-rata basis of area of the open spaces in the plot, can help in people opting for ?effective and efficient rain water management within the plot area.?Making cities zero water waste shall be possible only if the cities are made spongy ?by adding more green spaces and ?adopting other measures/options ?detailed above.
Planning for Resilience
In addition to planning ?safe cities and making them spongy, it will be important to make cities resilient too, for enabling them to absorb the shock , turbulence and disturbance caused by the disasters. Resilient cities are known for the capacity and ability to cope with disasters and bounce back to normal functioning after disasters pass away. Resilience remains fundamental and vital to achieve ?the sustainability of any human settlement, because any city without a rational and realistic resilience strategy, to cope with disasters, will make city unsafe and unsecure, putting its people, communities, critical infrastructure, valuable assets and economy, at risk. Huge loss of lives, property, economy and society can be minimized by making ?cities resilient to disasters and calamities. In the face of rapidly changing environment, ecology, increasing urbanization and vulnerability, sustainable development calls for ?embedding and making resilience integral part of urban planning process, to bring safety into cities. ?Urban planning with integrated disaster resilience also contributes to preventing secondary disasters and ?avoiding undue delays in the rehabilitation and recovery process.
Promoting disaster resilience and management in urban areas has been a challenge for town planners. Cities face ?disasters, ?primarily due to their location in close ?proximity to ?the ?natural phenomenon, compelled largely by speculation and rapid urbanization. Before planning a resilient city framework, contexts, cause and effects of ?disasters including ?earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, avalanches, landslides etc. will have to be ?understood, evaluated ?and quantified. Resilience in ?urban planning ?at local level, can be achieved through undertaking risk responsive/sensitive planning, based on:
·???????working with multiple stakeholders to identify known risks and potential solutions;
·???????incorporating risk assessment and vulnerability in ?master plans and development plans.
·???????Using safe land ?for human habitation and ?unsafe/disaster- prone areas ?for non-habitable purposes;
·???????ensuring identification and protection of public spaces, streets, infrastructure and parks
·???????upgrading access roads, flood-risk, infrastructure etc., for ?making ?informal settlements safe.
·????????positioning critical infrastructure in safe areas,
·???????assessing how urban development impact lives of the poor in a city.
·???????developing good information, communication and awareness system ?
·???????developing plans for post-disaster reconstruction and risk reduction.
·???????strengthening the legal planning frameworks related to disasters in long term plans to support resilience.
Involving ?Technical Institutions
?Vulnerability of most of the buildings designed by qualified professionals is the outcome of the fact that these professionals are not adequately trained to address the issue during their studies. In the absence of appropriate knowledge imparted in structure, the built structures created become highly vulnerable during the disasters. In order to avoid losses to human lives, infrastructures and property, on account of ?damage and destruction of buildings due to natural and manmade disasters, it is important that all the built structures should be made disaster resistant to the extent possible. Since Architects and Engineers are the prime movers and designers of the built environment, accordingly buildings have to be designed, constructed and managed ?in such a manner that they successfully withstand any natural or manmade disasters. Accordingly, Architects and Engineers, have to be equipped with appropriate knowledge and ?understanding of the basic essentials of design and construction which are essential and critical, for making the building structurally safe
For achieving the above objective, it is important that Architectural and Engineering education have to be reviewed and reoriented, to ensure that students studying architecture/engineering and the professionals working in the design/construction sector are, adequately trained and equipped, to address the issues and challenges posed by the disasters to the bult environment. The course curriculum of the architecture/engineering courses accordingly, has to be reviewed, revised and redefined, in a manner that they provide the best possible knowledge, understanding and expertise ?to the students/professionals, in the area of creating disaster resistant buildings.
?Technical education, if reoriented, will not only help in providing adequate knowledge and expertise but will also empower these professionals, in terms of creating disaster resistant buildings. Such an approach will also help in using the inherent capacity and potential of ?technical institutions for creating skilled manpower in the area of building design, creating awareness about the role and importance of safe built environment among the masses, carrying out research and development in the area of building designs, building materials, technology etc. Technical ?education in the art and science of construction, can also be effectively leveraged to design model safe built structures, both for rural and urban areas, which can be replicated, while undertaking the constructions in these areas. Technical education also needs to be oriented to help in evolving methodologies and evaluation mechanisms of ?improving the structural stability of existing built environment, besides defining strategies for their retrofitting. Appropriate education can also help in redefining the entire range of building byelaws, zoning regulations and building controls, which can ensure creation of structurally safe buildings. Evolving Risk Management Plans for human settlements can also be included as one of the agenda of education. Thus, professional education has a critical role in empowering the nations and communities to create buildings which can withstand any intensity of disasters, ensuring minimum loss of human lives and property. Strength and infrastructure of the academic institutions can also be effectively leveraged to run periodic short term courses for the in-service and practicing professional, so as to equip them about the prevailing global good practices being used at the national/international level, in the area of making buildings safe against all hazards and disasters.
?Redefining Architectural Education
Architectural Institutions are known to largely focus more on aesthetics, functionality and space utilization with structural safety given least priority. In order to make buildings structurally safe, safety is required to be made integral part of building design. In addition to teaching the principles of structural safety, the Architectural Institutions should also essentially develop a specialization of Seismic Structural Configuration alongside that of Architectural Configuration in order to gel aesthetics with safety. Design vocabulary of Architectural students, which should essentially and basically include and address the issue of structural safety of built environment and people living therein as an essential and integral part of their study. In addition, educating the large number of Architects who are currently in profession about the nuances of seismic design with specific reference to Architecture will be essential.?
Role of Architectural Institutions would be critical in making sure that all buildings designed by Architects do take cognizance of the structural safety and are not driven by the sole criteria of making building aesthetically pleasing. The need for educating faculty involved in teaching-learning in the educational Institutions about structural safety also requires focused attention with students and professionals appropriately educated about the disaster implications of various design elements used by the Architects while designing the buildings.
Educational Institutions on their part should also work closely?with professional Institutions like Institute of Architects, Council of?Architecture, Institute of Engineers, Indian Building Congress etc. to work out a comprehensive program for educating?the professionals about the manner and need of making?the structures safe in the face of disasters. In fact, it will be appropriate if all educational institutions run short term specialized courses to address the issue of structural safety of built environment involving both academicians and experts drawn from the professional bodies and schools. Professional Institutions on their part should ensure that all professionals enrolled as members are provided with necessary knowledge and expertise in the field of structural safety.
?Architectural Institutions ?should also undertake the preparation of a comprehensive list of experts and create a database in the area of disaster management and offer suitable courses to meet the needs of in-service personnel, working at state and local level, involved in approval, enforcement of building plans etc. and implementation of disaster related issues.?It should offer comprehensive programs for creating appropriate capacity and capability to ensure preparedness of the state/local level agencies and the manpower involved. At such levels.
In order to make ?education more productive and focused for addressing the issues of disaster and safety, it is important that students are made to undertake the live projects and case studies of the areas which are prone to major disasters and where disasters have impacted the built environment. Large numbers of case studies have already been conducted by various International and National Agencies in the post-disaster period to study various facets and impacts of these disasters. These studies have brought out number of conclusions leading to emergence of valuable suggestions to mitigate and manage the adverse impact of natural disasters. These studies must be made available to the students for preparing assignments on the basis of lessons learnt from various disasters and should be included as integral part of the study curricula of architectural education. These case studies would help students in appreciating critical aspects of disasters and possible strategies to mitigate them. Further, in order to make the studies broad based, suitable mechanism for sharing the valuable experiences at the global level should be evolved so that it can be used by national, state and local level governmental, non-government agencies, NGO, educational, research & technical institutions and public at large.?The studies will have to be backed by research and development on regular basis so as to upgrade the knowledge on the subject. Architectural Education/Institutions can help in promoting and undertaking these case studies and work as data bank.
领英推荐
Considering the ?impact of disasters on human life and built environment; ?Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India( MoHUA) has ?already launched an e-Course on Vulnerability Atlas of India in order to make professionals aware about the vulnerability of different areas to the natural disasters; create appropriate level of ?awareness and technical understanding about natural hazards such as earthquakes, cyclones, landslides, floods; identify regions with high vulnerability and specific district level damage risks to the existing housing stock. The course is offered by School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi in collaboration with BMTPC. Such courses must be run at regional level in the selected technical institutions like IITs and NITs and institutions of technical excellence, in order to create appropriate level of awareness and preparedness to empower local agencies/professional in the area of disaster preparedness and mitigation.
?Redefining Building Byelaws
?Building byelaws and zoning regulations, governing the planning, designing, services, materials, construction technologies and management of buildings etc., ?evolved and made applicable by local authorities, have critical role to play in designing and construction of disaster resistant buildings. Building bye laws are now being taught only as an academic exercise without understanding much of their context in evolving design solutions which lead to creating safe built environment. The contents taught are only in terms of covered area, zoning, heights, FAR, basements, ground coverage, setbacks ?and the documents to be attached with the building applications for sourcing approvals of the building plans from the competent authorities. However, students are not taught the basic intent of the byelaws, and their implications, role and importance in ensuring the creation of safe and secure buildings. Accordingly, it is important that the structural safety in the face of disasters should be made integral part of building byelaws and should be communicated effectively to the students/professionals engaged in designing and construction of buildings. ?In addition, inherent strength of the academics and practice can be effectively leveraged for redefining the building byelaws to make them more ?rational, effective and efficient tool of creating structurally safe building.
?Creating built environment in urban areas is ?stated to be made the exclusive responsibility of ?professionals defined in the building byelaws and in majority of cases, municipal byelaws allow non-qualified ?persons having diplomas in civil/architecture to design, construct and supervise the buildings, Architectural Institutions can take up the task of educating local bodies in understanding the role and importance of qualified architects to design safe buildings and accordingly amend their byelaws to include only qualified professionals allowed to design buildings.
??Building bye-laws must be made to include guidelines, norms, standards, rules and regulations defined by the National and state level agencies engaged in disaster mitigation and management. Such guidelines must be issued on priority and periodically reviewed, revised and redefined, considering the local contexts and best practices emerging within and outside the country in the domain of disaster mitigation and management.
In order to aid, assist and advise the State/UTs, urban local bodies and development authorities to rationalize/ modify their building byelaws, it will be important that Government of India, must come out with ?Model Building bye-laws, to meet effectively ?the challenges posed by disasters for safety against natural hazards. In addition, dedicated training sessions and ?technical workshops must be organized to sensitize and empower the officials of state/local level authorities?to amend their ?Town and Country Planning Act, Zoning Regulation, Development & Control Regulation and Building Regulation ?to incorporate provisions related to disaster mitigation and making ?all the developments and buildings safe against natural hazards, integral part of such legal framework.
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Creating a dedicated Legal Framework
?Considering the large proportion of land mass prone to natural disasters and colossal damage caused to human lives and public/private property, infrastructures and built environment, Government of India came out with an exclusive and dedicated ?legal framework,’ ‘Disaster Management Act in the year 2005, which came into operation ?in?January 2006. The stated objects and purpose of the Act, have been defined as; effective management of disasters including, preparation of mitigation strategies, capacity-building etc. Act also includes setting up of ?National Disaster Management Authority; ?Creating and appointment of appropriate manpower; Constitution of Committees including National Advisory Committee besides Sub-committees; Preparing National Plan; ?Preparing guidelines for minimum standards of relief etc.
?Act empowers and authorizes the National Disaster Management Authority to ?lay down policies on disaster management; approve the National Plan; approve plans prepared by the Ministries or Departments of the Government of India in accordance with the National Plan; lay down guidelines to be followed by the State Authorities in drawing up the State Plan; lay down guidelines to be followed by the different Ministries or Departments of the Government of India for the purpose of integrating the measures for prevention of disaster or the mitigation of its effects in their development plans and projects; ?coordinate the enforcement and implementation of the policy and plan for disaster management; ?recommend provision of funds for the purpose of mitigation; ?provide ?support to other countries affected by major disasters, as may be determined by the Central Government; take such other measures for the prevention of disaster, or the mitigation, or preparedness and capacity building for dealing with the threatening disaster situation or disaster as it may consider necessary; and lay down broad policies and guidelines for the functioning of the National Institute of Disaster Management.
Act needs to be made more ?effective and efficient and implemented in letter and spirit, ?by making available appropriate level of ?manpower, financial resources and creating enabling environment for its ?effective implementation. Authority created under the act must be provided with ?appropriate level of connectivity ?with all the technical institutions; development authorities; professional institutions, organizations dealing with real estate and construction sector ; state and local level authorities to disseminate the knowledge of safety among all the stakeholders to ?make India safe against disasters.
?Creating Awareness
?Stakeholders engaged in the construction/real estate industry including, urban local bodies, development authorities, developers, promoters, architects, engineers, contractors and manpower engaged in the construction sector, would have to be appropriately educated about the benefit and need for adopting disaster resistance technologies while creating built environment. ?Such technologies would have to be cost-effective, operationally-efficient, time-efficient and simple to use, for ensuring their adoption, use and implementation.?This would require detailed research into the area of building techniques used in construction, in order to ?simplify them.?Also, it would require the training of manpower involved in the construction sector for ensuring the use and adoption of disaster resistance techniques.??Professionals and end users would have to be actively involved and brought on the same wavelength in ensuring the creation of safe built environment. Academics could also include in the course curriculum, mechanisms and strategies for creating awareness among the professionals and masses about the role and importance of creating safe buildings, in order to minimize loss and to promote sustainable development.
?Creating Model Structures
?Technical guidelines on earthquake resistant construction, repair and retro-fitting and flood and cyclone resistant constructions have already been published by Bureau of Indian Standards.?In light of these guidelines, Architectural Institutions in collaboration with Engineering Institutions/Building Industries should be actively involved in preparing model structures and building designs, which are not only cost-effective but are also earthquake and cyclone resistant, in order to make them role model of construction in the disaster prone areas, so that the adverse impacts of disasters are minimized. Technical guidelines regarding earthquake and cyclone resistant buildings should be made integral part of academics of India. The guidelines should be reviewed, renewed and redefined, on continued basis, in order to make them more ?relevant, effective, efficient and promoter of structural safety in the process. Considering the need of creating ?structurally safe model structures in various risk zones, BMTPC has demonstrated different disaster resistant technologies through ?Wind/Cyclone and Flood (1997 & 2010) prone housing construction in various parts of the country.
Mapping ?Risk
Mapping areas prone to risks, risk levels and ?typologies of risks to which various areas are exposed, remain critical and valuable for any city, state and nation, for preparing appropriate strategies and framework of action to make human settlements and built environment safe against any possible disasters. Accordingly, preparing vulnerability maps ?assume importance. Such ?maps help various agencies responsible for promoting safety, to understand the risks which need to be tackled and for which preparations are required to be made to effectively counter their adverse impact on communities. ?India ?is credited with bringing out ?first ever Vulnerability Atlas of India (2019, 1996 & 2006) along with preparing Landslide Hazard Zonation Atlas of India, Guidelines for Improving Earthquakes, The Vulnerability Atlas of India was recognized as a “Good Practice” by the UN-Habitat under Dubai International Awards for Best Practices for the year 2006. Preparing Vulnerability Atlas and Earthquake Hazard Maps have ?now been extended to ?State/UT, covering 626 Districts of the country and ?have contributed to creating awareness and evolving strategies ?to mitigate impact of disasters. These maps now need to be taken to the local/ settlement level for making human settlements secure and safe.
Creating Dedicated Specialized Institutions
In order to promote sustainability and to make human settlements and built environment safe against imminent, unforeseen and unpredictable disasters, it is important that dedicated institutions focusing on , promoting research and development in the area of risk management; undertaking studies of the areas prone to disasters; mapping the risk prone areas and imparting training in making ?buildings safe; must be created at national, Regional and local levels.
Considering the need, role and importance of such institutions ?India has already created a?dedicated institution, Building Materials Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) at the national level to play a pro-active role in the area of disaster mitigation and management; framing easy to understand ??detailed guidelines on various important aspects of earthquake resistant construction; carrying out region-specific disaster impact rapid assessment studies; undertaking work related to retrofitting the existing buildings, located in the high risk zones, to make then structurally safe; demonstrating seismic retrofitting and seismic strengthening ?techniques; demonstrating the disaster resistant technologies through construction of model houses and retrofitting of public buildings; providing training to ?masons and ?field engineers; ?organizing technical workshop at state/local level , to showcase the options for making urban settlements and built environment safe against possible disasters. Such national level institutions must be adequately and appropriately supported by well equipped institutions created at state and regional level, to cover all the states and?existing human settlements , both urban and rural. Existing framework of IITs and NITs could be explored to create such a network across states and UTs.
?Involving Information Technology
?Use of Information Technology would be critical in ensuring structural safety and disaster management and creating awareness among the parastatal, community based organizations, communities and individuals.?Networking of Institutions involved in providing education, research, materials, technologies and basic material in the area of disasters would help in sharing the experience, both locally and globally, in order to ensure the placement ?and adoption of best practices of disaster mitigation and management in position. Use of Information Technology can also be leveraged in making available appropriate knowledge and methodologies at the doorstep of all educational institutions and professionals.?Evolving special packages and software can help in testing all building designs with regard to their structural safety and guiding the Architects and Engineers in taking appropriate precautions in designing the buildings and making them safe before they are constructed on ground. Appropriate models of structurally safe buildings and layout plans of housing area, townships, industrial estates / parks can be worked out for the guidance of the professionals.
Institutions imparting education in planning, designing and construction, can play pivotal role in using information technology as a medium for creating database and model of structurally safe buildings. Technology can also be used in disaster mitigation and management along with securing the monitoring of service delivery during the times of disasters and creating an early warning system to make people aware about ?the impending disasters and move to the safer places besides acting as a potent tool to extend relief and aid at the time of disasters. Technology can also be used to integrate the relief efforts through setting up and connecting ?Disaster Command Centers created at city and local levels.?Its ?enormous potential, needs to be understood, appreciated and ?exploited on priority by ?various agencies involved in?promoting safety and security in the cities and towns. Considering the huge risk posed and losses caused across nations,Mechanisms of ?prevention, preparedness, mitigation and early warning , leveraged by appropriate and state of art, soft and hard technologies, can be effectively and appropriately used to reduce the risk and help ?protect both human and economic assets in the case of ?disasters caused by predictable events ?involving; cyclones, large storms, heavy precipitation events, earthquakes, landslides, floods, and avalanches.
Sensors, known for their distinct advantages, can also be used for assessing, evaluation, monitoring and ?detecting how far and how fast fire is spreading in case of wildfire; ?monitoring water levels and flooding during hurricanes or tsunamis; detecting the presence of harmful gases or chemicals emanating from a storage tank, factory; linking physical assets including ?bridges, poles etc.; monitoring risk ?in low-lying areas and alerting authorities; prioritizing ?and managing the relief ?operations; sourcing clearer picture of ?situation prevailing in disaster area and geo-targeting the neighborhoods at most risk. Drones could also be used for ?managing disasters by using them for surveying the disaster areas during the search-and-rescue phase and ?supporting the recovery effort.
Parastatal agencies should consider ?the option of leveraging the internet of things (IoT) and other web-driven technologies to obtain timely and accurate data for making informed decisions and taking time bound actions. For ?connecting people?and information during a disaster, government agencies and emergency response teams need to establish communication systems between the mobile devices of ?at-risk area’s residents and IoT sensors in the field. Using ?most advanced ?technologies can help ?all ?public agencies, made responsible and involved in disaster management and mitigation, to perform more effectively and efficiently ?besides addressing the costly disasters ( ?Tremaine & Tuberson). .Involving Nature and using Nature-based solutions
Genesis of majority of climate based disasters has their roots in the imbalance created in nature, which remains the prime cause and platform of the origin of such disasters. If nature remains the cause and origin of disaster, then solutions to effectively deal and make cities and communities safe against these disasters, also lies in the nature itself. The relationship between disasters and development is known to be highly intense; while there is universal acceptance that disasters can damage, erode and destroy development, there is a very limited recognition of the role different approaches to development play in creating or increasing vulnerability.
Increasingly nature-based solutions are considered as the best options for urban climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. ?New York City has adopted the strategy of promoting green rooftops and streets on large scale so as to ??better manage storm water runoff and improve urban climate. China has introduced and followed the concept of ‘sponge cities’,- cities with open spaces that can soak up floodwater and prevent disaster in ecologically friendly ways. A growing number of nature based tools, strategies and options are being invented and experimented ?globally, for ?supporting cities and making them safe and secure against possible disasters.
Involving Communities
Disasters are known to be the outcome of irrational human interaction with prevailing environment, which invariably brings ?large number of distortions ?in nature, because all human acts of development are known to be acts against nature. Existing patterns and typologies of development adversely impact the environment, ecology and destroy the bio-diversity of the area. This has resulted in ?global warming ,climate change, destruction of flora and fauna, leading to number of calamities faced by human beings. Since disasters are human oriented, it will be important to involve and empower the human beings and communities to mitigate the challenges posed by disasters. Accordingly, formulation ?of all disaster ?mitigation and management policies evolved along with their implementation, has to be based on active involvement of communities. It has been observed globally that where communities are made ?aware and empowered, they are appropriately positioned to effectively counter the ?forces of disasters. Reaching out to ?common people, to help them know the risks, vulnerabilities, mitigation and preparedness to minimize the loss to communities in the case of hazards; public participation in plan preparation and hazard zonation can reduce the risk of disaster very effectively. Where communities remain ignorant and are marginalized, the area and communities have suffered colossal damage of life and property. Input received from communities, having history of facing disasters, when considered, evaluated and appropriately implemented, have invariably paid dividends in terms of ??disaster preparedness and ?undertaking relief efforts.
?Making all stakeholders collaborate and co-operate
For making human settlements safer places to live, work and grow, sustainable development has to be the agenda and the governing principle and strategy for the rational growth and development of all the settlements. Sustainable development needs prioritization not only at local level but also to be logically extended beyond the urban boundaries. To achieve the objective, it will be essential to make all stakeholders collaborate, co-operate and brought on the same platform to synergize all their resources, expertise and experience to promote safety. Such an approach needs to be extended beyond local border to involve nations and communities to bring them together on international platform. United nation has been making efforts and has brought both developed and developing nations ?on the same platform to help and support each other to effectively counter the impact of disasters. UN has also created a mechanism by which developed nations help and support developing nations to create appropriate level of understanding and expertise, so as to effectively counter the disasters by adopting pre-disaster strategies, duly supported by post- disaster relief and rehabilitation.??While good ideas are getting implemented in different cities around the world, it is close collaboration and co-operation between nations, that can make a ?great difference globally.
Conclusion
In the ?face of ongoing scenario of; globalization, liberalization of economies; rapid population growth; ever expanding urban footprints; rapid industrialization; global warming, rising temperature, climate change; depleting ozone layers and increasing carbon footprints, human settlements ?are ?fast becoming ?vulnerable and victim to natural and manmade disasters.?Cities are now facing increasing threat posed by cyclones, storms, heavy precipitation, earthquakes, landslides, floods, and avalanches., putting them in perpetual danger of damage and ?destruction. Considering the wider and massive physical, social, economic, infrastructural, developmental and environmental implications of natural hazards and enormous losses caused to men, materials, economies and social fabric at local, national and international level, United Nation General Assembly decided to name the decade (1990-2000) as the, ‘International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction’, in order to focus the global efforts on evolving strategies, solutions and making efforts to achieve the target of disaster mitigation for minimizing damage caused, to planet earth and human settlements, on ?account of disasters.
?The?Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, evolved by UNO,?outlined targets ?to be achieved and ?defined priorities for action to prevent new and reduce existing disaster risks. Targets defined in the framework ?to promote safety, included; understanding disaster risk;?strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster ; ?investing in disaster reduction for resilience and ?enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response, and to "Build Back Better" in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.
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Looking at the entire gamut and complexities of the risks ,disaster mitigation and management can’t be, and should not remain exclusive responsibility of the state/local/ parastatal agencies. It has to be shared responsibility, shouldered jointly by all stake holders by coming on the same platform, to synergize and leverage their strength and expertise, to make cities, built environment and infrastructure, safe and sustainable against ?possible disasters.
?For making cities safe ?against natural and manmade risks, disasters management and mitigation should be made integral part of urban planning and development process. Urban planning ??defining the agenda for safety, ?based on ?analysis of the ?land-use planning; zoning, environment , ecology, investment; risk and vulnerability mapping; ?land suitability analysis defining worst-case scenarios for emergency preparedness ; is known to help in making cities safe and sustainable. Promoting planned development; achieving sustainability and safety; making cities ?spongy and resilient; empowering and involving communities , should accordingly ?remain ?the underlying and governing principles to make cities safe.
?A well-maintained database of disaster losses; a Geographic Information System (GIS) to map hazards/vulnerabilities, carrying out ?risk analysis and assessments and ?assessing ?capacity of local people, have been considered ?valuable tools ?for preparing disaster sensitive plans; making informed decisions; prioritizing projects; planning for risk reduction measures and identifying high, medium or low-risk areas. For making built environment safe against disasters; it will be critical to make ?structural safety and disaster mitigation as integral part of professional teaching-learning of the art and science of planning, designing and construction of built environment. Leveraging technologies; involving communities; creating dedicated institutions; evolving model structurally safe buildings; putting in place an effective and efficient legal framework; carrying out a detailed land suitability analysis; looking at global good practices; empowering professionals involved in planning, designing and construction of buildings; working collectively; assessing realistically the hazards and creating?awareness among communities and all the stakeholders, will be ?pre-requite for achieving safety and promoting sustainability in buildings and making cities safe against all ?possible disasters.
Working ?holistically with and supporting nature; preserving, protecting and promoting flora, fauna and bio-diversity; making optimum use of Pachbhutas (Prithvi, Agni, Vayu, Jal, Akaash), and minimizing conflict between development and nature, will remain most critical for?planning, designing and construction of ?safe and secure built environment. Nature based solutions offer the best options for ?promoting sustainability and safety to human settlements against natural and manmade disasters.
?Bibliography
·??????United Nations; International Strategy for Disaster ?Reduction; Contribution to ?the 2014 United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Integration Segment
·??????Arya A.S; Keynote address in the Seminar on Built Environment & Natural Hazards
·??????Gupta ?J.K.; Built Environment in the face of Natural Hazards; Indian Building Congress; Seminar Papers on Built Environment & Natural Hazards
·??????Murthy CVR; Building Architects and Seismic Design through ?education
·??????United Nations University; Institute for environment and Human Security –Five ways to make cities more sustainable and resilient
Author:
Ar. Jit Kumar Gupta ????????????????????????????
Director?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
College of Architecture, I.E.T, Bhaddal???????
#344, Sector 40-A, Chandigarh- 1600
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Table showing ?frequency & impact of earthquakes of various magnitude near the epicenter
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Table showing the energy equivalent of various intensity of earthquake
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Independent Architecture & Planning Professional
3 年Needs implementation