Understanding the Role of Built Environment Resilience to Natural Disasters: Lessons Learned from the Wenchuan Earthquake
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 31, Issue 5
Abstract
This study develops and validates a conceptual model of the role of built environment resilience to natural disasters by conducting an overall case study of the Wenchuan earthquake. This research shows that the enormous losses resulting from the Wenchuan earthquake were largely attributed to failures of built environment, which also severely affected local emergency response and external aid. The significant disparities in dwelling destruction and income between rural and urban dwellers further reveal that socially disadvantaged conditions increase the vulnerability of built environments in rural areas. The lessons learned from Wenchuan earthquake indicate how it is critical to consider both the resilience of built environments to withstand external impacts and the vulnerability to the natural environment by adequate identification and assessment of hazards, proper land use planning, setting of appropriate design codes, application of natural hazard–resistant technologies, and strict construction process management. Fundamentally, creating incentives for equitably allocating resources to mitigate disasters in inland rural communities of developing countries should be a policy emphasis to facilitate sustainable project development.
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Acknowledgments
Many thanks are given to the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51379104, 51579135, 51079070, 41071259, and U1361103), the State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering (Grant Nos. 2013-KY-5, 2015-KY-5, and 2009-ZY-7), and the Major Science and Technology Research Project of Power China (Grant Nos. DJ-ZDZX-2015-01-02 and DJ-ZDZX-2015-01-07). Thanks are given to the interviewed respondents and the reconstruction group in Weizhou Town of Wenchuan County for their great help.
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Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 31 • Issue 5 • October 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 9, 2016
Accepted: Feb 6, 2017
Published online: Apr 10, 2017
Discussion open until: Sep 10, 2017
Published in print: Oct 1, 2017
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