Urban Resilience and Sustainable Construction under Disaster Risk

Dear Colleagues,

Disasters triggered by natural hazards pose a significant risk to sustainable development and can erode the resilience of households and communities. It is paramount, for countries and communities, to intensify global initiatives to tackle vulnerability and exposure to climate-geological threats. Cities and human settlements need to place at the center of policies and strategies resource efficiency, mitigation, and adaptation to climate change, and disaster risk reduction; and to develop and implement holistic disaster risk management at all levels. There is also a critical need to improve public education and awareness of risks, stimulate insurance measures, and strengthen the capacity to integrate early warning systems (detection, analysis, prediction, and then warning dissemination) in order to reduce economic and social damage. Involving the community in the planning and decision-making processes is also crucial to enhance social resilience.

An earthquake or a large-scale outage affecting the key network assets supporting critical infrastructure (electricity, information and communication technologies (ICTs), gas, health, transport, and other essential sectors) can have cascading effects and affect large part of the population or vital functions of society. Recognizing the degree of contribution an infrastructure makes to other critical sectors, in terms of dependence and/or interdependence, is imperative for essential networks in society. Additionally, understanding the potential consequences of disruption or destruction is crucial. Furthermore, dependencies can be found at national and international levels (cross-border), adding complexity to the overall process.

By combining innovative engineering techniques and reforming policies, it becomes feasible to create buildings and infrastructures capable to withstand diverse hazards, such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, wildfires, or other natural hazards. This not only save lives and safeguards property and assets, but also ensures business continuity, minimizes the environmental impact, and reduces recovery costs and reconstruction, contributing to the overall sustainability and safety of communities.

This Sustainability Special Issue aims to gather contributions focused on innovative approaches and methods to mitigate the risk of repetitive damage from earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, or other natural hazards to buildings and critical infrastructures in the face of future disasters. This aligns with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which seeks to endorse resilient and sustainable strategies for prevention, mitigation, and adaptation to disaster risks.

Dr. Mónica Amaral Ferreira
Prof. Dr. Carlos Sousa Oliveira
Guest Editors

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• resilience
• sustainability
• mitigation
• prevention
• awareness
• green building
• nature-based solutions
• resilient infrastructure
• strategic disaster planning
• disaster risk insurance
• new technologies
• cascading effects