Natural Disasters and their Impact on Cities

Abstract

Two significant trends suggest that it will be increasingly important to consider urban resilience to natural disasters in the coming years. First, there is a consensus among most climate scientists that we are experiencing a period of significant and ongoing climate change, and it is expected that there will be an increase in the number and severity of extreme climate events in the coming years. Second, the global population is increasingly becoming urbanized, and many cities are located in coastal areas that are vulnerable to severe climatic events. As these trends play out over time, the potential for disaster losses and impact increases. At the same time, the growth of urban populations produces greater concentrations of people vulnerable to natural disasters. When disasters strikes in rural areas, there may be damage to structures and crops, but compared to urban areas, recovery and the restoration of basic functions is relatively straightforward. However, given the concentration of people and complexity of systems, urban disasters can lead to significantly greater impacts. Preparation for and recovery from major urban disasters is of paramount importance in order to minimize these losses. Further, natural disasters represent a significant threat to key technological systems that support urban life. The failure of technological systems due to disasters is a major concern to urban planners and policymakers, as lengthy disruptions are an ongoing threat to life well after the direct impacts conclude. This bibliography summarizes a body of work on natural disaster impacts in cities. It is organized into five sections. The first section presents research on the growing General Overviews: Disaster Risk in Cities and Urban Areas, with an emphasis on low-lying coastal or riverside locations. This section also highlights the consensus among urban planning scholars that disaster risk management should be integrated into urban planning and management more generally. Section 2 considers the Various Impacts of Natural Disasters on Cities and Urban Areas, including economic and labor market impacts, effects on housing markets and property values, and health impacts, including loss of life. In section 3, a series of articles on Urban Disaster Vulnerability and Risk Factors are summarized, focusing on the underlying societal conditions and systems that determine vulnerability. Section 4, Extreme Heat in Urban Areas, considers the narrower topic of heat vulnerability, which is very important given that many urban areas generate heat islands. The last section addresses Disaster Management and Mitigation in Cities and Urban Areas, including the political and governance challenges of implementing adaptation strategies, measuring and building resilience, and recovery and reconstruction.