Operationalizing Urban Resilience to Floods in Island Territories—Application in Punaauia, French Polynesia

Abstract

In the context of climate change and increasing urbanization, Small Island Developing States are increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters. In response to urbanization in at risk areas, the concept of territorial resilience has potential as an approach to urban flood issues. The objective of this research is to develop a spatial decision support tool based on a collaborative assessment method of territorial resilience. The proposed methodology consists of: the adaptation to the French Polynesian context, three existing resilience assessment methods applied to a case study in the Punaruu Valley’s (Punaauia, French Polynesia) and the use of geovisualization techniques: use of GIS for data processing and analysis, visualization, mapping and model processing. This methodology integrates the technical, urban and social components of the territory, while highlighting the various levers available to improve territorial resilience and facilitate its understanding through collaborative work efforts and the use of a visual tool. The results demonstrate the reproducibility of these methods for assessing resilience in French Polynesia. They underline the potential of a collaborative approach to highlight critical infrastructures and generate possible decision support to improve the territory’s ability to function despite a disruption and the ability to rebuild following this disruption.