Urban Disaster Prevention Planning Research Articles

Evaluating the Influence of Sustainable Urban Disaster Prevention Planning Satisfaction on Residents’ Living Willingness: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach in Kaohsiung City

Rapid urban development and increasing climate-related challenges underscore the need for effective urban disaster mitigation strategies. This study, conducted in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, uses a Structural Equation Model to assess how satisfaction with urban disaster prevention planning influences residents’ intentions to stay there. We found that satisfaction with sustainable urban disaster prevention increases residents’ willingness to remain and acts as a key mediator between satisfaction with public facilities and residential intentions. The methodology provides practical insights for urban planners and policymakers, highlighting that improving public facilities and effective disaster planning significantly strengthens residents’ attachment to urban environments. These findings suggest a pragmatic way to enhance urban sustainability and resilience by incorporating disaster preparedness into urban development plans.

GIS-BASED ACCESSIBILITY ANALYSIS OF URBAN EMERGENCY SHELTERS: THE CASE OF ADANA CITY

Abstract. Accessibility analysis of urban emergency shelters can help support urban disaster prevention planning. Pre-disaster emergency evacuation zoning has become a significant topic on disaster prevention and mitigation research. In this study, we assessed the level of serviceability of urban emergency shelters within maximum capacity, usability, sufficiency and a certain walking time limit by employing spatial analysis techniques of GIS-Network Analyst. The methodology included the following aspects: the distribution analysis of emergency evacuation demands, the calculation of shelter space accessibility and the optimization of evacuation destinations. This methodology was applied to Adana, a city in Turkey, which is located within the Alpine-Himalayan orogenic system, the second major earthquake belt after the Pacific-Belt. It was found that the proposed methodology could be useful in aiding to understand the spatial distribution of urban emergency shelters more accurately and establish effective future urban disaster prevention planning. Additionally, this research provided a feasible way for supporting emergency management in terms of shelter construction, pre-disaster evacuation drills and rescue operations.

SPATIO-TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION OF AUTOMOBILE USERS FOR DISASTER PREVENTION PLANNING

In the field of urban disaster prevention planning, it is important to grasp the characteristics of spatio-temporal distribution of population for considering provisions for human damage by a great earthquake. In this paper, we construct a model that simulates route choice behavior of automobile users on geographic information systems by using the data taken from a person trip survey and a road traffic census. We estimate spatio-temporal distribution of automobile users in Tokyo, and demonstrate some analyses on urban disaster prevention planning.

SPATIO-TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION ON WEEKDAYS AND HOLIDAYS FOR ESTIMATING HUMAN DAMAGES FROM DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKE

Understanding characteristics of spatio-temporal distribution of population, which varies according to weekdays or holidays, is one of the most important issues in the field of urban disaster prevention planning. However, the existing person trip data based on weekdays cannot be used for estimating the spatio-temporal distribution of population on holidays. In this study we propose a method to convert the existing person trip data from weekday-base to holiday-base, and examine the differences in the spatio-temporal distribution of population. We also attempt to compare the number of people who might lose their lives under collapsed buildings on weekdays and holidays. Some new findings are demonstrated by numerical examples using the data about an established city area in Tokyo Metropolitan area.

Reviews on “Progresses of Earthquake Engineering in Japan”

It seems that when human beings attain one thing, it is at the simultaneous loss of something else. Upon developing recording devices, we lose our ability to memorize. Upon creating convenient computers, we lose our ability to calculate. What, then, do progress and development really mean? In considering this, time spans become especially important. How are we to properly understand the progress and changes that have occurred in the last 3 decades in light of disaster prevention and reduction? Advances in communication technologies and developments in transportation system seem somehow to have accelerated the speed at which we live and at which our lives pass. How are we to balance the changes between progress in disaster prevention/reduction and the increasing potential risks disasters can bring due to our increasingly complex society? It seems certain that one thing has not advanced at all – the human capacity for foresight. Let us consider the span of 3 decades from another perspective: Henry Petroski, in his Design Paradigms – Case Histories of Error and Judgment in Engineering – (Cambridge University Press, 1994), introduces the theory that every 30 years, a bridge falls – within the span of 30 years, succession in wisdom dies out. Articles published more than 30 years ago give us a unique opportunity to assess their foresight, especially those written by persons in leadership positions at the time. In the 3 years from 1973 to 1975, the journal Technocrat, published by Fuji Technology Press Ltd., presented 9 review articles on earthquake disaster prevention. They were all written by leaders in the field. An editorial reviewing urban disaster prevention in Japan was also published in Toshi bousai keikakuron (Urban Disaster Prevention Planning) (Dobunshoin) in 1986 – roughly a decade later. These 10 articles will be republished in Vol. 1 Nos. 1-3 in this journal, together with new articles reviewing progress and development afterward. This unique series will consist of 18 articles as shown in the following list. Don’t miss it! Katsuki Takiguchi Professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology