To prepare effectively for future risk and achieve disaster resilience in urban cities, this latest research from authors at the University of Huddersfield argues that we can leverage and link innovative technology and digital tools to enhance disaster resilience better.
Disaster resilience involves restoring or maintaining equilibrium in urban systems, such as environment, people, governance, economy, and infrastructure, in the face of disaster, emergencies, crises, shock and stress. The paper discusses the uses of technological innovation in smart cities and how these can be classified into resilience-making technologies and tools for smart cities.
Tools can collect, store, analyse, and visualise geospatial data vital for disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. The paper further suggests four critical factors for assessment; impact, adoption speed, maturity and community capability. Technology-based platforms and web-based participatory tools such as social media can be leveraged to engage the community in sharing information, ideas, feedback, and solutions for disaster resilience.
The article argues that cities are complex and face increasing risks due to interconnected systems and networks. To address this, cities adopt smart technologies, but this can also lead to new and unforeseen risks. Therefore, a judicious selection of appropriate digital tools is vital to develop resilience and prepare for crises.