Academics Research Our Dept Resources Academics Undergraduate Programs Graduate Programs Course Descriptions Mission and Objectives Research Department Faculty & Staff Graduate Students Open Faculty Positions News & Announcements Events Resources Webmail Career Services Engineering Student Services Intranet Home > Our Department > All Events > Resilient Urban Regions    Resilient Urban Regions   By Julio A. Ramirez Professor Purdue University, School of Civil Engineering   Tue, Mar 24, 2009 2:30 PM   Location: Whitaker Hall, Room 216   Urban regions are diverse, complex and interdependent systems exposed to threats from both natural and man‐made hazards. A resilient urban region can be defined as a sustainable network of physical systems (e.g. healthcare, buildings, highways, sanitation, subways, communications, energy facilities) and human systems (e.g. the local population and its associations such as schools; banking and insurance systems; the socioeconomic and legal frameworks that guide decisions). My research has focused on the mitigation of risk associated with natural and man‐made hazards in physical systems both in the developed world, in which the focus is a trade‐off between cost and loss of life, and in the developing world. In the developing world, the issues related to resilience are more complex and involve typical construction techniques, education and awareness, available resources and local conditions (e.g. healthcare infrastructure, population characterization, physical inventory). Current standards in the developing world can be inadequate or inconsistent from region to region; existing guidelines do not account for sustainability and do not consider recovery time. The purpose of this talk is to present a vision for achieving urban regions capable of resisting and recovering quickly from natural and man‐made hazards. To fulfill this vision and minimize socio‐economic impact, it will be necessary to determine the vulnerability of combined physical and human systems. The next step in the design of resilient urban regions involves investigation of the behavior of cities under stress. Social work and public health expertise need to be incorporated to achieve this goal.     Mechanical, Aerospace & Structural Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis One Brookings Drive, Box 1185, St. Louis, Missouri 63130 Office Location: 305 Jolley Hall, Phone: (314) 935-6047, Fax: (314) 935-4014   Home |  Academics | Research | Department | Resources © 2009 | Did you find it?