The
Disaster Resilience Working Group is hard at work on a white paper that
highlights the connections between disaster resilience and sustainability.
The document is still evolving but is starting to take form. The white
paper is expected to be finished by late 2012 and released to the public in
mid-2013 after undergoing peer review.
The
first chapter defines the main concepts and highlights the impacts of disasters
and the importance of hazard mitigation. The second chapter provides
concise but useful considerations for resilient structural design and points
the reader to resources for technical guidance. The next chapter provides
an international perspective with a discussion of disasters in developing countries.
A final chapter is planned with case studies to provide examples for some of
the concepts presented in the paper.
The
Disaster Resilience Working Group is interested in gaining members that are
willing to help with the white paper or looking to champion additional projects
related to sustainability and resilience. The Sustainability Committee
has an open solicitation for new members, more. Interested individuals are encouraged to apply for
membership and indicate how they can contribute to the working group.
Article
by Disaster Resilience Working Group web liaison Tonatiuh Rodriguez-Nikl,
Ph.D., P.E., Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil
Engineering at California State University, Los Angeles. For more
information about the working group please contact Tona at
trodrig7_at_calstatela.edu.
