Natural and Social Engineering:
Creating Community Resiliency
through Land-use Decisions
Center for Natural Hazards Research - Workshop
Mark Holland
Dec 8, 2011
Overview
 Natural hazards and sustainable
communities
 Hazardous impacts and
implications
 The 8 Pillars of a Sustainable
Community
 Governance – the foundation
 Perspectives
 Conclusion
21st Century
 Perceptions
 Expectations
 Technology
 Change rate
 Reality
Sustainable Development
Risk managing the future
Climate Change
Peak Oil
Resources, Waste and Toxins
Water
Ecosystem Degradation
Food
Individual and Community Health
Local Economic Stability
Challenges & Goals of Sustainability
Key Challenges
Climate Change / Air Quality
Fossil Fuel & Energy Supply
Waste / Resource Scarcity
Water Quantity/Quality Supply
Ecosystem Damage
Food Supply / Quality / Security
Economic Prosperity / Viability
Social and Community Health
Sustainability Goals
Reduce Emissions
Renewable Energy / Efficiency
Reducing Waste / Recycling
Better Water Management
Ecological Design / Protection
Organic / Local Food Supply
Diverse / Local Economy
Promote Individual and Community
Health
The New Horizon: 2050
Hazards in the 21st century
Earthquakes
Tsunamis
Volcanos
Floods
Landslides
Avalanches
Droughts
Fire
Climate Change
Pandemics
Terrorism
Geopolitical
events
Others
Human impact on the planet
Acts of God = …Acts
of us
Acts of us on us
Scale of impact = us
Resilience – the new sustainability
Shock dominos
Physical
Economic
Social
Purpose
Increase awareness of
vulnerability to (natural)
hazards
Influence public policy
to minimize losses and
provide multiple benefits
Framework
Knowledge
Addressing risk and tolerance
Governance
Development
(political and market reality)
Response-ability
Location choices
Retrofits
Preparation for response
Management
Learning
Terrain of Applied Science
Research
Credibility + timeline
Communication to…
Terrain of Economics
Costs
Real
Avoided
Mitigation
Who pays
A spreadsheet of
falling dominos
Terrain of Development
Community identity
Regulation
Development market
economics
Culture of planning
and development
Terrain of Consciousness
Politics
Paradigms
Interests
Media
The Imperative
Multiple Objectives : Multiple ROI
1. Shock avoidance and
response agenda
2. Sustainability agenda
 The global long term view
3. Daily health and prosperity
 Many considerations
Resilience Applied
1. Development process
2. Development form and
function
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Land Use
Transportation
Buildings
Infrastructure
Landscape
Food systems
Arts, Culture and Health
Local Economy
3. Governance
Planning and Design Process
Vision and policy driven
Integrated Design Process
Abu Dhabi
Community engagement process
Accredited and experienced
professionals with a mandate
Integrated Team
Process
 Owner
 Investor
 Contractor
 Architect
 Landscape Architect
 Engineer
 Hazards specialists (several)
 Bldg code expert
 Green development experts
 Approvals oversight
 Proforma oversight
 Development managers
 Users
 Community
 Others
The 8 Pillars of a Resilient Community
1) Complete community land use
Land use for a lasting community
 Regional and local location and layout
 Avoid high risk areas
 Retrofit strategy
 Access by proximity
 Self reliance - regionally and locally
 Economy (business)
 Lifestyle (family)
 Diversity
 Housing
 Retail
 Office / commercial
Parks and trails integrated
 Strategic density – high or low
 Emergency response sheds
2) Low impact Secure Transportation
Resilient transportation system
Secure main routes
Disaster routes
Prioritize walking and accessibility
Cycling supportive
Public transit support
Minimize parking impact
Multi-modal streets
Shared car systems
Electric / future micro-mobility
3) High Performance Buildings
21st Century Buildings
 Emergency response capacity
 Disruption resistant
 High performance buildings
 Energy efficient
 Generate energy
 Water efficient
 Sustainable local materials
 Healthy place to be
 Durable, fixable, flexible
 Support sustainable lifestyle
Formal Certification
 Built Green
 LEED
 Net Zero
 Living building
 Others – resilience?
 Building codes
4) Innovative Infrastructure
4.1) Energy Supply Systems
4.2) Water / Wastewater System
4.3) Stormwater System
4.4) Solid Waste Management
5) Multi-Tasked Landscapes
A Resilient Landscape Program
 Resilient landscape planning
 Hazard avoidance
 Green web and protection of sensitive
areas
 Urban food production
 Arts and culture support
 Recreation diversity
6) Sustainable Regional Food System
Food System Elements
Regional production diversity
Processing, warehousing +
distribution
Easy access to food retail
Restaurants
Urban agriculture
Celebration of food
Food education
Emergency food security
“Agricultural Urbanism”
7) Individual and Community Health
A Resilient Society
Emergency preparedness
Social capital
Facilities and programs
Community amenities
Education
Arts and culture
Health care
Community events
Recreation
8) Local Diverse Economy
Desirable elements
Emergency preparedness
Business associations
Local commercial diversity
Jobs diversity
Eco-commercial networks
Green business practices
Governance
The foundation of the pillars
 Governance structure and operation
People
Policies
Process
Participation
Politics
 Regulations
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L and use – prov/reg/local – RGS; OCP; LAP; etc…
Transportation policies and standards
Building code
Environmental regs
Health regulations for infrastructure
Agricultural / land policy
Academic research - communication
Inter/intra national trade agreements and local ec dev
initiatives
Development
approvals
Prior criteria setting
Public policy (all levels of govt)
Create application
(Developer / consultant)
Evaluate a development
proposal (local govt)
Data gathering on site and
project
Analysis
Decision (recommendation)
Post occupancy monitoring (?)
Perspectives - Developer
Added costs (time or things)
 Minor or crippling
 Cost of existing product
Expertise and efficiency of
regulator
Unintended consequences!
Be clear, efficient, required
Perspectives - Economics
Insurance
Reality
Paradigm
Government resources
Who (we all) will pay
Perspectives – Culture and politics
Growing awareness of
21st century reality
Changing politics of “who
is responsible”
There is no “they”
Local empowerment
Conclusion
21st Century
Shock resilience – a priority
Sustainability = resilience
Multiple objectives
Need to formalize in
policies and process
Guide = key first step
Stay optimistic
Thank you
mark.holland@newmonaco.ca