‘Planning ahead'

Civil engineers, architects, builders and urban planners ¹ have the task of developing secure and sustainable settlements. However, they are unconscious – but significant – contributors to the fourfold increase in the number of disasters that has taken place during the last 30 years (UNISDR 2006). This relates to the fact that they commonly view the interlinkages between disasters and the built environment (and related planning practices) as a simple one-way, cause-and-effect relationship (Figure 16.1). In fact, the limited perception that disasters are the (uncontrollable) cause and the destruction of the built environment is the effect, is widespread amongst those professionals, who consequently have a tendency to see disaster risk management ² in a purely physical way. Their responses are thus very limited and mainly focused on the post-disaster context. Moreover, even preventive tools, such as building codes or land-use zoning, are currently of low relevance to the urban poor whose lives are most at risk (Figure 16.2). With more than one billion ‘slum’ dwellers worldwide, who often have no choice but to live in precarious and life-threatening conditions (UN-HABITAT 2003), planners have to urgently re-evaluate their work to provide more adequate solutions. Figure 16.1 Common, ‘erroneous' view of the interlinkages between disasters and the built environment (and related planning practices) as being a simple one-way, cause-and-effect relationship https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203938720/4713d671-19ad-4015-a4e0-6e2ca474dd5c/content/fig16_1_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> Figure 16.2 Common, ‘erroneous' view of the interlinkages between the potential of planning practice for disaster risk management as being a simple one-way problem-and-solution relationship with limited efficiency and area of influence https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203938720/4713d671-19ad-4015-a4e0-6e2ca474dd5c/content/fig16_2_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>