ABSTRACT
Rapid-onset urban disasters such as near-field tsunamis require prompt and usually autonomous responses from vulnerable populations, including appropriate decisions about critical activities such as evacuation and sheltering. The characteristics of urban forms can increase a community’s capacity to deal with such crises as they unfold and help to achieve resilience to disasters; however, little research exists in this area, 1 and the actual changes that might bring about improvement are not commonly examined. In this respect, the majority of tsunami risk-reduction efforts analyze the built environment (e.g., land zoning) and emergency readiness actions (e.g., evacuation preparation) as separate areas of study and practice: the former focuses on long-term changes excluding evacuation analysis, while the latter examines the urban realm as a static context. 2 This chapter analyzes this gap, using research into the tsunami-prone cities of Iquique and Talcahuano in Chile. It includes a diagnosis of existing situations, a series of urban modifications to improve these conditions, and an appraisal of these changes using qualitative and quantitative tools.
