19th International CODATA Conference
Category: Economic Development
Multi-hazard assessment at the national and local levels: Case studies in developing urban regions
Klaus
Jacob and Art Lerner-Lam
Cities are centers of economic opportunity and culture, and are a natural focus
for investment and development. The important role of cities is manifested
globally in the trend toward increasing urbanization in most countries. However,
the increased concentration of physical and cultural assets that accompanies
urbanization also increases their exposure to geographically limited natural
hazards. Urban assets can be fragile, especially in developing urban regions.
Thus risk management in developing metropolitan areas must be a component of
development policy.
This
paper summarizes the findings of a preliminary study of the natural hazards
faced by