Urban earthquake disaster risk assessment and management

In the upcoming years, efforts in the field of earthquake disaster risk assessment and management should focus on three main issues: (1) urban risk, (2) a holistic, multidisciplinary approach, and (3) the implementation and dissemination of current knowledge. This paper introduces a series of three complementary projects-in risk assessment, risk management, and risk forecasting, and describes how, individually and collectively, they embody a new philosophy built on these three main issues. The first study attempts to assess the relative overall earthquake disaster risk of cities worldwide, and the relative contributions of various factors to that risk. The second seeks to compare the cost-effectiveness and feasibility of different risk mitigation strategies for a city. The third aims to forecast how a city's risk, and therefore the most appropriate mitigation strategies, will change over time.