A disaster resilience model for urban settlements with a benefit of geographical information technology

This paper outlines a disaster resilience model for urban settlements with the benefit of geographical information technology. The model is envisaged to develop guidelines for disaster mitigation, including standards, criteria, and building codes for disaster-prone settlements. On the basis of such guidelines, proposals may be formulated for short-, medium-, and long-term strategies and policies.

The author concludes that spatial data infrastructure (SDI) must be tailored to the particular features and dynamics of the urban settlement concerned. For that purpose, data, services, and stakeholders (users & producers) in the urban settlement concerned should be analysed with respect to spatial dynamics, disaster risk profile, and existing information technology. In short, recourse to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and SDI can significantly enhance disaster resilience of urban settlements.