Overview, objectives, theme and topics

Overview

Romania, European country, is strongly exposed to seismic hazards coming from Vrancea area, likely to affect more than 50% of its national territory. A single occurrence of high magnitude can cause significant trans-border effects in the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Bulgaria, as it already happened during the earthquakes in 1940 and 1977, when there were over 1,600 victims and the damages rose to 2 billion USD (World Bank, 1978).

In Bucharest, Romanian’s capital city the post-seismic strategy after March 4, 1977 disaster turned from strengthening and rehabilitation into the demolition of the old affected tissue. The reconstruction of 450 ha of the city affected one third of the urban population. The drama of one’s uprooting, loss of identity, of communities’ destruction left unhealed traces.

The correct reaction to multi-hazard as well as to aggressive contemporary real estate developments requires a fair assessment of the existing built fund that can become the renewable resources, and particularly to the heritage that must be protected as nonrenewable resource.

The conference aims to identify the critical apparatus that would underlie the analysis of the built fund exposed to multi-hazard, as well as to the pressures of developers, within a balanced relation between the cultural and functional value of significance and its value of vulnerability. The objectives will be linked to identifying the methodologies for establishing the urban, architectural and structural intervention decisions that would support the land development in terms of protecting the existing background and the exposed heritage.

Objectives

The objectives of the conference are:

To provide a forum for professionals, researchers and students and post-doc students as means for dissemination and utilization of research results;

To support collaborations between researchers and institutions in the promotion and production of multidisciplinary research in protected areas;

To recognize meritorious contributions of researchers and institutions;

To promote quality research publications as credible sources of scientific literature;

Education on reducing the risk of disasters needs to be a component of the development program, by organizing approved groups having an educational role on various levels: the political level (national planners, management directors); community level (community leaders, public, teachers, students, local secular and religious leaders) and the level of volunteers (volunteers in disasters, spontaneous leaders);

Transmission of knowledge about architecture structure and urbanism strategies in reducing the risk of disaster from researchers, practitioners, officials to civil communities.

Theme

Reduction of the multi-hazard risk in protected urban areas through architecture, engineering and urbanism strategies for ensuring cities’ resilience.

Topics

Multi-hazard preparation & prevention: Natural and anthropic hazard • Multihazard assessments • Preventive action • Humanitarian Relief • Complex Emergencies • Humanitarian Logistics

Environment & Ecological Risks: Natural hazards • Climate change • Ecosystem viewpoint • Green economy

Technical risks: Critical infrastructure • Technological hazards • Cyber security • Energy supply • NaTech

Urban risks / Megacities: Critical infrastructure • Land use / City planning • Central protected area of cities • Early warning • Emergency evacuation and shelter management • Mobility / transportation • Civil protection • Exposed elements – building space

Social / Political risks: Resilient communities • Social unrest / social cohesion • Population exposed to risk • Public security • Terrorism • Displacement / forced migration • Community empowerment

Cultural risk: Identity • Patrimonial value, heritage • Community cohesion • Spatial perception

Resilience & Vulnerability: Frameworks • Indicators: status value of building space • Marginalization • Social, cultural, ecological, technical, institutional & economic resilience

Risk Management: Risk analysis & assessments • Risk scenario • Risk financing options • Public-private partnership • Global risk indicator • Best practices • Risk governance and leadership • Risk ethics • Resilient measurements • DRR tools – architecture, structure and urban strategies • Maintenance, consolidation, restoration, reconstruction • Security center for affected people • Emergency housing • Temporary housing • Permanent housing • Planned and administrated habitat • Financial tools for risk management • Living with risk

Education & Research: Preventive measures • Training programs • Role of the state vs. individual responsibility • Methodologies & tools for DRR • Best practice exchange • Build back better • Culture and diversity • Resilient education