AN APPROACH TO ASSESS URBAN RESILIENCE TO FLOOD RISK THROUGH SPATIAL ANALYSIS

Spatial features of settlements at risk to be flooded can contribute to detail several aspects of urban resilience. Based on this consideration, this contribute presents the results of a doctoral research aimed at analyzing urban resilience to floods assuming a spatial analysis approach. Based on the relevant literature, the research aimed at developing a conceptual spatial-based definition of urban resilience to flood, as a basic step toward a quantitative resilience assessment methodology. Importance of developing urban systems able to cope with natural calamities is fundamental within urban planning processes. Human activities and settlements have been located over time in a way to take advantage of available natural resources. As a result, the link between urban areas and natural environment results a key-element of the urbanization process.
Urban rivers reflect the outlined circumstance: water resources have been an attractor for urban development of nearby located areas. While appropriate use and protection of water bodies contribute to suitably preserving water resources, flood risk reduction strategies contribute to reduce the total risk of flooding. Urban areas crossed by rivers are inevitably at risk to be flooded and vulnerability of exposed elements (e.g. people, activities, buildings and infrastructures) determines different impacts. Mitigation of flood impacts can be achieved linking flood risk prevention and reduction to event preparedness, emergency recovery and adaptability to flood-induced effects: considering all event phases, the resulting flood risk management process globally improves urban resilience to floods. Structuring a resilient urban system implicitly requires to individuate suitable resilience’s measurement and assessment methodologies. The latter, in turn, need a precisely outlined definition of the concept of resilience itself. The relevant literature offers several different meanings and characteristics of resilience, on varying on the adopted analysis perspectives. […]