Academic Publications

The effects of the Coronavirus or COVID-19 have been very apparent as people, politics, and economics of the world have been brought down to a grinding halt. Almost all of the governments around the globe are grappling to contain the spread of the virus, and the government of Nepal is not an exception. A glimmer of hope in this lockdown is on the skills of global medical science. We all believe that sooner or later medical science will guide us back to a post-pandemic society. However, while dealing with it at present, it has laid bare the capacity of our government and other institutions which are involved in risk management.

Leaving no one behind in Tomorrow’s Cities: Strengthening gender, intersectionality and social inclusion in the COVID-19 crisis and beyond

This comment identifies four mechanisms through which the COVID-19 crisis can be leveraged to enhance awareness and integration of marginalized groups and individuals into research and management of multi-hazard risk. The primary focus is on women and girls, but the analysis is intersectional and considers also marginality by disability, age, ethnicity and citizenship. The comment recommends:

• Ensuring equal representation and meaningful participation in disaster (including pandemic) management by women, non-binary and gender non-conforming persons and grass-roots communities.
• Application of sex-age, disability inclusive disaggregated data and targeted interventions for all vulnerable groups.
• Gender inclusive social protection and financing for economic response and recovery.
• Leaving no one behind in building back to a new normal.

The emergence of Covid-19 in Ecuador: An approach from disaster risk management and its relation with the Tomorrow’s Cities Hub

In Ecuador different actions have been seen in relation to the health emergency caused by Covid-19. This article analyses the impact of the pandemic and proposes what lessons can be learned and how they can be implemented into the country’s disaster risk reduction planning.

Covid-19 has changed the context for working and will likely change the local and policy landscape for the Tomorrow’s Cities Hub – it has and will have a major relevance for our collective work and its legacy.

In this document we outline the main aims for Tomorrow’s Cities and map out five entry points for working with Covid-19. These offer initial thoughts on how Covid-19 might be considered in our collective work, as well as opportunities for contributing to policy or practice on Covid-19 within broader processes of equitable resilience building.

Discussion does not seek to cover all the areas of relevance that disaster risk management, crisis management, resilience or transformative action can bring (this is no less important but the focus for another conversation!). The aim here is to identify the specific contribution of Tomorrow’s Cities Hub given focus by our:

Mission: To reduce disaster risk for the poor in tomorrow’s cities

and

Aim: To catalyse a transition from crisis management to multi-hazard risk-informed urban planning and decision-making

This is the first report coming out of Work Package 1: Theme 2 (Governance and Institutions) for the Tomorrow’s Cities GCRF Hub in Kathmandu city. It constitutes a qualitative institutional mapping of formal and informal organisations and key stakeholders involved in DRR governance in Kathmandu, across all scales from national to local. This report was finalised shortly following the Kathmandu City Hub Launch on Friday 28th February 2020. It draws on fieldwork constituting a first round of expert interviews and literature review conducted by Dilli Poudel from July-December 2019. It also builds on the Khokana field report released by SIAS in July 2019. The data contained in this report (including the Appendices) should be considered a work in progress; they will be built upon in subsequent rounds of fieldwork and used to refine research questions going forward.

Cevizlibağ Metrobus Overpass has a very important place in Istanbul transportation due to its high pedestrian density and its location on the main road with heavy vehicle traffic. Damage to the Cevizlibağ overpass in a possible earthquake may block the traffic of Istanbul and prevent the aid teams from reaching the earthquake victims. If it collapses in an earthquake while the density of people is high on it, it may cause many casualties. For this reason, this overpass should be designed in such a way that it will not be damaged even in the biggest possible earthquake. Also, there are 4 stairs on the overpass and a platform with turnstiles for Metrobus passes (Figure 2).

This study aims to determine the dynamic (Modal parameters such as modal frequencies and mode shapes) and static properties (Geometry and material properties) of the Cevizlibağ Overpass and to examine the earthquake performance. In this context, the building was analyzed under the earthquake levels defined in the 2018 Turkish Earthquake Code. As a result of these analyzes, the total shear force capacity of the structure and the amount of shear force demanded from the structure were calculated using different earthquake levels.

Is Tomorrow’s Cities fit for the 2030 agenda?

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.

It brings together the ambition of several agreements, some of which are particularly relevant to disaster risk reduction.

Science requires partnerships to help bring solutions to address global challenges—but these can take many forms. This article  explores how well Tomorrow’s Cities is meeting some particular partnership challenges presented by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.