Key networks to create disaster resilient Smart Cities Mission: A case for remodeling India's Smart Cities Mission to include disaster resilience

Abstract

Amidst a concerning surge in urban losses attributed to disasters, this research paper explores the intricate relationship between urban development, disaster mitigation, and resilience emphasizing the significance of addressing disaster vulnerability in urban settings, where a substantial portion of the population faces risks stemming from high population density, limited resilience, and inadequate coping capabilities. The study advocates for the integration of disaster resilience principles into the Smart Cities Mission of India, placing particular emphasis on the necessity of developing infrastructure, establishing early warning systems, and fostering community engagement to bolster urban resilience. Furthermore, the paper draws comparisons and parallels between the components of smart cities, mitigation strategies, and disaster resilience, illuminating their interconnectedness and potential synergies. In conclusion, the study recommends the incorporation of essential network elements to establish a Smart Cities Mission that is resilient to disasters, ultimately aiming to safeguard urban communities from the adverse impacts of future calamities.

Keywords

Disaster resilience / Smart city mission / Disaster mitigation / Disaster management

Relevance to resilience

India's Smart Cities Mission aims to empower 100 cities to evolve intelligently, fostering core infrastructure, sustainable environments, and improved living standards through innovative solutions. Yet, amidst its success, there's a vital need to realign the focus towards enhancing disaster resilience within these urban landscapes. Our paper advocates for a strategic realignment, proposing key networks to strengthen India's smart cities against disasters. By integrating disaster resilience as a central tenet, this initiative can transcend into a pioneering concept, setting a precedent for global emulation. By establishing key networks and infrastructural systems, India can pave the way for a new paradigm in urban development, one that prioritizes not only advancement but also preparedness in the face of adversity. Through this reorientation, the Smart Cities Mission can not only bolster India's resilience to natural calamities but also serve as an inspiration for nations worldwide, fostering a collaborative approach towards building safer, smarter, and more sustainable urban environments.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Yamini Meduri: Writing - review & editing, Writing - original draft, Methodology, Formal analysis. R. Singh: Writing - review & editing, Writing - original draft, Visualization, Formal analysis, Conceptualization. Geetha Manoharan: Writing - review & editing.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Funding statement

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

References

[1] Eremia M, Toma L, Sanduleac M. The smart city concept in the 21st century. Procedia Eng 2017;181:12-19. doi: 10.1016/j.proeng.2017.02.357.

[2] Anthopoulos LG. The rise of the smart city. In: Understanding smart cities: a tool for smart government or an industrial trick?. Springer; 2017. p. 5-45. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-57015-0_2.

[3] Bansal N, Mukherjee M, Gairola A. Smart cities and disaster resilience. From poverty, inequality to smart city. springer transactions in civil and environmental engineering. Seta F, Sen J, Biswas A, Khare A, editors. Singapore: Springer; 2017. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-2141-1_8.

[4] United Nations,The World’s Cities in 2018, https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/urbanization/the_worlds_cities_in_2018_data_booklet.pdf, 2018, (accessed 20 May 2024).

[5] Smart LN, Haigh R, Amaratunga D. Role of disaster risk resilient cities in facilitating the achievement of sustainable development. Multi-hazard early warning and disaster risks. Amaratunga D, Haigh R, Dias N, editors (Eds.). Springer; 2021. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-73003-1_9.

[6] Singh CR, Manoharan G. Strengthening resilience: AI and machine learning in emergency decision-making for natural disasters. In: Satishkumar D, Sivaraja M, editors. Internet of things and ai for natural disaster management and prediction. IGI Global; 2024. p. 249-78. doi: 10.4018/979-8-3693-4284-8.ch012.

[7] Moraci F, Errigo M, Fazia C, Burgio G, Foresta S. Making less vulnerable cities: resilience as a new paradigm of smart planning. Sustainability 2018; 10(3):755. doi: 10.3390/su10030755.

[8] Anand A, Sreevatsan A, Taraporevala P.An overview of the smart cities mission in india. New Delhi: Centre for Policy Research; 2018. p. 1-17.

[9] Smart Cities, Smart Cities Mission, https://smartcities.gov.in/, n.d., (accessed 20 May 2024).

[10] Smith RM, Pathak PA, Agrawal G. ‘India’s “smart’ cities mission: a preliminary examination into India’s newest urban development policy. J Urban Aff 2019; 41(4):518-34. doi: 10.1080/07352166.2018.1468221.

[11] Jawaid MF, Khan AR. The smart city mission in India and prospects of improvement in the urban environment. In IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering (Vol. 955, No. 1, p. 012001). IOP Publishing; 2020.

[12] Praharaj S, Han H. Cutting through the clutter of smart city definitions: a reading into the smart city perceptions in India. City Culture Soc 2019;18:100289. doi: 10.1016/j.ccs.2019.05.005.

[13] Lim Y, Ninan J, Nooteboom S, Hertogh M. Organizing resilient infrastructure initiatives: a study on conceptualization, motivation, and operation of ten initiatives in the Netherlands. Resilient Cities Struct 2023; 2(3):120-8. doi: 10.1016/j.rcns.2023.10.001.

[14] UNDRR, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction:2018 annual report, https://www.undrr.org/publication/united-nations-office-disaster-risk-reduction-2018-annual-report, 2019, (accessed 20 May 2024).

[15] UNDRR, Disaster, https://www.undrr.org/terminology/disaster, n.d., (accessed 20 May 2024).

[16] Prevention Web, Disaster risk, https://www.preventionweb.net/understanding-disaster-risk/component-risk/disaster-risk#:∼:text=Disasters%20are%20sometimes%20considered%20external,of%20exposure%2C%20vulnerability%20and%20hazard., n.d., (accessed 20 May 2024).

[17] Bull-Kamanga L, Diagne K, Lavell A, Leon E, Lerise F, MacGregor H, Maskrey A, Meshack M, Pelling M, Reid H, Satterthwaite D, Songsore J, Westgate K, Yitambe A. From everyday hazards to disasters: the accumulation of risk in urban areas. Environ Urban 2003; 15(1):193-204. doi: 10.1177/095624780301500109.

[18] Bahinipati CS, Patnaik U, Viswanathan PK. What causes economic losses from natural disasters in India?. In: Dinda S, editor. Handbook of research on climate change impact on health and environmental sustainability. IGI Global; 2016. p. 157-75. doi: 10.4018/978-1-4666-8814-8.ch008.

[19] Singh R. (2023). Turkey earthquake 2023: reducing risks in the Indian context. manohar parrikar institute of defence studies and analysis. https://idsa.in/idsacomments/turkey-earthquake-2023-rsingh-120423.

[20] Mileti D.Disasters by design: a reassessment of natural hazards in the united states. Joseph Henry Press; 1999.

[21] Godschalk DR. Urban hazard mitigation: creating resilient cities. Nat Hazard Rev 2003; 4(3):136-43. doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)1527-6988(2003)4:3(136).

[22] Delgado-Ramos GC, Guibrunet L. Assessing the ecological dimension of urban resilience and sustainability. Int J Urban Sustain Dev 2017; 9(2):151-69. doi: 10.1080/19463138.2017.1341890.

[23] Atun F. Understanding effects of complexity in cities during disasters. Understanding complex urban systems: multidisciplinary approaches to modeling. understanding complex systems. Walloth C, Gurr J, Schmidt J, editors (eds). Cham: Springer; 2014. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-02996-2_4.

[24] Bull-Kamanga L, Diagne K, Lavell A, Leon E, Lerise F, MacGregor H, Yitambe A. From everyday hazards to disasters: the accumulation of risk in urban areas. Environ Urban 2003; 15(1):193-204. doi: 10.1177/095624780301500109.

[25] Shamsuddin S. Resilience resistance: the challenges and implications of urban resilience implementation. Cities 2020;103:102763. doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2020.102763.

[26] Valencia SC, Simon D, Croese S, Nordqvist J, Oloko M, Sharma T, Versace I. Adapting the sustainable development goals and the new urban agenda to the city level: initial reflections from a comparative research project. Int J Urban Sustain Dev 2019; 11(1):4-23. doi: 10.1080/19463138.2019.1573172.

[27] UNDRR, UNDRR Strategic Framework 2022-2025, https://www.undrr.org/publication/undrr-strategic-framework-2022-2025, n.d., (accessed 20 May 2024)

[28] Wildavsky A.B. (1988). Searching for safety (Vol. 10). Transaction publishers.

[29] Hassler U, Kohler N. Resilience in the built environment. Buil Res Inf 2014; 42(2):119-29. doi: 10.1080/09613218.2014.873593.

[30] Keenan JM, Chu E, Peterson J. From funding to financing: perspectives shaping a research agenda for investment in urban climate adaptation. Int J Urban Sustain Dev 2019; 11(3):297-308. doi: 10.1080/19463138.2019.1565413.

[31] El-Masri S, Tipple G. Natural disaster, mitigation and sustainability: the case of developing countries. Int Plan Stud 2002; 7(2):157-75. doi: 10.1080/13563470220132236.

[32] Singh R, Manoharan G, Singh S. Strategic deployment of AI and drones enhancing disaster management in natural disasters. In: Ouaissa M, Ouaissa M, Boulouard Z, Iwendi C, Krichen M, editors. AI and iot for proactive disaster management. IGI Global; 2024. p. 172-203. doi: 10.4018/979-8-3693-3896-4.ch009.

[33] UNDRR The ten essentials for making cities resilient; 2024 https://mcr2030.undrr.org/ten-essentials-making-cities-resilient n.d., (accessed 20 May).

[34] IRADe,Sustainable and Disaster Resilient Urban Development Assessment of 10 Cities in India, https://irade.org/Sustainable%20and%20Disaster%20Resilient%20Urban%20DevelopmentFinal%20.pdf, 2019, (accessed 20 May 2024).

[35] Arup, City Resilience Index, https://www.arup.com/perspectives/publications/research/section/city-resilience-index, n.d., (accessed 20 May 2024)

[36] Naphade M, Banavar G, Harrison C, Paraszczak J, Morris R. Smarter cities and their innovation challenges. IEEE Comput 2011; 44(6):32-9. doi: 10.1109/MC.2011.187.

[37] Glebova IS, Yasnitskaya YS, Maklakova NV. Assessment of cities in Russia according to the concept of "smart city" in the context of the application of information and communication technologies. Mediterr J Soc Sci 2014; 5(18):55-60. doi: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n18p55.

[38] Hancke GP, de Carvalho e Silva B, Hancke GP Jr. The role of advanced sensing in smart cities. Sensors 2013;13:393-425. doi: 10.3390/s130100393.

[39] Neirotti P, De Marco A, Cagliano AC, Mangano G. Current trends in smart city initiatives: some stylised facts. Cities 2014;38:25. doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2013.12.010.

[40] Albino V, Berardi U, Dangelico RM. Smart Cities: definitions, Dimensions, Performance, and Initiatives. Performance, 2015; 22(1):3-21. doi: 10.1080/10630732.2014.942092.

[41] Liu Y, Wei J, Rodriguez AFC. Development of a strategic value assessment model for smart city. Int J Mobile Commun 2014; 12(4):346-59. doi: 10.1504/IJMC.2014.063652.

[42] Anthopoulos LG, Fitsilis P. Smart cities and their roles in city competition: a clas- sification. Int J Electronic Government Res 2014; 10(1):63-77. doi: 10.4018/ijegr.2014010105.

[43] Lee JH, Hancock MG, Hu MC. Towards an effective framework for building smart cities: lessons from Seoul and San Francisco. Technol Forecast Soc Change 2014;89:80-99. doi: 10.1016/j.techfore.2013.08.033.

[44] Batty M, Axhausen KW, Giannotti F, Pozdnoukhov A, Bazzani A, Wachowicz M, Portugali Y. Smart cities of the future. Eur Phys J: Spec Top 2012;214:481-518. doi: 10.1140/epjst/e2012-01703-3.

[45] Edvinsson L. Aspects on the city as a knowledge tool. J Knowledge Manag 2006; 10(5):6-13. doi: 10.1108/13673270610691134.

[46] Calvillo CF, Sanchez A, Villar J. Distributed energy generation in smart cities. In: 2013 International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications (ICRERA). IEEE; 2013. p. 161-6. doi: 10.1109/ICRERA.2013.6749744.

[47] Fan M, Sun J, Zhou B, Chen M. The smart health initiative in China: the case of wuhan, hubei province. J Med Syst 2016; 40(62):4-17. doi: 10.1007/s10916-015-0416-y.

[48] Shapiro JM. Smart cities: quality of life, productivity, and the growth effects of human capital. Rev Econ Stat 2006; 88(2):324-35. doi: 10.1162/rest.88.2.324.

[49] Thite M. Smart cities: implications of urban planning for human resource development. Human Res Dev Int 2011; 14(5):623-31. doi: 10.1080/13678868.2011.618349.

[50] Tsolakis N, Anthopoulos L. Ecocities: an integrated system dynamics framework and a concise research taxonomy. Sustain Cities Soc 2015;17:1-14. doi: 10.1016/j.scs.2015.03.002.

[51] Holub M, Fuchs S. Benefits of local structural protection to mitigate torrent- related hazards. WIT Trans Inf Commun Technol 2008;39:401-11.

[52] Holub M, Hübl J. Local protection against mountain hazards? state of the art and future needs. Nat Hazards Earth Syst Sci 2008; 8(1):81-99. https://hal.science/hal-00301704.

[53] Holub M, Fuchs S. Mitigating mountain hazards in Austria-legislation, risk transfer, and awareness building. Nat Hazards Earth Syst Sci 2009; 9(2):523-37. doi: 10.5194/nhess-9-523-2009.

[54] Surjan AK, Shaw R. Building codes and land use planning:challenges of development and enforcement. In: Disaster management: global challenges and local solutions; 2009. p. 101.

[55] Nwadike A, Wilkinson S, Clifton C.Improving disaster resilience through effective building code compliance. 9th International i-Rec Conference 2019; 2019.

[56] Mohit MA, Sellu GM. Development of non-structural flood mitigation policies and measures for Pekan town. Malaysia Asian J Behav Stud 2017; 2(6):9-20. doi: 10.21834/ajbes.v2i6.33.

[57] Sultana N, Tan S. Landslide mitigation strategies in southeast Bangladesh: lessons learned from the institutional responses. Int J Disaster Risk Reduct 2021;62:102402. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102402.

[58] Ferreira MA, Oliveira CS, Lopes M, Musacchio G, Rupakhety R, Reitano D, Pais I. Using non-structural mitigation measures to maintain business continuity: a multi-stakeholder engagement strategy. Annals Geophys 2021;664:3 SE324, 2021. doi: 10.4401/ag-8559.

[59] Nugraheni IL, Suyatna A, Setiawan A. Flood disaster mitigation modeling through participation community based on the land conversion and disaster resilience. Heliyon 2022; 8(8). doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09889.

[60] Singh K, Nidha F, Joseph R, Narayanan NC.Democratizing disaster risk reduction: a local governance approach to contextual knowledge production for flood planning in Kuttanad, India. In: 5th World Congress on Disaster Management: Volume I. Routledge; 2022. p. 311-21. doi: 10.4324/9781003341956-40.

[61] Cutter SL, Burton CG, Emrich CT. Disaster resilience indicators for benchmarking baseline conditions. J homeland Sec Emer Manag 2010; 7(1). doi: 10.2202/1547-7355.1732.

[62] Feng K, Wang C, Li Q. Evaluating the role of transportation system in community seismic resilience. Resilient Cities Struct 2024; 3(3):65-78. doi: 10.1016/j.rcns.2024.05.003.

[63] Kim J, Park S, Kim M. Safety map: disaster management road network for urban resilience. Sustain Cities Soc 2023;96:104650. doi: 10.1016/j.scs.2023.104650.

[64] PIARC, Resilient Road Component, https://disaster-management.piarc.org/en/mitigation-structural-measures/resilient-road-components, n.d., (accessed 20 May 2024).

[65] Smart Cities, Mission Statement and Guidelines, https://smartcities.gov.in/sites/default/files/SmartCityGuidelines.pdf, 2015, (accessed 20 May 2024).