Modeling Spatial and Economic Impacts of Disasters (Advances in Spatial Science) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 3540214496 ISBN 13: 9783540214496

Publisher: Springer, 2004

Synopsis

This volume is dedicated to the memory of Barclay G. Jones, Professor of City and Regional Planning and Regional Science at Cornell University. Over a decade ago, Barclay took on a fledgling area of study - economic modeling of disasters - and nurtured its early development. He served as the social science program director at the National Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (NCEER), a university consortium sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Federal Emergency Management Agency of the United States. In this capacity, Barclay shepherded and attracted a number of regional scientists to the study of disasters. He organized a conference, held in the ill-fated World Trade Center in September 1995, on "The Economic Consequences of Earthquakes: Preparing for the Unexpected. " He persistently advocated the importance of social science research in an establishment dominated by less-than-sympathetic natural scientists and engineers. In 1993, Barclay organized the first of a series of sessions on "Measuring Regional Economic Effects of Unscheduled Events" at the North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI). This unusual nomenclature brought attention to the challenge that disasters -largely unanticipated, often sudden, and always disorderly - pose to the regional science modeling tradition. The sessions provided an annual forum for a growing coalition of researchers, where previously the literature had been fragmentary, scattered, and episodic. Since Barclay's unexpected passing in 1997, we have continued this effort in his tradition.

About this title

Review:

From the reviews:

"Modelling Spatial and Economic Impacts of Disasters is a new book published in 2004 ... . The book is a sound foundational text ... . is best described as an extensive, well-organised literature review of disaster impact modelling research. ... the book is a good synopsis of fundamental concepts, current research and future directions. ... In addition to disaster and emergency modelling specialists, the book is recommended to risk management professionals, policy makers, senior managers and researchers in emergency management related roles." (Ron Shamir, The Australian Journal of Emergency Management, Vol. 20 (1), February, 2005)

Synopsis:

This book brings together a collection of innovative papers on strategies for analyzing the spatial and economic impacts of disasters. Natural and human-induced disasters pose several challenges for conventional modeling. For example, disasters entail complex linkages between the natural, built, and socio-economic environments. They often create chaos and economic disequilibrium, and can also cause unexpected long-term, structural changes. Dynamic interactions among agents and behavioral adjustments in a disaster become complicated. The papers in this volume make notable progress in tackling these challenges through refinements of conventional methods, as well as new modeling frameworks and multidisciplinary, integrative strategies. The papers also provide case study applications that afford new insights on disaster processes and loss reduction strategies.

About this edition

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 3540214496
• ISBN 13: 9783540214496
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 334
• Editor: Okuyama Yasuhide, Chang Stephanie E.