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Assessing the Disaster Resilience of Megacities: The Case of Hong Kong

Author

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  • Timothy Sim

    (Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China)

  • Dongming Wang

    (National Disaster Reduction Centre of China, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Beijing 100124, China)

  • Ziqiang Han

    (Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
    Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610207, China)

Abstract

Many megacities are facing potential threats from various disasters, especially in the face of climate change. However, evaluating the resilience of megacities is not well established in both the academia and practice field. Using Hong Kong, which is a megacity ranked as the city in Asia with the highest risk for natural disasters, as a case study, we demonstrated the effort of assessing the resilience of a megacity. The Sendai Framework Local Urban Indicators Tools that was developed by the United Nation Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) was adopted as the main tool in this study, and a mixed bottom-up participatory and top-down method was utilized in the evaluation process. This is an innovative and participatory approach that is not commonly adopted in assessing the resilience of cities. The study found that Hong Kong is disaster resilient in that it mainstreams disaster risk in its development and that it dedicates sufficient financial resources. However, Hong Kong may improve on its disaster governance and encourage cooperation between the government and society to identify disaster risk and share information, particularly in the face of climate change and calls for more sustainable development.

Suggested Citation

  • Timothy Sim & Dongming Wang & Ziqiang Han, 2018. "Assessing the Disaster Resilience of Megacities: The Case of Hong Kong," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-16, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:4:p:1137-:d:140394
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Xinli Liu & Sijia Li & Xian Xu & Jingshu Luo, 2021. "Integrated natural disasters urban resilience evaluation: the case of China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 107(3), pages 2105-2122, July.
    3. Hao-Teng Cheng & Hsueh-Sheng Chang, 2018. "A Spatial DEA-Based Framework for Analyzing the Effectiveness of Disaster Risk Reduction Policy Implementation: A Case Study of Earthquake-Oriented Urban Renewal Policy in Yongkang, Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-18, May.
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    8. Seol A. Kwon & Sang Il Ryu, 2020. "What Role Do Disaster Victims Play as the Mainstream for Future Disaster Preparedness in Korea? Case Studies of Foundations Established by Disaster Victims," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-21, October.
    9. Timothy Sim & Ziqiang Han & Chunlan Guo & Jocelyn Lau & Junlei Yu & Guiwu Su, 2021. "Disaster preparedness, perceived community resilience, and place of rural villages in northwest China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 108(1), pages 907-923, August.
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