A complete introduction to the SCJ proposal and its commentary on the development of seismically resilient cities

摘要

In modern society, the population, wealth and social functions are increasingly concentrated in a few large cities. Such concentration brings about efficiency while at the same time it increases the vulnerability of the society. To address this issue, the Science Council of Japan(SCJ) published a proposal entitled "Shape Cities and Societies Safer against Severe Earthquakes". It makes a variety of suggestions for enhancing the seismic resilience of large cities, including:(1) comprehensive thinking based on the latest scientific knowledge and rich imagination;(2) selection of sites suitable for residence and social activities;(3) introducing the urban seismic coefficient;(4) promoting the enhancement of the seismic performance of buildings and civil structures;(5) easing the concentration of population and functions;(6) building communities that enable shelter and escape;(7) resilient technology of information and communication system and its effective utilization;(8) preparation and implementation of emergency response after earthquakes;(9) development and application of new structural seismic technology;(10) learning from domestic and foreign earthquake disasters and launching of international cooperation and knowledge sharing and(11) taking actions from a multidisciplinary perspective. The proposal is introduced in this paper.