Urban Risk Reduction's Role in Sustainable Development

摘要

When asked how sustainability applies to urban risk reduction, Alejandro Linayo, who teaches in a graduate disaster reduction degree program in Venezuela, said that the question needs to be reversed. In Linayo's view, it is more appropriate to ask how urban risk reduction applies to sustainability. With sustainable development being an end state that benefits society, urban risk reduction becomes a set of actions that supports sustainability. This article adopts Linayo's construct and explores urban risk reduction's potential contribution to our present understanding of sustainability. It argues that risk reduction can be an effective tool to help sustain cities and to aid positive future development. Some evidence supporting this argument will be provided here in brief case examples.