Natural hazards are increasing in both frequency and scale due to the climate crisis, expanding societies, and increasingly interconnected critical infrastructure, where their associated impacts are disproportionately felt by vulnerable communities. While past studies have explored the critical role of public administration at different levels in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM), gaps remain in understanding how decision-making can be more inclusive and multi-dimensional, ensuring that the specific needs of vulnerable individuals are included in technical and managerial considerations. 

Our short-term aim for this project is to identify key challenges, partners and case study areas for improving equitable and inclusive DRRM at sub-national levels, which will inform a future comprehensive DRRM framework and modelling tool with a strong tie to equity and inclusion. To accomplish this, we will adopt a transdisciplinary approach to bring together insights and expertise from different disciplines and backgrounds to facilitate collaboration between researchers, practitioners and communities, enabling the development of an equity-based approach to DRRM. 

This initiative will focus on implementing actionable strategies at the administrative level, underpinned by both qualitative, quantitative and systems scientific methods. The insights gained will serve as the foundation to inform broader institutional and governmental decision-making processes. 

Researchers involved:
  • Dr Mara Torres Pinedo (IGP)
  • Dr Pietro Lubello (UCL Energy Institute)
  • Dr Pouria Kourehpaz (UCL Civil and Environmental and Geomatic Engineering)
  • Dr Roman Schotten (UCL Civil and Environmental and Geomatic Engineering)
  • Dr Roya Derakhshan (Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction). 

Funding:

This project has been awarded a UCL Positive Futures grant, part of the Positive Futures initiative supported by BEAMS faculties and the UCL Grand Challenges. This initiative aims to foster interdisciplinary research collaboration between Early Career Researchers across BEAMS to build new connections and widen researchers' networks across the three faculties. Proposals were evaluated and competed for a small grant to help establish new research projects with cross-faculty collaborations that can lead to opportunities to apply for larger funding to support these research ideas.