Building Resilient Infrastructure Systems

By Caroline Evans, Bruno Godart, Jürgen Krieger, Jean-Bernard Kovarik, Marc Mimram, and Fabien Palhol

Abstract

The need to provide resilient infrastructure systems will intensify in the coming years. Addressing vulnerabilities requires that citizens, cities and regions, the business sector and governments avoid exacerbating threats to infrastructure systems. In order to ensure availability, quality, safety and security of such infrastructures as transportation networks, a long-term development strategy is needed along with the ability to build on adverse events. Transportation systems owners and operators are compelled to integrate growingly complex challenges within decision-making processes. This includes the impacts of climate change and extreme weather, natural and man-made disasters as well as cyber threats and the structural aging of infrastructures. Highlighting the issues outlined in the TF4 policy brief Infrastructure Nexus, we recommend : a) to develop systematic resilience strategies for infrastructure and transport systems at G20 level; b) to establish policies and mechanisms for exchanging knowledge and experiences among G20 countries; c) to promote a socio-political based approach to resilience in order to facilitate the acceptability of infrastructure projects at local and global scales; and d) to set up common methodology for measuring resilience success.