Project 01

Title

Scrutinizing the urban resilience system model and its modules, and preparing a comprehensive guideline for developing resilience indicators.

Objectives

This project, as part of the Comprehensive Urban Resilience Program, focuses on revising and analyzing the Urban System Abstraction Hierarchy (USAH) model to enhance its applicability for assessing urban resilience. The primary objectives include decomposing urban systems hierarchically into subsystems and components across the model’s five layers and conducting an extensive literature review to leverage national and international experiences for identifying qualitative, quantitative, and hybrid indicators. These indicators will be designed to capture the interdependencies between components and sub-components, enabling the simulation of changes across interconnected elements. The project will culminate in the development of a comprehensive guidebook that presents measurable indicators and methodologies for their assessment, tailored to national characteristics and needs.

Scope of Work and Expected Outputs

1- Literature Review for Refining and Enhancing the USAH Model:
  • Reviewing literature on the USAH model for urban resilience evaluation.
  • Identifying components across all USAH model layers, emphasizing layers 3, 4, and 5.
  • Preparing a guidebook for USAH model implementation.

2- Determining and Developing Indicators for Components and Sub-Components:
  • Reviewing scientific literature and national and international practices for qualitative, quantitative, and hybrid indicators of urban resilience.
  • Identifying relevant indicators for all layers of the USAH model.
  • Analyzing dependencies among components and sub-components across different layers.
  • Addressing gaps in existing indicators and developing new ones, considering regional geographic characteristics.
  • Finalizing indicators with expert judgment.

3- Preparation of a Resilience Indicators Guidebook:
  • Documenting proposed indicators for components and sub-components.
  • Providing step-by-step guidance for implementing and quantifying indicators.
  • Compiling a guidebook considering national constraints, requirements, and data availability.

4- Documentation of Challenges and Recommendations:
  • Proposing improvements to the methodology for urban resilience assessment and indicator development.
  • Identifying operational challenges and limitations in defining and implementing indicators.
  • Offering practical solutions for improving data collection, storage, and management, leveraging lessons learned from Project 00 (Kish).