This program will focus on the pathways for recovering from conflict, building resilience and reducing disaster-vulnerability.
Metropolitan spatial concentrations are the focus of human
creativity and desire. They are able to harness immense resources to
cope with crises, and are able to project themselves to the world
through being the focal point for international media and politics.
However, they are also concentrations of diverse and often conflicting
cultures, sources of insecurity from natural, technological and social
agents. The sense of insecurity has been made more acute by globalized
violence and the War on Terror. Our immediate region provides numerous
examples. We are frequently reminded that Australia is situated within
an ‘arc of instability’; and the massive destruction and resilience of
Asian communities following the recent tsunami is an instance of
disaster striking at cities from environmental forces that go a long
way beyond the locale or immediate region. Disasters have the proven
capacity to halt development in poorer cities. This Program will focus
on the pathways for recovering from conflict, building resilience and
reducing disaster vulnerability. This can be achieved by understanding
and building on the strengths of cities and working to reduce the
forces promoting violence and vulnerability to disaster. For many
cities in our region, and throughout the world, this is a key factor in
any hope of sustainability. |
