Towards Resilient Communities: A Performance-Based Engineering Framework for Design and Evaluation of the Built Environment

Abstract

The engineering framework proposed in this report provides a comprehensive, integrated, and coordinated methodology for planners and policymakers to set community-level performance targets and, subsequently, for engineers to calibrate the designs of individual components to meet these community-level performance targets. Though additional work is required, the findings presented in this report establish the foundations for a much-needed transformation from engineering individual components of the built environment on a component-by-component basis to engineering community resilience using an integrated and coordinated approach that begins at the community level. Future iterations of the framework should aim to expand its scope beyond disaster resilience to address and incorporate broader sustainability considerations, for example, carbon footprint concerns, energy efficiency, resource consumption, and the environmental impact of a community and its built environment.