In regions that have been devastated by hurricanes and
other natural disasters, public officials
should pursue a new direction in infrastructure projects,
one that focuses on more durable designs
and a greater sensitivity to the surrounding environment, a
Johns Hopkins researcher says.
Seth D. Guikema, writing in the journal Science,
says builders of infrastructure in
disaster-prone areas have traditionally put together
projects that weigh lower up-front construction costs
against the potential price of repairing or replacing these
structures when a natural disaster occurs.
In an opinion piece published in the journal's March 6
edition, Guikema argues that many of their
decisions have hinged on assumptions that do not draw on
new ways to produce buildings and bridges
that can better withstand nature's wrath and reduce
environmental damage.
"For example, we have an extensive record of hurricane
impacts and can design structures to
withstand those impacts in many cases," writes Guikema, an
assistant professor of geography and
environmental engineering in the Whiting School of
Engineering. "Despite advances in our knowledge of
structural design for hurricane-prone areas, economic
damage to buildings from major hurricanes in
the United States has remained largely steady over the past
four decades when adjusted for
population growth and inflation."
What is needed, Guikema says, is a new approach that
takes into account the long-term survival
of a structure and its interaction with the surrounding
habitat. Designers should think not only about
the potential release of hazardous materials when a
hurricane hits, he says. They also should consider
using nearby terrain such as restored marshes and barrier
islands to help minimize storm-related
damage.
Guikema's research focuses on how to develop
sustainable and resilient infrastructure, which he
defines in his essay as "the networks that transport people
and goods, distribute energy and maintain
communications and the buildings in which people live, work
and play."
At a time when the United States is preparing to spend
huge sums to repair and rebuild major
infrastructure, the researcher aimed his recent essay at
the public policy-makers who adopt building
codes and approve such construction projects. "I want them
to think about impacts over a longer
period of time and affecting a larger spatial area," he
says. "It would require a change in thinking
about what we build and how we build it."
One thing that might be reconsidered, he says, is the
one-size-fits-all approach to building
codes. In his essay, Guikema envisions two neighboring
structurally similar low-rise industrial buildings.
One is used for manufacturing inexpensive, environmentally
benign products; the other is used to make
expensive computer chips, using hazardous materials. If a
severe hurricane struck both buildings, the
damage and environmental cleanup would be far more costly
in the second building. "Standardized
design codes do not directly account for these
differences," the researcher writes.
In his previous post as an assistant professor of
civil engineering at Texas A&M University,
Guikema examined damaged Gulf Coast infrastructure in the
aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Traditional guidelines call for most infrastructure to be
designed to withstand the stresses imposed
by a hurricane that would occur, on average, every 50
years. But when climate change and new design
techniques are considered, Guikema says, "I think a lot of
building codes may be outmoded."
He says he is pleased to see some early signs of fresh
approaches to construction design in
disaster-prone areas. His essay points to new homes being
built "with a modified, elevated foundation,
materials that are stronger and more resistant to mold,
hurricane straps and improved building
envelope sealing, moisture management and insulation." Such
steps can reduce energy costs and make
the dwelling more resistant to storm forces, while
maintaining a traditional architectural design. Less
traditional designs, including dome-shaped houses, can also
stand up well to powerful hurricane winds,
he says, but are being built on a very limited basis.
"The optimal design," Guikema writes in his essay, "is
one that considers the full impacts of
infrastructure on the surrounding environment and community
and the influence of the surrounding
environment on the built facility."
His Science article, "Infrastructure Design Issues in
Disaster-Prone Regions," can be viewed
online at:
www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/323/5919/1302
With funding from the National Science Foundation, the
U.S. Department of Energy and
nongovernment sources, Guikema is currently researching
ways to predict how hurricanes and other
natural disasters will impact large electrical power grids,
communications systems, housing and other
forms of infrastructure.
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