Resilience Quantification for Critical Infrastructure in Urban Areas Including Nature-Based Solutions

In the face of increasing urbanization and climate change, the resilience of critical infrastructure is essential for maintaining the functionality and safety of urban areas. This study presents a framework for quantifying the resilience of critical infrastructure systems, with a focus of integrating nature-based solutions (NBS) to mitigate climate-related risks. NBS have attracted broad attention recently since they promise to not only increase the resilience of humanly build infrastructure but to also support environmental protection. However, considering that the implementation of NBS requires significant time and effort, and given that their effectiveness against, e.g., natural disasters, often depends on local details, modelling approaches, like the one presented in this study, are essential to analyse the effects of NBS on the protection of CIs against a broad set of disruptions.
To estimate resilience, we construct a network-based representation of the critical-infrastructures found for the region of Aveiro, Portugal, encompassing central supply components like power supply systems and essential facilities such as hospitals. The links of the network correspond to physical or logical connections of the components, enabling simulations of cascading failures triggered by extreme events. The methodology combines a comprehensive assessment of infrastructure vulnerabilities with the potential benefits of NBS such as natural flood management strategies. Focusing on climate-related threats, particularly flooding events, we simulate the time evolution of damage cascades to estimate the performance loss over time due to adverse events.
Case studies from urban areas at risks of flooding demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach, highlighting how NBS can enhance the resilience of the area by mitigating performance losses during adverse events. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the interplay between infrastructure resilience and ecological strategies, offering valuable insights for urban planners and policymakers aiming to foster resilient and sustainable urban environments.

Keywords: Nature-based solutions, Resilience assessment, Flooding.