Abstract

Limited-density urban sprawl, brittle infrastructure, limited resilience, and people’s inadequate ability to deal with calamities are characteristics shared by the majority of today’s cities. The unplanned, rapid urbanisation that is occurring is also leading to an increase in the frequency and severity of disasters as well as their effects. These are mostly caused by poorly planned and managed urban development, degraded ecosystems, and poverty. Nearly 890 million people (or 60% of the world’s population) reside in cities that are vulnerable to at least one major natural disaster, such as an earthquake, cyclone, flood, or drought. This information comes from a research conducted by the United Nations. Years of progress are inevitably destroyed by disasters, which also result in loss of life, damage to property, and deterioration of urban and environmental systems. Stimulating these intricate urban systems—which include housing, transportation, water supply, sanitation, and other infrastructure and services—will boost urban areas’ resilience and aid in crisis management. This is because cities are complex systems integrated together. However, smart cities make use of information and communications technology (ICT) to increase public participation, strengthen urban processes, and improve city services all of which contribute to increased resilience to disasters. Effective urban planning can have a significant impact on communities’ preparedness and recovery capacities, helping cities become catastrophe resilient from the very beginning. Communities can recover from a disaster, rebuild in accordance with a shared community vision, and become better prepared for a disaster with the aid of smart growth tactics include establishing flexible landuse policies, focusing public investment, and involving the entire community in decision-making. This study attempts to investigate, using a variety of examples, those features of smart cities that contribute to and strengthen cities’ resilience to disasters. According to the study, there is a strong correlation between disaster resilience and smart development. Smart growth, smart urbanisation (smart grids, eco-cities, compact development), and low-carbon footprint strategies are some of the most important things to take into account when addressing the current level of urban disasters