Introduction to Urban Disasters (Textbook)

Author: He Zhende, Jin Lei (Editor-in-Chief)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: This book approaches the discipline of urban disaster studies from the perspective of its interdisciplinary patterns, providing a relatively comprehensive overview of safety and disaster reduction issues faced in urbanization development both domestically and internationally. Particularly, while highlighting traditional urban safety and disaster reduction measures, it also showcases the new landscape of urban non-traditional security since the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. This makes the book simultaneously possess both technical and managerial dimensions. As a textbook written for both specialized and undergraduate students in China, the compilation of this book pays attention to the following characteristics: 1. It embodies the comprehensive disaster reduction approach under the concept of a "big safety" perspective, establishing the foundation of urban disaster integration. Although rich in content, it differs from general single-disaster prevention textbooks such as fire safety, production safety, earthquake and geology, and meteorology. 2. Considering the broad range of students using the textbook, the content is presented with varying levels of detail. For example, in the chapter on disaster risk evaluation indicators and methods, a combination of qualitative and quantitative descriptions is provided. Additionally, a dedicated introduction to the discipline of safety and disaster reduction is included to build the foundational science of basic disaster prevention, which, though not overly complex, helps establish the basic framework of the "discipline of urban disaster studies" to a certain extent. 3. To facilitate teaching and self-study, research and reflection questions are arranged at the end of each chapter, and the appendix of the book provides recommended references. This book was completed under the organization of the Higher Vocational School of Disaster Prevention Technology.