Framing Climate Change Implications for Infrastructures and Urban Systems - Climate Change and Infrastructure, Urban Systems, and Vulnerabilities - page 38

Absorptive
Capacity

Adaptive
Capacity

Restorative
Capacity

Resilience

measured by

System Performance Recovery Duration Recovery Effort

Systemic Impact

Total Recovery
Effort

time time

Figure 11 Conceptual illustration of a resilience assessment framework

considered. Supply may also be affected directly (e.g., increased drought could
lead to less water availability) or indirectly (e.g., population migration may limit
the available work force).

• Intervention options to enhance infrastructure system resilience: a comprehensive
analysis is needed to determine the entire suite of resilience enhancement
options and how to address the challenges facing each infrastructure system.
In many cases, it is expected that significant intervention may be necessary to
adapt infrastructures to improve their resilience. The possibility of popula-
tion migration poses a significant challenge as most infrastructure systems are
relatively immobile. Decision-makers will need to consider construction of new
infrastructure systems or evaluate how to adapt existing ones so that infrastruc-
ture services can be provided to new population centers.
• Time and resource requirements: each infrastructure resilience enhancement
option will require time and resources (e.g. financial, material and human) to
effectively implement them. A lack of necessary resources and allocation of
them prior to and following a regional or national disaster is frequently a
significant challenge faced by emergency planners and responders. Under-
standing these requirements and related constraints will be essential to initi-
ating planning and response activities aimed at adapting existing infrastructure
systems.
• Prioritization: planning efforts to enhance infrastructure resilience should
prioritize infrastructure adaptation activities so that they can be effectively and