Building Smart and Resilient Cities in Asia Pacific’s Growing Disaster Climate

Asia-Pacific is the world’s most disaster-prone region, with nearly 45% of the world’s natural disasters occurring in the area. Since 1970, the region has suffered close to 2 million deaths due to disasters, equivalent to 59% of the global death toll. Additionally, many countries in Asia-Pacific have large, growing populations with high poverty levels. With villages and farms in poorer areas lacking the resources to build up defenses, their vulnerability is increased when disaster strikes. The Asia-Pacific Disaster Report of 2019 estimates that by 2030, 56 million people in the Asia-Pacific region will live in extreme poverty, with the possibility of the number doubling to 123 million if governments do not take ample precautionary measures in fortifying communities’ resilience to mitigate the risk of disasters. Financially, the region suffers an annual economic loss of US$675 billion due to natural catastrophes.

The number of smart city projects in Asia-Pacific has been growing at an exponential rate. Research from Swiss bank UBS has shown that the region will account for 40% of the global market growth for smart cities, or US$800 billion, by 2025. Smart cities implement future technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), big data analytics, and the Internet of Things (IoT) to enable better decision making and improvements in quality of life for the future. However, it is also crucial for smart cities, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, to have measures in place to protect and Improve quality of life for citizens.

Building smart and resilient cities would require technologies such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), sensor networks, surveillance systems, and location-based analytics. It will allow cities to mitigate, prepare, respond, and recover effectively in the event of emergencies and disasters. Additionally, making use of AI, digital twins, and big data analytics will enhance smart cities’ predictive capabilities.

Companies such as Esri have found uses for their GIS technology, ArchGIS, in the area of disaster planning and response in Indonesia. Being one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, ArchGIS allows disaster responders in Indonesia to be well-informed with accurate and real-time information through mapping out the geographic elements from data gathered in the field. The platform also provides spatial analytics and real-time visualization, which enable responders to make rapid assessments in emergency situationsand understand the affected areas and people at risk before carrying out their operations. Another similar digital mapping and GIS company, HERE, uses its platform to improve emergency response through map information and optimal route options. In Japan, researchers at the University of Tokyo are currently developing a new technology capable of predicting earthquakes. The aim is to produce accurate observations of the seafloor, through the combination of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and acoustic positioning technology, which would significantly help in earthquake prevention.

In Singapore, the National Research Foundation (NRF), along with several other government agencies, has developed Virtual Singapore, a platform that utilizes the Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCity to create a 3D digital model of Singapore. The model employs data analytics alongside simulation capabilities to conduct testing of concepts and services, planning, and researching and improve decision making processes. This platform can be used by Singapore citizens, businesses, and government organizations to develop solutions and strategies to address challenges faced by Singapore. Being paired with information and data collected from different public agencies, the use of a digital twin of Singapore can aid in establishing solutions for logistics and operations relating to disaster and environmental management.

Outside of Asia-Pacific, in countries like Spain, wireless sensors that record various parameters such as temperature, humidity, etc., during forest fires and notify fire services in the event they reach dangerous levels are attached to forest trees. Moreover, GPS coordinates provided through the sensors allow firefighters to localize the fire. One Concern, a company based in America, takes a different angle on disaster management by leveraging AI to conduct in-depth risk analytics on the impacts of climate change and all other natural disasters. The platform uses data on different elements in a city and combines it with data on city infrastructure and previous disasters to conduct predictive scenario analysis that informs preventive measures and structural improvements.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had and continues to have devastating effects around the globe. Despite this, countries and cities in Asia seem to be handling the crisis much better than their Western counterparts. Countries like Taiwan and South Korea have been quick to respond to the pandemic and have shown results in containing the spread of the coronavirus internally. This has been strongly attributed to past crisis experiences such as the SARS and MERS epidemics in 2003 and 2015 respectively. Lessons learned from these two epidemics have allowed for enhanced preparedness in the form of early rationing of key supplies, travel bans, and border closures, as well as increased testing and heightened social distancing measures. As compared to the United States, whose government was slow to react to the pandemic, it has shown that being prepared and taking action early is extremely important in coping and dealing with crises such as COVID-19.

According to ABI Research’s Resilience Technologies and Approaches for Smart Cities (PT-2251) Application Analysis Report, it is forecasted that public spending on resilience in the world will reach US$335 billion by 2024. This highlights the growing emphasis and importance that governments are placing on building not only smart, but also resilient cities. Additionally, with global climate change being a growing concern, countries will need to implement measures to ensure their cities can weather the conditions.

Asia-Pacific, home to 60% of the world’s megacities, will need to improve on the resilience aspect of their smart city projects. According to 100 Resilient Cities, hiring a chief resilience officer would help countries identify the key threats and impacts of their current systems and also aid in planning and prioritizing a country’s critical services to suit unique situations. With the focus on developing resilient infrastructure in smart cites, the public can be provided with key information and advance warnings that could potentially improve quality of life and future survivability.