Moral dimensions of resilience in integrated urban systems: Surprised by the expected

Abstract

This paper is a qualitative inquiry into ethical questions raised by (1) the limitations of traditional probability-based decision tools given hydrological non-stationarity and the consequent unpredictable frequency and severity of extreme events and (2) the potential for management and operational failures during extreme events as a result of increasingly complex, integrated, and interdependent infrastructure systems-of-systems. It discusses the limitations of traditional engineering reliability analysis in an increasingly unstable environment, with case study examples, and concludes with a discussion of its application to implementation measures designed to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).