Behavioral Aspects of Urban Resilience

Abstract

The current discussion on urban resilience is dominated by infrastructural and technological considerations. Although behavioral reactions to extreme events very well impact the overall resilience of urban systems, they are not very well considered. In order to close this gap, we review relevant insights on human decision making and collective dynamics, and propose a framework for studying behavioral aspects in the context of urban resilience. We find that human decision making is often based on simple 'heuristics'. Especially in emergency situations, e.g. during or in the aftermath of extreme events, simple decision making rules replace careful and rational assessment of different choice alternatives. However, collective reactions to extreme events are note only dependent on individual decisions, but are shaped by complex interactions of various system elements, including the natural and manmade environment, people's interactions with the environment, and people's interactions with each other. For a proper anticipation of possible collective reactions and their impact on urban systems, we suggest agent-based simulations which utilize decision making insights and interaction data gathered in experiments and in the field.