Laurie Johnson

Earthquake Resilient Infrastructure: How Do We Get It? Insights from Efforts in San Francisco and the U.S.

Lifeline infrastructure is a foundational element of community resilience. These interdependent socio-technical systems are vital to the day-to-day operations of our communities, and their basic services are essential for community response and recovery after earthquakes and other disasters. In the U.S., engineering efforts to enhance resilience in the built environment have recently centered on the concept of designing for functional recovery: a post-earthquake state in which capacity is sufficiently maintained or swiftly restored to support pre-earthquake functionality. This means considering not only safety and recovery time for buildings, but ensuring recovery-based design, upgrade, and maintenance of lifeline infrastructure systems as well. This presentation will consider the critical milestones, policies, initiatives, actors, and other factors that have led to key gains in improving the seismic resilience of San Francisco’s existing and future infrastructure and developing national guidance for designing lifeline infrastructure for post-earthquake functional recovery.