Explaining Strategic Crisis Management with Urban Resilience Approach (Case Study: The Worn-out Texture of Ahvaz City)

1

Considering the area of crisis management in the textures and inner spaces of cities, especially worn-out textures and unfortunately low-strength materials and incompatibility with the urban transport networkis of great importance in times of crisis such as earthquakes. The main part of worn-out textures is often the primary and historical core of cities; on the one hand for a variety of reasons, includes properties that are regarded as the identity, wealth and heritage of the city and its inhabitants, and on the other, investment in these areas  would be economically viable. However, due to the lack of proper attention of the authorities and the lack of proper planning, these textures are plagued with problems such as reduced livelihoods among residents, social deviations, lack of services and facilities, poor user performance and so on. These problems are associated with physical exhaustion, including low pedestrian width and high maze, large number of buildings lacking provincial systems. The micro-erosion of buildings has increased the vulnerability of the tissues and has doubled the problems and unexpected issues during the unexpected events.
In recent years, disaster reduction agencies have focused much of their efforts on achieving a resilient disaster community in which earthquakes have priority over other disasters due to widespread damage and social anomalies. As societies have resilience to natural disasters, the present study aims at identifying and analyzing the factors affecting urban resilience in times of crisis, identifying the strengths and weaknesses, assessing the opportunities and threats during the hazards, and formulating an appropriate strategy to give resilience to the worn texture of the central core of Ahvaz.
2

This study is descriptive-analytical surveys and field studies are used to collect the required data. The statistical population of the study includes experts in the urban planning and architecture of Ahvaz Municipality. Therefore, to come up with a more comprehensive and fact-based view, questionnaires were distributed among the statistical population, and focusing on the experts’ views and opinions the data were collected to indicate the weighting of the indicators. The data were then analyzed using the SWOT model and the weaknesses, strengths, opportunities and threats within the desired range in times of crisis were identified.
3

The core resilience of Ahvaz City during the crisis is probably due to the tissue burnout and the presence of valuable historical, cultural and religious artifacts such as the designated Caravanserai, the Mahdian Balcony, the Swan Hotel, the Talibzadeh Mosque and the crossing of the Ahvaz Fault. Lack of attention to the crisis management in this area causes damages to the lower resistance blocks and housing, the damage to historical, cultural and religious monuments and buildings has caused a lot of physical damage to the inhabitants of the tissue in crises such as floods, earthquakes, storms, war. On the other hand, the central core of Ahvaz City, despite its high vulnerability during the crisis, has some potentials as well, such as the existence of railways, subways, taxis and bus stations, hospitals in the vicinity, enhancing relief in the area. The shortage of schools and educational places in the area makes the death toll lower during the crisis. Villas and open spaces can be used in various stages of crisis and relief. The diversity of ethnicities, religions, economic, historical values and the tendency for improvement and modernization in this area increases the officials' motivation to pay more attention to this area in times of crisis.According to the results of this study, the situation of crisis management and the resilience in the core of Ahvaz is in an aggressive-competitive position and in order to become successful we need to use the potentials of the core of Ahvaz and the opportunities effectively.
4

The results show that the situation of crisis management and resilience in the central core of Ahvaz is in an aggressive-competitive position. In order to increase resilience in the worn out core tissue of Ahvaz, the following is suggested:
Investigate the zoning of urban housing vulnerabilities, for example, in term of crisis management
Develop comprehensive and coordinated scientific studies to better understand and prioritize the subject and the types of risks facing in the study area
Increase coordination between the responsible organizations and develop programs aimed at enhancing the context and institutional relationships
Proper distribution of large scale business and production centers in relation to adjacent areas to reduce congestion in the study area
Establish a physical, spatial and communication link between the study area and the surrounding area by continuing to integrate the main neighborhoods to provide more effective relief in times of crisis
Finally, develop plans and programs aimed at raising the public awareness of the crisis and the various stages of crisis management