Analysis of Passive Defense Considerations in Urban Infrastructure With an Emphasis on Water Infrastructure

These days, cities are the most important places for human life, hence we have faced the concentration of population, capital, and infrastructure in cities. This concentration not only has a lot of economic, social, political and environmental ramifications, but also has made cities into strategic military and terrorist attack targets. Past experiences and the present experience of wars in countries like Iraq, Kosovo and Yemen, shows that urban centers and the critical infrastructure of the cities, such as water, electricity and energy infrastructure are the main and primary targets in case of an invasion.Passive defense is a series of principles and precautions relating to defense and security which can assure stability and survival of a system. Accordingly, this paper deploys an analytical method to review the vulnerability level of various parts of water infrastructure in case of a potential military or terrorist attack. The results of the study show that, despite the vital role of water in human life in the cities, different aspects of water infrastructure, including transport, storage, refining, administration and distribution are very vulnerable in case of a potential military or terrorist attack. Especially considering the fact that the protection and security of this infrastructure are very weak.Undoubtedly considering defense and security precautions in location, design, construction and management of these centers is a very important factor in minimizing the risks of a potential military or terrorist attack.