Disasters as Convergence Research Opportunities

by Dr. Richard Olson

Abstract

Disaster field experiences over several decades yield my personal estimate that 80% of human and economic losses derive from weak or poorly enforced land use and building standards (“codes”). My research explicitly aligns with L. Peek’s (2020) article on the required components of a “Framework for Convergence Research,” which comprises (1) a relatively specific problem (e.g., higher numbers of more intense hurricanes combined with increasing coastal, near-coastal, and even inland exposures and vulnerabilities); (2) solutions (improved building and land use standards combined with a better understanding of the innovation “when and how” of public policymaking and implementation); and (3) a multi- to transdisciplinary approach, in this case involving (a) the physical and atmospheric sciences, (b) coastal, structural, and civil engineering, and (c) political science, planning, and public policy studies and administration.