{"id":31070,"date":"2021-06-22T11:18:03","date_gmt":"2021-06-22T15:18:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/?page_id=31070"},"modified":"2025-10-29T10:07:27","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T14:07:27","slug":"resilient-cities","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/case\/research\/grand-societal-challenges\/resilient-cities\/","title":{"rendered":"Resilient Cities"},"content":{"rendered":"

While the emergence of megacities creates opportunities for a more connected, accessible, and diverse society, it also presents significant challenges, such as limited resources and increased susceptibility to natural and human-made disasters. Creative solutions will be needed to address the needs and expectations of urbanites living in extremely dense environments. In order to absorb shocks and recover quickly from disruptions, the urban infrastructure in these megacities must be smart, transformative, and resilient. Quantitative solutions to these challenges are only found through rigorous mechanics-based analyses and optimization-based decisions.<\/p>\n

In particular, the department\u2019s visionary research on future resilient cities tackles this challenge from a multi-scale perspective. At the small scale, the materials used to build infrastructure are at the core of its development, creating tremendous opportunities for formulating and adopting new structural and multifunctional material systems. At the intermediate scale, structural engineers invent the future buildings and infrastructure systems that must be resilient to extreme conditions, such as fire and earthquakes. At the largest scale, communities rely on decisions that support efficient transportation, energy, food, and healthcare networks, recognizing that these systems are strongly interconnected. Faculty engage in research and educational activities at all these scales.<\/p>\n

RESEARCH EXAMPLES<\/strong><\/p>\n