Participatory Assessment of Multi Risks in Urban Regions—The Case of Critical Infrastructures in Metropolitan Lima

Abstract

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive picture of risk governance and conceptualize an approach to dealing with multi-risks in the Metropolitan Region of Lima, Peru. We argue that the impacts of extreme events are not solely determined by a given place-based vulnerability and risk profile but are considerably influenced by cascading effects caused by service disruptions of critical infrastructures, which may even take place outside the exposed areas. This paper tests a new conceptual framework for assessing criticality and provides an evidence basis for effective risk governance of critical infrastructures in urban regions. The findings are based on a multi-method approach which includes participatory activities. The overall results show that the electricity sector is the sector with the highest systemic criticality, followed by IT and emergency response. These results help to identify gaps in actors’ awareness of interdependencies and show the general criticalities of infrastructures with regard to both physical and actor-related factors. A better understanding of the given interconnection between sectors, but also of specific system elements, is an indispensable prerequisite for resilience building. Furthermore, the analysis underlines specific cooperation and communication needs between different stakeholders but also indicates the requirement for a prioritization of sectors in contingency plans and spatial planning.