Author(s): Úrsula Cárdenas Mamani, Ramzy Kahhat Abedrabbo y (Español) Jose Manuel Magallanes
(Español) Critical infrastructures (CIs) are key for the functionality of urban areas. Their failure due to natural disasters or manmade disruptive events could severely obstruct normal city activities, producing considerable social and economic impacts. Understanding CI performance and interdependence during these events is imperative. This study aims to comprehend the independent and interdependent response of three CIs in a South American megacity: Lima, Peru. Topological indicators were used to study three CIs: potable water distribution, electricity distribution and natural gas distribution; five disruption scenarios were modeled. Results show that, compared to the other CIs, the potable water system has the highest redundancy, while the electricity network has the best capacity to connect among all elements. The structure of the natural gas system makes it fragile and susceptible to failures, generating the lowest values across indicators. Regarding the interdependence analysis, certain elements (e.g., medium- and high-voltage substations, water treatment plant, pressure stations) with a high degree of connectivity influence the entire performance of the systems; the interdependent effect exposes some CIs to damage more than others. Earthquakes have a comparatively more negative impact on the CIs studied than manmade disruptive events. In order to reduce vulnerability factors in the three systems, an important mitigation action would be to reduce the centralization of the systems.
Open linkAuthor(s): Ian Vázquez Rowe y y otros
(Español) Action on reducing food loss and waste (FLW) is imperative to mitigate the impacts of climate change worldwide and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals on food security, hunger eradication, and sustainable production and consumption. Next year (2022) will be the UN summit of food systems (“the COP for food”), as articles in this special issue illustrate, FLW will stay as one of the major levers to pull for food system transformation and sustainable consumption.
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