Earthquake risk in urban street network: an example from region 6 of Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Purpose

Zone 6 of Tehran, with a populations of 220,000 people (3.6 per cent of the city population) and 20 km2 area (3 per cent of the city area), is one of the main municipal zones of Tehran. Major land-uses, like ministries, embassies, universities, general hospitals and medical centers, big financial firms, and so on, manifest the high importance of this region on a local and national scale. Thus, it is necessary to pay close attention to issues concerning crisis management in this area.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, by using indexes such as access to medical centers, street inclusion, building and population density, land-use, peak ground acceleration and building quality, vulnerability degree of street networks in zone 6 against the earthquake is calculated through overlaying maps and data in combination with inversion hierarchical weight process method and geographic information systems.

Findings

This article concludes that buildings alongside the streets with high population and building density, low building quality, far to rescue centers and high level of inclusion represent high rate of vulnerability, compared with other buildings. Also, by moving from north to south of the zone, the vulnerability increases. Likewise, highways and streets with substantial width and low building and population density hold little values of vulnerability. Thus, streets with high level of inclusion, building and population density present further vulnerability.

Originality/value

It is expected that the results of this paper be used by the urban decision-makers. Due to high vulnerability of most parts of the urban textures of Tehran, similar researches will have importance for preparation for the future possible earthquakes.

Citation

Shieh, E., Habibi, K., Torabi, K. and E. Masoumi, H. (2014), "Earthquake risk in urban street network: an example from region 6 of Tehran, Iran", International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, Vol. 5 No. 4, pp. 413-426. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDRBE-04-2011-0017