Review of retrofit strategies decision system in historic perspective

Abstract

Abstract. Urban development is a process. In structuring and developing its phases different actors are implied, who act under different, sometimes opposite, dynamic conditions and within different reference systems. This paper aims to explore the contribution of participatism to disaster mitigation, when this concerns earthquake impact on urban settlements, through the support provided to multi-criteria decision in matters of retrofit. The research broadness in field of decision making on one side and the lack of a specific model for the retrofit of existing buildings on another side led to an extensive review of the state of the art in related models to address the issue. Core idea in the selection of existing models has been the preoccupation for collaborative issues, in other words, the consideration for the different actors implied in the planning process. The historic perspective on participative planning models is made from the view of two generations of citizen implication. The first approaches focus on the participation of the building owner/inhabitant in the planning process of building construction. As current strategies building rehabilitation and selection from alternative retrofit strategies are presented. New developments include innovative models using the internet or spatial databases. The investigated participation approaches show, that participation and communication as a more comprehensive term are an old topic in the field politics-democratisation-urbanism. In all cases it can be talked of "successful learning processes", of the improvement of the level of the professional debate. More than 30 years history of participation marked a transition in understanding the concept: from participation, based on a central decision process leading to a solution controlled and steered by the political-administrative system, to communication, characterised by simultaneous decision processes taking place outside politics and administration in cooperative procedures.

Multi-criteria decision model for retrofitting existing buildings

“…Seeking for ways of solving contradictions between the objectives of single actors in the retrofit implementation strategy, not only through choice, but also through the customisation of an adequate decision system implies multidisciplinary aspects. The comprehensibility of the retrofit measures is highlighted through inclusion into an integral planning scheme near the flow in the physical implementation of the retrofit system also of a flow for the education of the population which has to support the measures (Bostenaru, 2004). This is especially important in the so-called second phase of strategic implementation, when the application of the measure has to spread from pilot or demonstrative projects to "routine" wide ones.…”

“…But a systematic approach builds a very good basis for discussion and argumentation, as in multi-criteria and multi-actor decisions, and contributes thus to a good communication in the risk-management process. Since the degrees of participation achieved along time shall be seen as levels, not phases (Bostenaru, 2004), the strategic planning system proposed can be cast into a frame featuring various participative approaches at relevant levels in deciding about building retrofit: urban, zonal and building levels.…”

“…The understanding of building and urban planning changed over time and this change was particularly fast in the last 40 years (Bostenaru, 2004). Theoretical and empirical models have been developed in order to design 'communicative' planning processes.…”

“…Strategic planning, a process oriented approach towards the organisation of urban possibilities, is less oriented against products or results and is instead a social action and learning process, within which the potential actors are developing. Relevant participative/communicative planning models along the time are (Bostenaru, 2004):…”

Multidisciplinary co-operation in building design according to urbanistic zoning and seismic microzonation

“…The participation is based on a central decision process leading to a solution controlled and steered by the political-administrative system. The communication is characterised by simultaneous decisions taken by politics and administration in co-operative procedures (Bostenaru, 2004d). In all investigated cases it could be talked of successful learning and of the improvements in the professional debate.…”