CIRCLE project

New Frontiers in Research Fund – International (NFRFI-2023-00548)
March 2024 – February 2027

The CIRCLE (Community and Infrastructure Resilience to Climate-geological Long-term Effects) project will integrate quantitative impact assessments of physically interconnected infrastructures subject to hydroclimatic-geological multi-hazards and qualitative socioeconomic evaluation to identify vulnerable people and to co-produce pre-disaster preparedness-recovery plans by working with coastal communities with diverse cultural and social settings in Canada, Cuba, and Indonesia. The targeted vulnerable groups include people with low incomes, limited access to resources, and limited mobility in adaptation and evacuation and the Indigenous communities in Tofino, Canada. Built on the research outcomes from these three countries, the ultimate goal of this project is to empower vulnerable populations exposed to hydroclimatic-geological risks through community-driven participatory approaches to improve their resilience capacity. Three main tasks of the project are as follows:

  • Task 1 – cascading multi-hazard modeling of climate and geological risks (risks to low-lying coastal socio-ecological systems),

  • Task 2 – quantitative impact assessments of communities and interdependent infrastructure networks under multi-hazard resilience stress-testing scenarios (risks associated with critical physical infrastructure, networks and services)

  • Task 3 – community-specific disaster resilience through co-designing approaches to facilitate pre-disaster preparedness-recovery planning (risks to living standards).