Necessities and challenges to strengthen the regional infrastructure resilience within city clusters

This paper aims to investigate the necessities and challenges of strengthening regional infrastructure resilience within the city clusters by applying and extending an integrated framework for resilience management of internetwork city infrastructures developed by the authors. The necessities, gaps and challenges will be explored from multiple perspectives not least the organizational structure, people, policy, management process, technology and supporting system, as well as the decision-making and performance management perspectives. Two typical city clusters in China are selected for case studies. Programs and practices of the cities within the two clusters pertinent to sustainable development, climate change, urban planning, built environment management and hazard management are critically examined and analyzed to produce a panoramic view on the necessities and challenges. The findings of this research shall invoke more innovative researches and solutions to enhance national, regional and city resilience, as well as building regional sustainability.