Abstract

The frequency and magnitude of disasters are on the rise due to the increased urban growth rate, increased dependency on complex infrastructural facilities and climatic changes. The Built Environment (BE) professionals engage in enhancing the disaster management (DM) process. Thus, BE professionals shall possess an enhanced knowledge and skills on improving disaster resilience (DR). This study investigated the value of acquiring DR knowledge for BE professionals through a systematic literature review. The systematic review incorporated PRISMA guidelines in achieving the main objective of investigating the importance of acquiring DR knowledge for BE professionals. Hence, this study focused on DR, impact of disasters on BE, role of stakeholders in DM, role of BE professionals in improving DR and the importance of acquiring DR knowledge by BE professionals. The study revealed that the disasters shall be controlled through adhering appropriate structural and human-induced strategies. The key stakeholders of DM process are the community, local and national government, NGOs, international agencies, academia, research organisations and private sector. The knowledge on disaster risk is essential to be included into the formal and professional education, and training in enhancing DM. Continuous skills and knowledge development of BE professionals on DR shall answer most of the disaster related issues.

Keywords

Disasters, Built environment professionals, Disaster resilience knowledge

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Ms. Nishadi Nanayakkara