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HAZUR (Hazard Urban)
Open source methodology to assess and manage city resilience

Hazard urban study (HAZUR) is a structured and systematic examination of the different services and infrastructures of a city or territory in order to identify and evaluate problems that may represent risks to citizens and the city as a system of systems. The intention of performing a HAZUR is to summarise all city data, to analyse interdependencies in service networks, to assess impacts aftermaths and cascade effects. It also enables the identification and prioritisation of potential improvement projects, facilitates the definition of crisis management protocols and supports a strategy development process.

HAZUR integrates useful methods to create and implement a resilience strategy inspired by industrial safety methodologies ( HAZOP...), business continuity planning, strategic analysis and urban management. HAZUR includes exercises inspired on “[https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/chemical-safety/hazard-assessment/ways-to-conduct/what-if-analysis.html#:~:text=A%20What-if%20Analysis%20consists,in%20the%20laboratory%20evaluation%20process. What-If]" analysis and interconnections between services at different levels. The technique also proposes participatory modelling, simulation of domino effects, and analysis of the effects of climate change adaptation measures on urban service operations.

HAZUR is carried out by multi-disciplinary teams of city stakeholders (Players) during a series of meetings. The HAZUR technique is qualitative, and aims to stimulate the imagination of participants to identify potential hazards and operability problems in the city services due to potential cascading effects. Structure and direction are given to the review process by applying standardised guide-word prompts to the review of each node.

HAZUR is a holistic resilience assessment, the city vulnerabilities can be identified, together with its critical infrastructures and key relationships among critical services, by using a common language, visuals and insights from key stakeholders. This allows to understand the existing interdependencies between urban services.

The HAZUR technique was initially developed in the 2010s by professor Luis Fontanals and a research team at the IQS-Universitat Ramón Llull

The methodology was improved and applied in different cities and in various European research projects conducted by the original creators of the method, who co-founded a university spin-off who stop its activity in 2019. The startup trained and qualify experts from consulting firms, multilateral organizations, research institutions and urban operators and pioneer disseminate a new resilience approach for city management and qualify experts, SME consultants, multilateral organizations, resilience departments in cities and urban service operators.

Nowadays the method is been used by local administrations in Europe to create resilience plans and strategies. It is also used for pedagogical purposes in different university masters about Smart Cities and Resilience.

After some years of market definition different private companies, multilateral organizations, research centers and cities are developing TOOLS, PLATFORMS and SERVICES inspired by approaches and frameworks similar to the pioneer HAZUR methodologies.