The three lenses of disaster resilience: Ecological, built and social systems

The rising cost and frequency of catastrophic disasters could be attributed to denying the improbable – low probability, high consequence events- and overlooking the inevitable – development, aging infrastructure, rising population, climate change. To reverse the increasing trend in costly disasters, the vulnerabilities and opportunities can be viewed through the lenses of the built, natural and socio-cultural environments. The externalities that further expose these systems often include denial, politics, greed and apathy. However, there are win-win solutions and innovative ideas that can be embraced which celebrate the inter-dependencies of these systems and advance a sustainable and disaster resilient future.