Risk Reduction in Urban Areas by Means of Evacuation: Survey Design on Use of Emerging Information and Communication Technologies

The issue of risk from man-made or natural events has become increasingly important. The disasters caused by hurricane Katrina and the tsunami that hit Fukushima have forced an increase in attention to all components that can reduce the risk. Considering the overall formalization, the component on which it is possible to act independently of what is done for the reduction of the occurrence and vulnerability, is exposure. The development of the application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the urban road systems can give a contribution to exposure reduction. It is important to develop a methodology to analyze how a survey should be structured, as risk analysis must include both Revealed Preference (RP) and Stated Preference (SP) information. This is necessary because the investigation is not conducted during a real emergency event, as it simulates a realistic but hypothetical scenario. The proposed methodology is designed to examine the dynamic evolution of citizens’ behavior in terms of trip choices, offering deeper insights into their decision-making processes in emergency situations especially considering the presence of ICT. To validate its effectiveness, the methodology has been tested on a prototype sample. The result of this methodology is particularly important because the established structure allows an ex-ante analysis of the questions to be asked by the respondents and permits the insertion of SP demand also for urban areas where, to date, there is no ICT. The innovative aspect lies in the possibility of analyzing dynamic route choices, taking into account the presence or absence of information provided to the user.