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Regions are increasingly interconnected through population mobility, economic exchanges, and infrastructure networks that create complex interdependencies, shaping regional development and resilience. As these connections deepen, the ability of regions to withstand disruptions becomes increasingly vital. In this context, critical infrastructures, such as electricity grids, water supply, and transportation networks, play a crucial role in ensuring the continued delivery of essential services. While these systems support economic and social well-being, their interconnected nature also means that failures in one service can trigger cascading disruptions, affecting entire regions (Shi et al., 2021).
As regions expand and face greater uncertainties, ranging from natural hazards to economic disruptions, their ability to withstand shocks has become crucial. Resilience, broadly defined as a socio-economic system’s capacity to adapt to internal and external shocks (Boschma, 2015), is strongly influenced by the sufficiency of critical infrastructures and the interdependencies within these networks. A significant earthquake, for instance, can damage transportation networks, delay emergency responses, and disrupt supply chains. Inadequate backups, insufficient infrastructure, or hub overdependence can turn natural events into disasters. Studies on the resilience of complex adaptive systems suggest that connectivity is crucial for maintaining functionality during disruptions, provided that redundant capacity exists to offer alternative pathways and mitigate cascading failures (Reggiani et al., 2015).
Critical infrastructures (CI) are the infrastructures providing continued delivery of essential services, ensuring their accessibility for sustaining economic and social life. Criticality refers to the relative importance assigned to certain infrastructure systems, supporting risk identification and prioritization in the political and scientific sphere, and inevitably shaped by epistemological and political commitments. As such, there is no universal agreement on what constitutes critical infrastructures. However, energy, ICT, transportation, and water are often emphasized in the political and scientific spheres, while housing, elderly care, and legal systems receive less attention (DGAP, 2023; Huddleston et al., 2022).
What makes these infrastructures truly "critical," however, is their potential to turn a disruptive event into a disaster if they are susceptible to failure and lack redundant capacity. Effectively addressing this criticality requires examining critical infrastructures not only through the lens of engineering resilience but also in terms of their geographical distribution, land use, sufficiency, and cross-border interconnections. Yet, research in this area remains limited, and the link between critical infrastructures and regional resilience is still underexplored.
To better understand these dynamics, it is essential to examine how critical infrastructures contribute to regional resilience. Recognizing their role in shaping a region’s ability to withstand and recover from disruptions provides a foundation for more effective risk mitigation and planning. In regions where critical infrastructure is diverse and sufficient, service continuity is more likely to be maintained, enhancing both the region's capability and adaptability. Therefore, the aim of this study is to map critical infrastructures and regional resilience across EU NUTS 2 regions and provide a picture of the potential criticalities. In this study, sectoral and composite CI indices based on numerosity, prevalence, and sufficiency will be mapped. A multi-layer approach and regression analysis will be conducted to assess the relationship between regional resilience and CI.
By mapping the geographies of critical infrastructures as interconnected networks, this study bridges the gap between studies focusing on single infrastructure resilience and theoretical studies on complex adaptive systems. It offers insights into the geographical distribution of critical infrastructures, paving the way for planning resilient regions in the face of uncertainties and for disaster prevention.
References
Boschma, R. (2015) ‘Towards an evolutionary perspective on regional resilience’, Regional Studies, 49(5), pp. 733–751.
Huddleston, P., Smith, T., White, I. and Elrick-Barr, C. (2022) ‘Adapting critical infrastructure to climate change: A scoping review’, Environmental Science & Policy, 135, pp. 67–76.
Reggiani, A., Nijkamp, P., & Lanzi, D. (2015). Transport resilience and vulnerability: The role of connectivity. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 81, 4–15.
Shi, Y. Zhai, G., Xu, L., Zhou, S., Lu, Y., Liu, H., and Huang, W. (2021) ‘Assessment methods of urban system resilience: From the perspective of complex adaptive system theory’ Cities, 112, p.103141.
Weber, V., Laumann, E. and Riera, M.P. (2023) ‘Mapping the World’s Critical Infrastructure Sectors’, DGAP Policy Brief, No. 35, November 2023. German Council on Foreign Relations.
Yang, X., Li, H., Zhang, J., Niu, S. and Miao, M. (2024) ‘Urban economic resilience within the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration: Exploring spatially correlated network and spatial heterogeneity’, Sustainable Cities and Society, 103, p. 105270
| Keywords | Regional resilience; critical infrastructure; redundant capacity; disaster prevention |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
