Abstract

System resilience, the capability of a system to sustain and recover from deliberate attacks, accidents, or naturally occurring threats or incidents, is a key property to measure the degree of robustness and coupling effect of complex system. The systems of waste disposal, urban water supply, and electricity transmission are typical systems with complex and high coupling features. In this chapter, a methodology for measuring the system resilience of such systems is proposed. It is a process of integrated decision-making which contains two aspects: (1) a five-dimensional indicator framework of system resilience which includes attributes in infrastructural, economic, and social sectors and (2) a hybrid K-means algorithm, which combines entropy theory, bootstrapping, and analytic network process. Through utilizing real data, the methodology can assist to identify and classify the level of system resilience for different geographical regions which are sustained by lifeline systems. The calculation of algorithm, visualization of processed data, and classification of resilience level can be finally realized in geographic information system. Through utilizing by regional governments and local communities, the final result can serve to provide guideline for resource allocation and the prevention of huge economic loss in disasters.

Keywords: system resilience, geographic information system (GIS), analytical network process, K-means
