The Institute of Resilient Communities
Kai Vetter
Abstract Resilience is the key to a prosperous global and modern society; Efforts
to mitigate physical damage, economic loss, and to protect social and political
infrastructures in response to catastrophic events, such as a nuclear accident or a
natural disaster, are essential for communities to survive and thrive in the aftermath
of such incidents. The 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant accident
serves as an example of the risks associated with advanced technologies and the
need to minimize physical as well as psychological effects on local and global
communities. Other examples can be found reflecting the misperception of risks
including concerns associated with vaccination or genetically modified organisms.
While we have to recognize the risks associated with the development, implementation, and utilization of advanced technologies, we also have to recognize that
the impact of not adopting them can have much more detrimental effects to individuals, communities, and even societies. We have established the Institute for
Resilient Communities in Berkeley, CA in collaboration with Japanese partners to
address the needs for better scientific and technological capabilities to assess,
predict, and minimize the impact of disruptive events in the future and to enhance
the understanding of associated risks to the public. While the initial focus resides in
radiological resilience and is closely related to the events in Fukushima more than
5 years ago, the goal is to establish a broader framework for researchers, educators,
and communities to enhance resilience locally and globally together.
Keywords Resilience Á Communities Á Radiological and nuclear accidents Á Real
and perceived risks of nuclear radiation and advanced technologies Á Radiological
resilience
K. Vetter (&)
Applied Nuclear Physics, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
and Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
e-mail: kvetter@lbl.gov
© The Author(s) 2017
J. Ahn et al. (eds.), Resilience: A New Paradigm of Nuclear Safety,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-58768-4_16
207
Kai Vetter
Abstract Resilience is the key to a prosperous global and modern society; Efforts
to mitigate physical damage, economic loss, and to protect social and political
infrastructures in response to catastrophic events, such as a nuclear accident or a
natural disaster, are essential for communities to survive and thrive in the aftermath
of such incidents. The 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant accident
serves as an example of the risks associated with advanced technologies and the
need to minimize physical as well as psychological effects on local and global
communities. Other examples can be found reflecting the misperception of risks
including concerns associated with vaccination or genetically modified organisms.
While we have to recognize the risks associated with the development, implementation, and utilization of advanced technologies, we also have to recognize that
the impact of not adopting them can have much more detrimental effects to individuals, communities, and even societies. We have established the Institute for
Resilient Communities in Berkeley, CA in collaboration with Japanese partners to
address the needs for better scientific and technological capabilities to assess,
predict, and minimize the impact of disruptive events in the future and to enhance
the understanding of associated risks to the public. While the initial focus resides in
radiological resilience and is closely related to the events in Fukushima more than
5 years ago, the goal is to establish a broader framework for researchers, educators,
and communities to enhance resilience locally and globally together.
Keywords Resilience Á Communities Á Radiological and nuclear accidents Á Real
and perceived risks of nuclear radiation and advanced technologies Á Radiological
resilience
K. Vetter (&)
Applied Nuclear Physics, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
and Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
e-mail: kvetter@lbl.gov
© The Author(s) 2017
J. Ahn et al. (eds.), Resilience: A New Paradigm of Nuclear Safety,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-58768-4_16
207