Economic considerations for recovery-based design

Published

September 20, 2020

Author(s)

Juan Fung, Dustin Cook, Yating Zhang, Katherine Johnson, Siamak Sattar

Abstract

Current building design practice targets life safety performance for the design-level earthquake. While some buildings (e.g., schools, hospitals) may be designed for higher performance, the actual performance of most residential and commercial buildings may not align with owner and occupant expectations. In particular, the literature has documented that building users expect to be able to use their buildings after an earthquake. The National Institute of Standards and Technology is leading research efforts on recovery-based design that targets re-occupancy and restoration of function performance after an earthquake. A key aspect of this research is articulating an economic case for recovery-based design. In this paper, we discuss the importance of evaluating the economic merits of recovery-based design. We present a taxonomy for the range of benefits and costs that should be considered in an economic evaluation. Finally, we present a benefit-cost analysis case study to illustrate the approach to economic evaluation of potential recovery-based design standards. The case study suggests that nonstructural design options may provide a cost-effective solution for achieving recovery-based performance targets.

Proceedings Title

Proceedings of the 12th National Conference in Earthquake Engineering

Conference Dates

June 27-July 1, 2022

Conference Location

Salt Lake City, UT, US

Conference Title

12th National Conference in Earthquake Engineering

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

economics, earthquake, functional recovery

Citation

Fung, J. , Cook, D. , Zhang, Y. , Johnson, K. and Sattar, S. (2020), Economic considerations for recovery-based design, Proceedings of the 12th National Conference in Earthquake Engineering, Salt Lake City, UT, US, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=934673 (Accessed November 4, 2025)