Unified Approach to Sustainability, Resiliency and Risk Assessments

Generally, researchers consider sustainability and resiliency aspects of infrastructure projects independently, without considering the relationship that exists between them. Unified approaches that combine sustainability, resiliency, and analyze risk are very minimal. This paper proposes a unified approach to assessing sustainability, resiliency, and risk for infrastructure via evaluating the performance of a tailings dam under various earthquake magnitudes. A tailings dam is typically in operation for many years, which means they may have a direct impact on the local environment, society, and economy. Due to the extended life of the dam, the probability of a major event occurring that could negatively impact the durability of the dam increases. Hence, it is important to study impacts on the environment and economy under regular (sustainability analysis) and extreme (resiliency analysis) conditions in conjunction with their probabilities of occurrence. This paper studies the interrelationships between sustainability, resiliency and the potential risks of a negative impact upon infrastructure. Results provided show that a unified approach with emphasis on risk offers a more holistic, and accurate depiction of a system‟s overall quality.