Merging Quantitative And Qualitative Analyses For Flood Risk Assessment At Heritage Sites, The Case Of Ayutthaya, Thailand

The present paper presents a flood risk assessment approach for urban areas with mixed land-use including cultural sites. Destruction of heritage properties through disasters creates a serious loss for the national and local communities, not only because of the cultural importance of heritage assets but also for their socio-economic value. At the same time, studies have shown that protecting heritage promotes resilience since heritage contributes to social cohesion, sustainable development and psychological well-being (Jigyasu et. al [3]). Although disaster risk management activities have been developed intensively, a very few methodologies are developed specifically for preservation of heritage sites. Economic as well as intrinsic values embodied within cultural assets require combination of both quantitative and qualitative analyses (i.e., holistic analysis) for flood risk assessment. Moreover, it has been acknowledged that community-based and active stakeholder participation approaches are needed to facilitate comprehensive flood risk assessment. The work presented in this paper aims to develop a framework for active stakeholder participation which combines qualitative and quantitative methods for flood risk assessment at heritage sites. It also seeks to provide a base overview of potential benefits from participatory planning process for both stakeholders and flood risk experts