Terrorism: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Improving Responses U.S.-Russian Workshop Proceedings (2004) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Urban Security and September 11, 2001, in New York City: Projection of Threats onto a City as a Target and Measures to Avert Them or Minimize Their Impact
Urban Security and September 11, 2001, in New York City: Projection of Threats onto a City as a Target and Measures to Avert Them or Minimize Their Impact
Pages 15-25
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 15... ...
For these reasons, historically, cities have been prime targets of terrorist attacks, exemplified by the bomb exploded in the World Trade Center in New York City in 1993; the attack and destruction eight years later on September 11, 2001, of the World Trade Center in New York City; the attack on the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., also on September 11, 2001; and the attacks in the Tokyo subway, in Tel Aviv, in New Delhi, and in a Moscow theater production of Nord-Ost. Thus far, most attacks have been predominantly low-tech ones, executed with simple means.
|
From page 16... ...
Cities are also large potential suppliers of human resources for terrorism and -- in libraries, universities, and other institutions -- of the information terrorists may need to plan and carry out their attacks. They can be significant sources of funding through banks and businesses and through associations and religious institutions that can organize fundraising drives.
|
From page 17... ...
. Explosives can be targeted at people or structures; electromagnetic pulses can be directed at elements of the infrastructure, such as airports or utilities, which in turn can affect the functioning of hospitals, schools, and other institutions; and psychological threats can be aimed at people and organi TABLE 2 A Growing Potential Target: Cities with the Largest Number of Telecom Hotels2 City Number of Telecom Hotels, 2001 New York 64 Los Angeles 46 Dallas 37 Atlanta 36 Seattle 30 Chicago 72 San Francisco 25 Miami 24 Phoenix 23 Austin 19 San Diego 17 Portland 17 Washington, D.C.
|
From page 18... ...
However, many of the countermeasures against the modalities of delivery within the city and many of the countermeasures for protecting targets are peculiar to the urban environment. Modalities of delivery may range from cars in basement garages to the arrival of weapons of mass destruction in shipping containers, from the penetration of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems to attacks on subway stations.
|
From page 19... ...
Integration of responses, starting with the issue of how persons in charge can coordinate the response to an attack in an integrated fashion, is also a critical need. There are increasingly, however, technological tools being developed, such as ad hoc computer platforms, that can help an incident commander in the integrated management of all the resources available.
|
From page 20... ...
There are, in cities, very significant resources outside the government systems, such as medical departments of companies and private engineering firms or construction firms.
|
From page 21... ...
In a biological or chemical attack, the imperative is to contain chemical and biological agents within the subway, so as not to vent them outside to the street level where they could cause a very high number of casualties, beyond the people trapped in the subway. SOME SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, LESSONS IN NEW YORK CITY The events of September 11, 2001, in New York City can provide a useful reminder of the technological challenges that a city faces when confronted by a terrorist attack.
|
From page 22... ...
A technological challenge is to provide sensors that can determine the structural conditions of a building in order to alleviate the cumbersome and less effective means of optically observing possible structural movements with human operators around the clock, as had to be done at the World Trade Center. · In the area of remediation, debris clearing in New York City was done in an exemplary fashion.
|
From page 23... ...
with the mission of addressing pressing urban security problems through the engineering, scientific, management, and educational capabilities of the university and collaborating institutions, industries, and public entities. The initiative is favored because Metrotech is also the site of the headquarters of the city's fire department; the Department of Information Technology, a major energy utility; and technological centers of major financial institutions.
|
From page 24... ...
Institutions USI at Polytechnic Manufacturing Firms Federal Utilities State Government Industry Engineering Firms Financial/ Local Insurance Firms FIGURE 4 The Polytechnic University Urban Security Initiative: public-private partnerships.
|
From page 25... ...
2002. Urban Knowledge Parks in Toward a New Agenda: Business, Social and Urban Development Impacts, Proceedings of the XIX IASP World Conference on Science and Technology Parks, International Association of Science Parks.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.