Optimizing the safety of residential quarters in China's compact cities: A safety systems engineering approach

Choosing a place to live demands critical consideration of economic, social, transport and preferred lifestyle factors. Internal and external safety risks that may jeopardize people's safety and incur losses of life and property are besetting some residential quarters. This study aimed to establish an optimal safety system for China's compact cities by evaluating the risk factors comprehensively and proposing targeted measures to improve safety. Based on the current research and safety accident data, a model of the human-machine-environment system was developed for residential quarters. Fault Tree Analysis was used to identify the risk factors. The optimal safety system was constructed using System Dynamics to provide theoretical guidance to bring improvement. A case study was enlisted to generate empirical results to validate the proposed system. Qualitative analysis using geographic information system software and quantitative analysis using Grey Comprehensive Evaluation rating based on the entropy weight method yielded a score of 0.70 out of 1.00. Equivalent to the good level, the results confirmed the fulfillment of safety requirements with room for optimization by applying the new system. Analysis of weaknesses was accompanied by specific recommendations to remedy shortcomings and refine practices. This study contributes to the literature by analyzing a broad range of risk factors and employing IT and quantitative techniques to develop a feasible and practical safety system for residential quarters. The findings enhance the understanding of risk control in residential quarters, provide a systematic method to assess management efficacy, and inform the authorities to optimize safety management. Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.