URBE Latam: Understanding Risks and Building Enhanced Capabilities in Latin American cities
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Warwick
Department Name: School for Cross-faculty Studies
Abstract
URBE Latam addresses the implementation gap between sustainable development and equitable resilience. It will do so by using a transdisciplinary research approach aimed at empowering residents of disaster-prone urban poor neighbourhoods, which will underpin the co-production of enhanced, context-specific understandings of local risks and the integration of the resulting data into decision-making procedures in disaster risk reduction and sustainable development monitoring.
The project is conducted by a highly skilled multi-disciplinary research team (including social sciences, engineering and physical sciences) and adopts a dialogic co-production approach to citizen-generated data which relies upon well-established partnerships with community-based initiatives for local development, education and disaster risk reduction in Rio de Janeiro and Medellin, as well as with governmental agencies involved in disaster risk reduction and local planning and development.
URBE Latam proceeds in four integrated components that seek an enhanced understanding of risks, vulnerabilities and local capabilities in disaster-prone urban areas: first it is centred on the engagement of citizens to generate data to expand understandings of risks at the neighbourhood level; second, citizens engagement in risk will be pursued alongside an analysis of socio-spatial inequalities in resilience and development indicators and policies at city and national level; third, this will lead to the recalibration of environmental risk mapping with citizen-generated data; fourth, these components are articulated and integrated within a framework to facilitate dialogic transformations across the different levels and stakeholders involved.
The process of advancing these outputs will further enable capacity development in local communities and the governments of Rio de Janeiro and Medellin; a process which will be augmented by improving the awareness of stakeholders in other Latin American cities and countries through broader dissemination. Insights from collaboratively produced citizen-generated data will be integrated into the practices of disaster risk management and development monitoring (e.g. SDG reporting) in collaboration with international policymaking agencies, thus enabling transformations towards more equitable disaster risk reduction and sustainable development. As an overarching outcome, the project will enable the transformation of practices, improve knowledge among a diverse range of stakeholders and enhance capacity to promote equitable resilience.
The project is conducted by a highly skilled multi-disciplinary research team (including social sciences, engineering and physical sciences) and adopts a dialogic co-production approach to citizen-generated data which relies upon well-established partnerships with community-based initiatives for local development, education and disaster risk reduction in Rio de Janeiro and Medellin, as well as with governmental agencies involved in disaster risk reduction and local planning and development.
URBE Latam proceeds in four integrated components that seek an enhanced understanding of risks, vulnerabilities and local capabilities in disaster-prone urban areas: first it is centred on the engagement of citizens to generate data to expand understandings of risks at the neighbourhood level; second, citizens engagement in risk will be pursued alongside an analysis of socio-spatial inequalities in resilience and development indicators and policies at city and national level; third, this will lead to the recalibration of environmental risk mapping with citizen-generated data; fourth, these components are articulated and integrated within a framework to facilitate dialogic transformations across the different levels and stakeholders involved.
The process of advancing these outputs will further enable capacity development in local communities and the governments of Rio de Janeiro and Medellin; a process which will be augmented by improving the awareness of stakeholders in other Latin American cities and countries through broader dissemination. Insights from collaboratively produced citizen-generated data will be integrated into the practices of disaster risk management and development monitoring (e.g. SDG reporting) in collaboration with international policymaking agencies, thus enabling transformations towards more equitable disaster risk reduction and sustainable development. As an overarching outcome, the project will enable the transformation of practices, improve knowledge among a diverse range of stakeholders and enhance capacity to promote equitable resilience.
Planned Impact
The central premise URBE Latam is that equitable resilience can only be achieved with the empowerment of residents of disaster-prone urban poor neighbourhoods through the co-production of enhanced, context-specific understandings of the risks that they face, and moreover, the integration of the resulting data into decision-making procedures in disaster risk reduction and sustainable development monitoring.
This will be enabled by the main project outputs: a deeper and far more nuanced understanding of the local risk factors and potentialities of vulnerable neighbourhoods gained from citizen-generated data (WP1), co-designed recommendations to improve the socio-spatial inclusiveness of resilience and sustainable development governance at the institutional level through transformed data practices (WP1 and WP2), co-designed recommendations of community-based strategies that combine risk reduction and development WP1 and WP3), improved landslide susceptibility maps and locally contextualised exposure maps (WP3), and methodological guidelines for co-produced risk understandings to be integrated into SDG monitoring (WP4). The process of advancing these outputs will further enable capacity development in local communities and the governments of Rio de Janeiro and Medellin; a process which will be augmented by improving the awareness of stakeholders in other Latin American cities and countries through broader dissemination. As an overarching outcome, the project will enable the transformation of practices, improve knowledge among a diverse range of stakeholders and enhance capacity to promote equitable resilience. The expected long-term impact of this outcome is a contribution towards the targets of: reducing the number of deaths and people affected by water-related disasters and reducing direct economic losses caused (SDG 11.5); and increasing the number of cities and human settlements adopting integrated policies and plans towards resilience to disasters and holistic disaster risk management (SDG 11.B).
This project was conceived so that the intended transformative impact is embedded by design in its structure and activities. To this end, key stakeholders and end-users are directly involved in the co-production of methods and outputs of work packages WP1, WP2 and WP3. Furthermore, the project contains one work package (WP4) which is expressly intended to promote dialogue and accelerate knowledge exchange to transform practices and perceptions of key stakeholders based on the results achieved.
This will be enabled by the main project outputs: a deeper and far more nuanced understanding of the local risk factors and potentialities of vulnerable neighbourhoods gained from citizen-generated data (WP1), co-designed recommendations to improve the socio-spatial inclusiveness of resilience and sustainable development governance at the institutional level through transformed data practices (WP1 and WP2), co-designed recommendations of community-based strategies that combine risk reduction and development WP1 and WP3), improved landslide susceptibility maps and locally contextualised exposure maps (WP3), and methodological guidelines for co-produced risk understandings to be integrated into SDG monitoring (WP4). The process of advancing these outputs will further enable capacity development in local communities and the governments of Rio de Janeiro and Medellin; a process which will be augmented by improving the awareness of stakeholders in other Latin American cities and countries through broader dissemination. As an overarching outcome, the project will enable the transformation of practices, improve knowledge among a diverse range of stakeholders and enhance capacity to promote equitable resilience. The expected long-term impact of this outcome is a contribution towards the targets of: reducing the number of deaths and people affected by water-related disasters and reducing direct economic losses caused (SDG 11.5); and increasing the number of cities and human settlements adopting integrated policies and plans towards resilience to disasters and holistic disaster risk management (SDG 11.B).
This project was conceived so that the intended transformative impact is embedded by design in its structure and activities. To this end, key stakeholders and end-users are directly involved in the co-production of methods and outputs of work packages WP1, WP2 and WP3. Furthermore, the project contains one work package (WP4) which is expressly intended to promote dialogue and accelerate knowledge exchange to transform practices and perceptions of key stakeholders based on the results achieved.
Organisations
- University of Warwick (Lead Research Organisation)
- E-Money Brazil Institute (Collaboration)
- Solidarity Committee (Collaboration)
- University of Pernambuco (Collaboration)
- University of Warwick (Collaboration)
- Banco Preventório (Collaboration)
- University of Antioquia (Collaboration)
- British Geological Survey (Collaboration)
- National Center for Natural Disaster Monitoring and Alarms (Collaboration)
- El Pacífico Community Action and Recovery Working Group (Collaboration)
- UN Habitat Global Urban Observatory (Collaboration)
- Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Collaboration)
- Ruta N (Collaboration)
- Geological Survey of Brazil (Collaboration)
- Autonomous Latin American University (Collaboration)
- University Institution Greater School of Antioquia (Collaboration)
- Administrative Department of Disaster Risk Management (DAGRD) (Collaboration)
Publications
Figueiredo A.
(2022)
Mapping the Care of People with URBELatam
Figueiredo A.
(2022)
Encounters that produce affection
Figueiredo A.
(2022)
Mapping the Care of People with URBELatam
MAPEADORES COMUNITÁRIOS DO PREVENTÓRIO
(2022)
WikiFavelas: Cartografias insurgentes nas periferias
in OUTRASPALAVRAS
MAPEADORES COMUNITÁRIOS DO PREVENTÓRIO
(2022)
Mapeamento no Preventório
in WikiFavelas
Mastrangelo L.
(2022)
The curiosity generated an interview: the mapping process in the Boletim Ciência
Porto De Albuquerque, J.
(2021)
Trans-disciplinarity and on-the-ground translation: co-creation with communities in Brazil and Colombia
Silva De Faria
(2023)
Local currencies as potentialities for urban sustainability and resilience
in Sustainability Science
Ulbrich P
(2023)
Assessing equity in disaster risk governance in Brazil and Colombia
in Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal
| Description | Our preliminary findings relate to the reframing of concepts of vulnerabilities and resilience. A key objective of the URBE LATAM project has been to expand and refine the understanding of risks, vulnerabilities and potentialities associated with rain-related geohazards in Latin America. As a result of the activities with the communities and institutional project stakeholders in both countries we have already observed processes of dialogic reframing of vulnerability and resilience. For example, from the top-down view, conventional, technical definitions are being enhanced with community views of multiple land use and the value of local meaning, which have been invisible in formal categories used for measuring resilience. The co-identification of community land uses has enabled constructive approaches to risk mitigation, such as the use of such areas for community amenities (i.e. other than residential use) in areas of the neighbourhood where the official risk classification implied "blanket zoning" definitions to prevent construction. As part of these transdisciplinary dialogues the project team holds regular workshops to develop shared understandings of both physical and social vulnerability. The co-generation of data regarding risk and resilience by and with the communities has already shown that this process leads to shared learning within the communities regarding factors of vulnerability and resilience. It has also resulted in two different yet related risk models in Brazil and Colombia, which include community socio-demographics, and co-defined geo-referenced characteristics of physical and social vulnerability - yet have different thematic focus, with data relevant for community bank in Niterói (Brazil) and a specific focus on geo-hazards in El Pacífico (Colombia). During the mapping process in Morro do Preventório, we also found that the mapping methodology we collectively built could be understood in four dimensions: 1) Legitimacy; 2) Community Planning; 3) Mapping; and 4) Local Interventions; and Technologies. Legitimacy concerns the relevance and meaning of the project activities. Community Planning relates to the debate about differences in the concept of planning within the conventional academic context and a so-called informal neighbourhood, which is constantly being remade based on the adversities encountered along the way. This dimension dialogues with the first, since, by giving priority to the demands of residents, we are also strengthening the legitimacy that is necessary for the mapping. Local Mapping and Interventions reiterates community priorities. Lastly, the Technology dimension concerns absences in communities. Together with the community URBE Latam fills this gap with community-led mapping. Regarding governance, the project has also already identified institutional windows of opportunity for innovation in risk data governance. While the thematic focus of risk data still primarily relates to the physical aspects of vulnerability, and frames communities as reactive stakeholders within disaster risk governance, rather than the existing potentialities, the policy framework in both countries do provide institutional space for equitable approaches to disaster risk governance and data practices. This will be explored further based on the interviews with governance stakeholders. |
| Exploitation Route | The project has already resulted in methodological entry points to expand conventional conceptualisations of vulnerability, risk and potentialities by establishing a systematic dialogue between community and institutional practices. Another key development has been the digital platform and mobile app that will underpin the processing and analysis of the data produced by the citizen engagement programme. The mobile app design in both communities reflects differential socio-spatial contexts. The observation regarding the extent to which the differential process in the co-design of the app reflects local needs and leads to self-empowerment, yet generates data which is useful for institutional decision-making, represents a key theoretical insight. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Description | The early work of the project in dialogically engaging with the two focus communities, El Pacífico in Colombia and Morro do Preventório in Brazil, and co-producing accurate maps of the areas for the first time, has led to significant social impacts on the two communities. In 2020, the communities were significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and in September 2020 El Pacífico experienced a landslide caused by extreme rainfall. In both cases, the URBE Latam project team was able to respond quickly to the emerging situations, working in cooperation with the communities, local organisations and municipal agencies. The new maps and the recent knowledge of mapping gained by the communities were immediately put to use for identifying risks, vulnerabilities and needs of the communities. This enabled the communities to respond better to the pandemic and to provide more effective support to citizens in situation of food insecurity and other vulnerabilities. In 2021, work with the communities continued to build capacity for mapping, identifying risks and vulnerabilities, and building on the skills and opportunities within the communities to develop resilience projects. Further details of the impact of URBE Latam in each community is given under 'Influence on Policy, Practice, Patients and the Public'. Community-relevant base maps and geo-referenced community census with risk perceptions: The project has engaged collaboratively with deprived communities (also known as slums) in Niterói (Rio de Janeiro) and Medellín. This collaborative and equitable approach has significantly enhanced their ability to address vulnerabilities and engage with the municipal authorities regarding disaster risk reduction and urban service provision to reduce multiple forms of deprivation. In Niterói, the project enabled the co-creation of a basemap of the neighbourhood with roads and building footprints, which did not exist as the neighbourhood is not part of the official maps. This map was instrumental for our community partners for the prioritisation of community bank microcredits and the distribution of emergency aid food baskets during the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent impact on the livelihoods of residents, in addition to several other contributions which enhanced the operations and effectiveness of the community bank's activities. In Medellín, the community leaders used the co-created basemap for damage assessment following a landslide in September 2020 and to conduct a community census in 2021. Due to the community's participation in the project, the community-led census included questions about risk perceptions and other items of interest to the community. In both communities, the project's dialogic and equitable approach to the investigation of vulnerability and resilience strengthened the community leaders' ability to negotiate with the municipal agencies their support for infrastructural improvements and emergency aid for the most vulnerable residents, for both, response to a slow-onset disaster such as the pandemic, and a shock event, such as a landslide. Institutional and government stakeholders: A series of community meetings and workshops have been held both in person and online to engage local stakeholders with the project and to provide support to the community's self-empowerment efforts. We received early indications of the potential impact of these meetings to policy and practice of municipal authorities towards including communities in the decision-making about public investment, which the project is pursuing further. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2020 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Communities and Social Services/Policy,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice,Other |
| Impact Types | Societal |
| Description | Capacity building in El Pacífico community |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Impact | Through work with the project, El Pacífico's Community Action Board has strengthened their data-generation practices, and now have more resources to dialogically engage with Medellín's municipality in matters related to disaster risk management practices on a local scale. |
| URL | https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/schoolforcross-facultystudies/igsd/urbelatam/news/blog3 |
| Description | Capacity building supported social entrepreneurship in the Morro do Preventorio community |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | UrbeLatam enabled the implementation of a recycling cooperative (social enterprise) in Morro do Preventório, Niteroi, Brazil. With the potential for waste produced by the community and the absence of specific public policies for recyclable waste, the cooperative took its first steps towards its structuring in 2020. The mapping activities of the project involved two residents who acquired new skills and put them to use to establish a new social enterprise (cooperative). The recycling cooperative has made profit in the last six months. With one of the residents as the president, more than 1.5 tons of waste were recycled in March 2022, and the cooperative now employs three people in a self-sustainable way. The maintenance of the cooperative in Preventório is related to four Sustainable Development Goals: 6. Drinking water and sanitation; 10. Reduction of inequalities; Sustainable cities and communities; Responsible consumption and production. The management of recyclable solid waste in the community promotes the reduction of water contamination, the use of new resources and the negative environmental impacts related to the improper disposal of waste. The co-creation of the Preventório base map also made possible to create (along with funding from Favela Inova) a community social enterprise startup - PrevêLab: ateliê de Tecnologias (technology atelier) - which, in turn, provides pedagogical support for the Mães à Obra (Mothers at Work) Project to empower the women community leaders. The co-creation of the Preventório base map also made possible to create (along with funding from Favela Inova) a community social enterprise startup - PrevêLab: ateliê de Tecnologias (technology atelier) - which, in turn, provides pedagogical support for the Mães à Obra (Mothers at Work) Project to empower the women community leaders. |
| Description | Community self-empowerment for disaster risk governance |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | The community in the neighbourhood of Morro do Preventório historically struggles with limited government interventions to enhance social and physical infrastructure in the neighbourhood. Due to the dialogic-reflective approach to participatory mapping, community members critically reflected on the physical and social needs and strengths of their neighbourhood in spatial terms. This conscientisation enhanced the community's ability to work with the formal government authorities on more equal terms and specify demands regarding social and physical infrastructure in their neighbourhood. At the project workshop in February 2023 one community leader stated that while the relation with the government continues to be complex, once the institutions saw the quality of the data that was co-produced, they started to engage with the issues the community faces. The enhanced granularity and thematical relevance of the data and the mapping activity as social-reflective process thus has the potential to increase equity in policy interventions relating to the historically marginalised Morro do Preventório neighbourhood. |
| Description | Contribution to the work of Banco do Preventório |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | A positive contribution has been made to the management of microcredit by the community bank through the implementation of new tools co-developed with the Banco do Preventório team. The enhanced tools and adapted criteria for the microcredits allows the bank to better target the loans to the community members' needs and loan repayment administration. Improved management of the microcredit scheme leads to enhanced efficiency of community-managed funds to enhance resilience - for example by financing micro-entrepreneurs, and address physical vulnerability - by providing finance for structural improvements to buildings. |
| Description | Data collection as catalyst for community-led initiatives |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | Data collection for physical vulnerability turned into a collective social listening exercise and discussion regarding community needs. In addition to generating data relevant for physical vulnerability, the equitable approach to this research triggered discussions among the community regarding their needs. With URBE Latam drawing in a variety of community stakeholders ("I take part because this is part of URBE Latam" - feedback from the February 2023 workshop), these thematic dialogues fed into existing community structures, such as the community bank, the Mothers' Mutual Construction Group (Mães a Obra) and cultural and sports initiatives, and triggered new initiatives to address underlying factors of vulnerability, such as courses for community members, livestream contents during the lockdowns, and a food bank for the most vulnerable. |
| Description | El Pacífico landslide recovery (Colombia) |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Impact | In September 2020, a landslide destroyed several homes in El Pacífico, Medellín (Colombia), leading to 44 families being evacuated. The work of the URBE Latam team helped community members to collaborate, identify the areas of damage on the already co-produced maps of the area, and to produce new maps to identify housing impacts, risks, and municipal recommendations for evacuation. Community leaders reported that the collaboration with the URBE Latam team helped them to have a stronger, organised voice when negotiating with authorities about receiving sufficient support. |
| URL | https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/schoolforcross-facultystudies/igsd/urbelatam/news/blog3 |
| Description | Enhanced community risk perception and self-empowerment in El Pacífico as a result of the elicitation workshops |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | Improved engagement within the community members relating to risk and enhanced spatial awareness. The community also identified and developed skills to categorise vulnerability in specific disaster scenarios (flash flood, landslide, rock fall) based on a co-produced methodological approach with the URBE Latam team. The resulting maps have been used by the community for planning evacuation routes in case of the manifestation of the three risk scenarios explored. At the February 2023 workshop the community leader confirmed the empowering effect of the activities, as "..one believes that one is invisible, but in the maps we can see reflected our reality." |
| Description | Enhanced granularity of multi-hazard risks |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | As so-called "informal" neighbourhood located on the slopes at the urban/rural border El Pacífico has historically been declared as high-risk, non-mitigable risk area. This designation implies that construction and further infrastructure investment are prohibited. The enhanced spatial granularity and hazard differentiation in the co-produced maps enhance the community's ability to negotiate with the municipal authorities for improved infrastructure provision. A key concern is natural gas, for which the community currently relies on containers which have to be carried into each dwelling. In the February 2023 workshop, the community leaders indicated that the detail in the co-produced risk maps would allow them to argue for extending the municipal gas pipeline network to the neighbourhood. |
| Description | Improved community capacity to proactively participate in disaster risk governance |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | The co-produced risk and susceptibility of the neighbourhood support the community in discussions with the municipal authority regarding recovery, mitigation and reconstruction following the landslide in September 2020. Due to the involvement with the project the community's Action Board has strengthened their data-generation practices. As a result, the community representatives now have more resources to dialogically engage with Medellín's municipality in matters related to disaster risk management practices on a local scale. At the February 2023 workshop, the community leaders indicated that the map will help them to argue that the community has been able to proactively deal with the risk, and that "...the neighbourhood is thus not high in risk but high cost". This suggests that using the detailed spatial information about the various types of risk and susceptibilities, the community feels empowered to argue for municipal investment into risk mitigation and physical infrastructure, thus changing the official narrative from the need for eviction to inclusion into the "formal" city. |
| URL | https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/schoolforcross-facultystudies/igsd/urbelatam/news/blog3 |
| Description | Mapping of Comuna 8 in collaboration with the Mesa de Vivienda y Hábitat de la Comuna 8 (Comuna 8 Housing and Habitat Group) |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | The 11 maps requested by community leaders from Mesa de Vivienda y Hábitat de la Comuna 8, participating in the elaboration of the Comprehensive Plan for Risk Management and Adaptation to Climate Change of Comuna 8, a public initiative led by Departamento Administrativo para la Gestión del Riesgo de Desastres (DAGRD), Instituto Social de Vivienda y Hábitat de Medellín (ISVIMED): 1. Contour lines (Comuna 8) 2. Contour lines (Polygon Z3MI6 - El Faro neighborhood) 3. Geology 4. Geomorphology 5. Water bodies length and width 6. Public services coverage area 7. Flood and torrential flood hazard 8. Main Ecological Structure 9. Public Space 10. Seismic susceptibility 11. Vegetation cover fire hazard The maps were integrated into the first booklet created by the Housing group to facilitate engaging the stakeholders of Comuna 8 with the discussions regarding the update of the municipal risk management and climate change plans. |
| URL | https://issuu.com/movimientoladeras/docs/informe_final |
| Description | Rio de Janeiro COVID-19 community support (Brazil) |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Impact | Both of the communities that URBE Latam works with (Preventorio in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and El Pacifico in Medellin, Colombia) were significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown measures. The project organised sessions with the communities to co-produce maps for prioritisation of needs during the pandemic, and support for processes to identify local skillsets as a basis of value creation within and for the community. As the project was able to build on previous work of mapping the communities, the community and project team were able to quickly identify particularly vulnerable residents in and around Rio de Janeiro who could not access food due to the lockdown. A 'Solidarity Committee' was formed with 60 favela community leaders, 12 cooperatives and 100 volunteers from local universities, social organizations and NGOs, including the project team, and the committee was able to use the maps to guide the distribution of over 1,700 food 'baskets' to residents of neighbourhoods near Rio de Janeiro/Brazil, benefiting nearly 8000 people. Local farmers and food sellers also benefited as the Solidarity Committee was able to mobilise quickly enough to buy produce which otherwise would have spoiled due to the quarantine. |
| URL | https://www.todapalavra.info/single-post/solidariedade-niteroi-nao-esquece-ninguem-na-crise |
| Description | Vulnerability mapping in El Pacífico as pilot for the National Unit of Disaster Risk Management's Vulnerability Lab |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | Due to his involvement in participatory disaster risk research projects, such as URBE Latam, the president of El Pacífico's Community Action Group is part of a wider pool of expert community leaders to provide advice on community-led risk reduction. In the context of Colombia's National Unit of Disaster Risk Management plan to establish a Vulnerability Lab in Medellín the president of El Pacífico's Community Action Group has been asked to share the community's experience of generating risk-related data as part of the project at national level. |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8lV-IUptGw |
| Description | ESRC Impact Acceleration Account (University of Warwick): Accelerating the impact of citizen-generated data for improving the monitoring and management of catastrophic flooding |
| Amount | £4,952,300 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2020 |
| End | 12/2021 |
| Description | IDEAMAPS: A participatory data-modeling ecosystem for deprived area map production in LMIC cities |
| Amount | $1,690,337 (USD) |
| Funding ID | INV-045252 |
| Organisation | Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United States |
| Start | 10/2022 |
| End | 09/2025 |
| Description | Sustainable Solidarity Development in artisanal fishing activity |
| Amount | R$ 1 (BRL) |
| Organisation | Funbio - Fundo Brasileiro para a Biodiversidade |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | Brazil |
| Start | 01/2022 |
| End | 01/2022 |
| Description | Teaching for Digital Citizenship: Digital ethics in the classroom and beyond it. |
| Amount | £601,560 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ES/X002756/1 |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 12/2022 |
| End | 11/2024 |
| Title | Community elicitation booklet - Brazil |
| Description | Spatial/ Map-based semi-structured questionnaire: A brief booklet to aid the community in summarizing their physical vulnerability conditions. Most of the scenarios and variables were proposed by the community, and further enhanced with feedback provided by professors of Universidad de Antioquia, Colegio Mayor de Antioquia (Colombia), Universidade Federal do Río de Janeiro (Brazil) and the University of Warwick, the University of Glasgow, and the British Geological Survey (United Kingdom). This allowed the Brazil group to open up more internal conversations about definitions of risk, perception, physical and social vulnerability and then be able to discuss these issues with the community. We used the same booklet used by the Colombian group, only having the trouble of translating it into Portuguese, as we used the same three risks for both countries. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The booklet allowed the URBE Latam team to collect perception data on the risk scenarios prioritized by the Preventório community. This information was also used to feed an open-source physical vulnerability model. It also opened a channel for dialogue with the community on vulnerability and potential. |
| Title | Community elicitation booklet - Colombia |
| Description | Spatial/ Map-based semi-structured questionnaire: A brief booklet to aid the community in summarizing their physical vulnerability conditions. Most of the scenarios and variables were proposed by the community, and further enhanced with feedback provided by professors of Universidad de Antioquia, Colegio Mayor de Antioquia (Colombia), Universidade Federal do Río de Janeiro (Brazil) and the University of Warwick, the University of Glasgow, and the British Geological Survey (United Kingdom). |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The booklet allowed the URBE Latam team to gather perception data in regards to the risk scenarios prioritized by the community of El Pacífico. These information has also been used to feed an open source physical vulnerability model. |
| Title | Community field mapping methodology |
| Description | During the mapping process, the Brazil group developed its own mapping methodology divided into 4 dimensions: legitimacy, community planning, technologies and mapping and local actions. Each of these dimensions was important for the progress of the mapping and its success. Briefly, the technical process of mapping consisted of: taking satellite images of the territory and then using them as a basis for field work, drawing what was in front of us on them and correcting the names of streets and buildings. After that, we took all the data and passed it to OpenStreetMap to validate it and update it if necessary. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The ability to give the community a base map with information about the territory that they didn't have before. Also, the possibility of creating our own work methodology. |
| Title | Mapping Dimensions |
| Description | During the mapping process, we concluded that the mapping methodology we collectively built could be understood in four dimensions: Legitimacy; Community Planning; Mapping and Local Interventions; and Technologies. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | During the mapping process, we concluded that the mapping methodology we collectively built could be understood in four dimensions: Legitimacy; Community Planning; Mapping and Local Interventions; and Technologies. Legitimacy discusses the role of community recognition in relation to the work done within it, where mapping is a powerful and effective tool when accepted by the territory. In this context, the research is legitimate because the researchers have morality with the people in the territory or conquer this morale through the effects that the research produces. Community Planning brings up the debate about the differences in planning within the university and in the favela: considering the urgent demands that the territory's residents bring, it is difficult to follow a conventional or Cartesian planning or as a waterfall model. We call "erratic" planning, the planning we practice with the Urbelatam team in Morro do Preventório, as it is constantly being remade based on the adversities encountered along the way. This dimension dialogues with the first, since, by giving priority to the demands of residents, we are also strengthening the legitimacy that is necessary for the mapping. The dimension of Local Mapping and Interventions reiterates community priorities, which are different from other spaces, such as academia. It is important for us that people's needs are always ahead of other priorities, as it is only through them that our work makes sense. Finally, the Technology dimension discusses the issue of absences in communities and how our process arises from one of them. The mapping of Morro do Preventório only takes place today because it was a space historically neglected by the government, this absence or gap is an opportunity for another type of mapping. We fill this gap with our way of mapping and, therefore, with another technology based on other epistemologies. We understand the absences in favela territories as powers (potential), therefore favelas are exceptional places for experimentation, adaptation and development of new technologies, in order to dialogue with the demands of the community. |
| Title | Citizen Generated Data for physical vulnerability |
| Description | Citizen Generated Data for physical vulnerability in El Pacífico, Medellín, Colombia for mapping and planning evacuation routes. |
| Type Of Material | Data analysis technique |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | El Pacífico was surveyed through a community-concerted methodology to gather data in regards to the state of physical vulnerability of most of the buildings in the territory. In total, 128 buildings were surveyed, and the information was delivered to the British Geological Survey to polish a vulnerability model for the community. |
| Title | OpenStreetMap detailed basemap of El Pacifico, Colombia |
| Description | This dataset is a detailed basemap of the El Pacifico neighbourhood in Medellin, Colombia, created on the open source mapping platform OpenStreetMap. The neighbourhood was mapped for the first time in detail by members of the URBE Latam project team, in collaboration with community members who engaged with the project's aims, including learning to map themselves. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The main impact of the base maps has been capacity building within the community; community members and leaders in El Pacifico learned to map in order to co-produce data needed, and thereby increased not only their knowledge of the local area, but their ability to identify and understand risks and vulnerabilities within the built and natural environment. |
| URL | https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=19/6.24923/-75.53808 |
| Title | OpenStreetMap detailed basemap of Morro do Preventorio, Brazil |
| Description | This dataset is a detailed basemap of the Morro do Preventorio neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, created on the open source mapping platform OpenStreetMap. The neighbourhood was mapped for the first time in detail by members of the URBE Latam project team, in collaboration with community members who engaged with the project's aims, including learning to map themselves. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The main impact of the base maps has been capacity building within the community; community members and leaders in Morro do Preventorio learned to map in order to co-produce data needed, and thereby increased not only their knowledge of the local area, but their ability to identify and understand risks and vulnerabilities within the built and natural environment. |
| URL | https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/321236092#map=17/-22.93474/-43.09894 |
| Description | Banco do Preventório, Brazil |
| Organisation | Banco Preventório |
| Country | Brazil |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The URBE Latam project team is contributing to the development of an enhanced understanding of community needs for support from Banco do Preventório. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Banco do Preventório contributes their experience in the articulation of local development initiatives; as they are part of the community and have established social and political ties with its other residents, they know and understand the problems of the community and are familiar with its potentials and vulnerabilities. |
| Impact | Project Team Member Marcos Rodrigo is the founder and director of the Banco do Preventório community bank. In this function and as a result of his project work he is proposing a community credit line for structural housing improvements to reduce vulnerability. The collaboration between Banco Preventorio and URBE Latam was also instrumental in delivering the impact described under 'Rio de Janeiro COVID-19 community support (Brazil) (2020)'. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | CEMADEN, Brazil |
| Organisation | National Center for Natural Disaster Monitoring and Alarms |
| Country | Brazil |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | URBE Latam The University of Warwick team contributes expertise in transdisciplinary co-production, participatory mapping and dialogic production of knowledge, as well as coordination of the project across 15 research collaborators and non-academic partners. |
| Collaborator Contribution | URBE Latam Dr Marchezini and Dr Magalhaes de Andrade are Co-Investigators of URBE Latam, each dedicating 10% of their time to the project. Dr Marchezini has contributed to WP1 with his expertise and experience on the social vulnerability factors of disasters in Latin America. Dr Marchezini contributed to the development of the method for community engagement for mapping local vulnerability factors, as well as in giving advice on the integration of this information into our procedures for risk assessment and monitoring. Dr Andrade contributed his expertise in landslide modelling to URBE Latam in WP3, working alongside the colleagues of the Universidad de Antioquia, British Geological Survey and CPRM in Brazil. He provided expert advice on methods for identifying slope instability and on data on building fragility and other physical vulnerability factors to landslides. Drs Marchezini and Andrade are supported by researcher Adriano Mota Ferreira. CEMADEN made an in-kind contribution of the salary costs for both Dr Marchezini and Dr Andrade. Waterproofing Data CEMADEN allows Dr Trajber (Work Package 2 lead) to work full time in Waterproofing Data. She is an experienced anthropologist who led the "CEMADEN Education" project that built important links with the Secretary of Environment of the Government of Acre and the Federal University of Acre. In addition, CEMADEN also make substantial in-kind contributions by providing match funding to enable the participation of a multi-disciplinary group from its permanent body of researchers to work in this project, including: 20% of the time from a social scientist (Marchezini) to contribute to WP2, 10% of the time from a meteorologist and coordinator of CEMADEN's control room (Dolif) to work in WP1, a hydrologist (Rudorff) to work on the data integration approach of WP3, and 10% from a biologist and environmental scientist with large experience in the Amazon region (Anderson) to work on the transformation of practices of WP4. Liana Anderson, a professional from CEMADEN and collaborating researcher in this project, has driven several of teh institutional relations with SEMA/AC and SEDUC/AC. |
| Impact | Outputs forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | CPRM, Brazil |
| Organisation | Geological Survey of Brazil |
| Country | Brazil |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | URBE Latam The University of Warwick team contributes expertise in transdisciplinary co-production, participatory mapping and dialogic production of knowledge, as well as coordination of the project across 15 research collaborators and non-academic partners. |
| Collaborator Contribution | URBE Latam Dr Lana is a Co-Investigators of URBE Latam, and Dr Kuhlmann is a researcher on the project. Drs Lana and Kuhlmann contribute their expertise in geological risk management, mass movement, flood susceptibility and urban geology to the project. CPRM made an in-kind contribution of salary costs for Dr Lana and Dr Kuhlmann, at 10% of their time each. Data collected by CPRM related to mass movement and flood susceptibility was also made available to the URBE Latam research team. Waterproofing Data Maria da Nobrega Coutinho is a member of the Steering Committee for the Waterproofing Data project, attending Steering Committee meetings annually and providing guidance and input on a range of areas related to project outcomes and risks. CPRM has comprehensive data on flood risks from an environmental science point of view and has contributed their expertise in discussions around data flows and how information produced in the project can contribute to disaster response around flooding. |
| Impact | Outputs forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | DAGRD, Colombia |
| Organisation | Administrative Department of Disaster Risk Management (DAGRD) |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | In future years of the URBE Latam project will allow DAGRD to reach a co-produced understanding of social vulnerability which will allow them to enhance their assistance to communities at risk. |
| Collaborator Contribution | DAGRD has provided insights regarding its operations and mandates, which feeds into WP 2 and WP4. |
| Impact | Outputs forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | E-dinheiro, Brazil |
| Organisation | E-Money Brazil Institute |
| Country | Brazil |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | In the future of research, Institute E-Dinheiro will adopt and disseminate the methodology developed in URBE Latam for combining disaster risk reduction with local development through microfinance programmes in vulnerable communities. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Instituto E-dinheiro Brasil has contributed to URBE Latam's local advisory board in Brazil with knowledge gained with the application of the PALMAP methodology for community-based research, including expertise at community mobilization, community development banks, digital social currencies and socio-educational technologies. It also provided input to the overall development of the sociotechnical digital engagement methodology of work package 1. |
| Impact | Outputs forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | El Pacífico Community Action and Recovery Working Group, Colombia |
| Organisation | El Pacífico Community Action and Recovery Working Group |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Following the flash floods and landslide in October 2020, project team members Dr. Rodríguez and Alejandro Rivera have joined the Working Group set up by the community to coordinate the response and interactions with the municipal agencies. Due to their detailed knowledge about disaster risk management governance in Medellín Dr. Rodríguez and Alejandro Rivera continue to play key advisory roles in the community's proposals for an equitable approach to relocation and recovery. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The El Pacífico Community Action and Recovery Working Group combines a variety of institutional and community stakeholders related to disaster risk management, housing, social and emergency services, and urban infrastructure. This involvement has thus resulted in further insights into the institutional dynamics of disaster risk governance in Medellín. |
| Impact | Impact relating to this collaboration is detailed under 'El Pacífico landslide recovery (Colombia) (2020)'. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Organisation | Federal University of Rio de Janeiro |
| Country | Brazil |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The University of Warwick team contributes expertise in transdisciplinary co-production, participatory mapping and dialogic production of knowledge, as well as coordination of the project across 15 research collaborators and non-academic partners. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Professor Henrique Cukierman is a Co-Investigator of URBE Latam, dedicating 20% of his time to the project. Professor Cukierman is supported by a team of researchers contributing their expertise in computer science, data science, microfinance, and development, and providing field coordination. The UFRJ team includes researchers Luiz Arthur Silva, Fernando Severo, Pedro Da Costa Braga, Marcos Rodrigo Ferreira, Paulo Henrique Feitosa, José Marcos Gonçalves, Filipe Augusto da Silva and Fabio Guerra. UFRJ made an in-kind contribution of Professor Cukierman's salary costs at 20% of his time, and provided meeting rooms for research team meetings and workshops with stakeholders. |
| Impact | Outputs forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Institución Universitaria Colegio Mayor de Antioquia, Colombia |
| Organisation | University Institution Greater School of Antioquia |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The University of Warwick team contributes expertise in transdisciplinary co-production, participatory mapping and dialogic production of knowledge, as well as coordination of the project across 15 research collaborators and non-academic partners. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Professor Edna Margarita Rodriguez Gaviria and Professor Alejandro Builes-Jaramillo are Co-Investigators of URBE Latam, each dedicating 20% of their time to the project. Professor Rodriguez contributes to the project her expertise in social, economic and physical vulnerability, participatory mapping and the participatory definition of hazards, and a detailed knowledge and contacts in disaster risk governance in Medellín. Professor Builes contributes his expertise in hydroclimatology and the analysis of complex climate systems. Professors Rodrigquez and Builes are supported by early career researcher Alejandro Rivera. As a team Professors Rodríguez and Builes, and Alejandro Rivera manage the interactions with the community and build on their history of community-led disaster risk planning with el Pacífico. Colegio Mayor made an in-kind contribution of office space for the research project coordinator over the life of the project. |
| Impact | Outputs forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Institute for Global Sustainable Development |
| Organisation | University of Warwick |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | URBE Latam WP3 defined the spatial sampling method for Preventório neighboorhood. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Dr Godwin Yeboah contribute their expertise to WP3, providing the R package and instructions for making the sampling procedure. |
| Impact | Sample procedure. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | NERC British Geological Survey, UK |
| Organisation | British Geological Survey |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | URBE Latam The University of Warwick team contributes expertise in transdisciplinary co-production, participatory mapping and dialogic production of knowledge, as well as coordination of the project across 15 research collaborators and non-academic partners. |
| Collaborator Contribution | URBE Latam Ms Emma Bee and Dr Claire Foster are Co-Investigators on URBE Latam. Ms Bee, Dr Foster and BGS researcher Annie Winson contribute their expertise to WP3, providing the consortium with extensive geoscience knowledge and expertise of landslide processes and analysis of landslide impact through susceptibility mapping. BGS made an in-kind contribution of access to geological data holdings for research purposes. Waterproofing Data Ms Emma Bee is the Chair of the Steering Committee for the project. Emma is an experienced natural hazards analyst and has an active role in the project for auditing results, advising on the design and execution of dissemination plans and engaging the Natural Hazards Partnership-UK. As a sign of institutional commitment to this project, BGS have provided match funding with an in-kind contribution of additional 4 days a year for Emma Bee to work on this project. |
| Impact | "Exchanging knowledge for enhancing flood resilience in Brazil and the UK" Waterproofing Data workshop 08.06.2020 with BGS and the Met Office. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | NERC British Geological Survey, UK |
| Organisation | British Geological Survey |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | URBE Latam WP3 defined the risk level for the different geological classifications in Medellín, to contribute to the susceptibility analysis. |
| Collaborator Contribution | BGS Dr. Christian Arnhardt contributed their expertise to WP3, providing insights for the classification to be used in the susceptibility mapping and the physical vulnerability assessment. |
| Impact | Geological risk classification |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Ruta N, Colombia |
| Organisation | Ruta N |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | In future years, involvement with the URBE Latam project will allow Ruta N to identify opportunities to utilize digital information to reduce vulnerabilities. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Ruta N is the Medellín municipality's innovation agency, which has a strategic focus on catalysing technology and innovation-driven development to address challenges the city of Medellín is facing. Ruta N contributes expertise in Medellín and Metropolitan Area´s open data ecosystem, notably regarding urban infrastructure, mobility, waste, data and infrastructure for equity. |
| Impact | Outputs forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Solidarity Committee, Brazil |
| Organisation | Solidarity Committee |
| Country | Brazil |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | When the community in Morro do Preventorio in Rio de Janeiro being significantly affected by the pandemic, a 'Solidarity Committee' was formed with 60 favela community leaders, 12 cooperatives and 100 volunteers from local universities, social organizations and NGOs, including the project team. The project team were able to use previously co-produced maps of the community to prioritise needs during the pandemic, and to quickly identify particularly vulnerable residents in and around Rio de Janeiro who could not access food due to the lockdown. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Under the leadership of Banco Preventorio, the Solidarity Committee was able to use the maps produced by URBE Latam to guide the distribution of over 1,700 food 'baskets' to residents of neighbourhoods near Rio de Janeiro/Brazil. |
| Impact | Further details of the impact arising from the collaboration with the Solidarity Committee are given under 'Rio de Janeiro COVID-19 community support (Brazil) (2020)'. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | UN Habitat, Kenya |
| Organisation | UN Habitat Global Urban Observatory |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | In future years, involvement with the URBE Latam project will allow UN Habitat to gain an enhanced understanding of social vulnerability for SDG 11 monitoring. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Dr Robert Ndugwa is the Head of Data Analytics Section of UN Habitat and is a member of the International Advisory Board of URBE Latam, providing advice and oversight to the project team. In the future of the project, the Global Urban Observatory at UN Habitat will provide an institutional platform for the dissemination and local adaptation of the methodological approach emerging from the project through its Global Urban Observatory Network, assist with the outreach for and organisation of methodological workshops with national and local urban development stakeholders, and work with the project team to incorporate the methodological insights resulting from the project into the GUO toolbox. |
| Impact | Outputs forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Universidad Autónoma Latinoamericana |
| Organisation | Autonomous Latin American University |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The URBE Latam project team is contributing to the development of an enhanced understanding of community needs for support in El Pacífico, through both the Junta de Acción Comunal (Community Action Board) and the Mesa de Atención y Recuperación (Recovery Working Group). |
| Collaborator Contribution | UNAULA is a private university of Medellín. It hosts the Master's degree on Education and Human Rights, which through it's research program Territorialities for Peace with Social Justice has been aiming to strengthen social processes throughout the national context. One of the experiences that this research program sought to aid was the recovery process of El Pacífico after the disaster that took place on the 18th of September of 2020. The university's contribution consisted in guidance and methodological review for the short documentary "El Pacífico: Territory of hope". |
| Impact | A short documentary titled "El Pacífico: Territory of hope", detailing the recovery process of the Junta de Acción Comunal (Community Action Board) of El Pacífico was produced in collaboration with CJL and Universidad Autónoma Latinoamericana. This production was partly directed by one of URBE Latam's researchers, and the translation efforts for Portuguese and English were carried out the project's Early Career Researchers. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Universidade De Pernambuco |
| Organisation | University of Pernambuco |
| Country | Brazil |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | URBE Latam WP3 defined the characteristics for the susceptibility study. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Dr George Fernandes Azevedo contribute their expertise to WP3, providing information about different models and methodologies for susceptibility estimation. |
| Impact | Model inventory. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | University of Antioquia, Colombia |
| Organisation | University of Antioquia |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The University of Warwick team contributes expertise in transdisciplinary co-production, participatory mapping and dialogic production of knowledge, as well as coordination of the project across 15 research collaborators and non-academic partners. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Professor Camilo Ernesto Restrepo-Estrada is a Co-Investigator of URBE Latam responsible for WP3, dedicating 20% of his time to the project. Professor Restrepo contributes his expertise in socio-hydrology, leveraging data from social media and citizen observatories to support monitoring and forecasting of floods, and modeling and spatial optimisation of land uses. In addition he acts as the Colombian lead for the project, coordinating the activities of University of Antioquia and Colegio Mayor de Antioquia researchers. Professor Restrepo is assisted by post-doctoral researcher Dr Natalia Gómez. The University of Antioquia made an in-kind contribution of office space for a post-doctoral research assistant during the three years of the project, meeting room space for workshops with stakeholders, and temporary office space for members of the international team during their visit to Medellin. |
| Impact | Outputs forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Title | "Tô no Prevê" ("I'm in Preventório") community mapping app |
| Description | The main software product of the project is "Tô no Prevê" ("I'm in Preventório"), a community mapping mobile app, powered by OpenStreetMaps, and available for Android smartphones . In the context of URBE LatAm, it is used to map physical and social vulnerabilities to the community as well as what the app calls potentialities: i.e. community assets that can be used to overcome these issues, such as NGOs, public spaces and community leadership. This version has the following features: GPS location, category creation, data export in CSV format, community viewing of the mapped information. |
| Type Of Technology | Webtool/Application |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | The use of a collaborative app, instead of traditional mapping tools, aims to provide a greater engagement by the community, and therefore greater participation in the mapping process. The main stakeholders of Tô no Prevê are the residents of the Preventório favela in Niterói (a major city in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area. The entire development team is based in Brazil, with some participation coming from consultants in Colombia and the United Kingdom. |
| Title | Co-produced maps - Brazil |
| Description | The co-produced community risk perception maps provide a granular and nuanced view of multiple perceived risks (flood, landslide and rockfalls) and risk levels across the neighborhood. The type of risks and the perception of risk levels (High, Medium, Low) were initially drawn on the paper base map, from workshops with different community groups, where a form made by BGS (British Geological Survey) and translated by the Brazil team (for facilitation purposes) has been applied. After that, the Brazil team digitized the maps to GIS format and georeferenced all the points, returning them to the BGS team, who then turned them into the granular maps that we showed back to the community. With the maps return workshops, we were able to discuss the information with the residents. |
| Type Of Technology | New/Improved Technique/Technology |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | The possibility of discussing the three physical risks we were working with and how the community perceives them, in addition to increasing community awareness regarding topics of physical vulnerability. |
| Title | Co-produced maps - Colombia |
| Description | The co-produced community risk perception maps provide a granular and differentiated view of the multiple perceived risks and the risk levels across the neighbourhood. The type of risks and perception of risk levels (High, Medium, Low) were drawn on the paper base map at first, and these were later put through GIS specialized software by the Colombian research team with guidance and support from the British Geological Survey. These maps were made to cover three hazard scenarios prioritized by the community. In order of importance, these were: Torrential flood, landslide and rockfall. After the paper maps were transplanted into GIS data, a grid system was made to cover all of the territory to more easily pinpoint the specificity of each hazard, and properly transition from "drawings" into an equally distributed preview grid model for hazard perception. |
| Type Of Technology | New/Improved Technique/Technology |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | Based on this grid division approach, the researchers simulated two scenarios based on community input: Mode: Each hazard was individually overlapped to identify the risk qualification that was most often used by the community members to define any given zone as high, medium or low. Worst case: Despite any overlapping data, the worst possible case was selected. Meaning, if in any given square of the grid all three risk levels were present, only High would be accounted for. In a square where Medium and Low were present, Medium would be chosen for reference in the final model. After having organized the information with the aid of the British Geological Survey, eight hazard perception maps were produced. Two maps for each hazard under both scenarios, plus two Multihazard maps combining all 3 hazards for both Mode and Worst case. |
| Description | "Encounters that produce affection", November 21, 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Blog post about the meeting the URBE Latam Brazil team had with members of TETO Minas Gerais and Waterproofing data project about mapping activities of both projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://urbe-latam.cos.ufrj.br/2022/11/21/encontros-que-produzem-afeto/ |
| Description | "Is an entry made by inviting people?", October 20, 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Blog post about the invitation URBE Latam Brazil team received from Dicionário de Favelas Marielle Franco (Favela Dictionary Marielle Franco) to write an article to "Outras Palavras" ('Other words') about the process of mapping Preventório's territory. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://urbe-latam.cos.ufrj.br/2022/10/20/verbete-se-faz-convidando-pessoas/ |
| Description | "The curiosity generated an interview: the mapping process in the Boletim Ciência" November 10, 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Blog post talking about the interview for Canal Saúde ('Health Channel') (Fiocruz broadcasting station) about mapping in Preventório. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://urbe-latam.cos.ufrj.br/2022/11/10/a-curiosidade-gerou-uma-entrevisa-o-processo-de-mapear-no-... |
| Description | 'Cartographic Crossroads', November 23, 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Workshop facilitation at ENEDS: "Cartographic Crossroads" (Encontro Nacional de Engenharia e Desenvolvimento Social (ENEDS) is an important academic annual meeting of the Popular Engineering Network of Brazil. The workshop was about a methodology of counter mapping, it engaged the participants to focus on other types of cartographies, like how each person sees maps differently and how it can be a tool to tell stories and connect people. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | 'Collective Affections', March 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The workshop was about a methodology of counter mapping, it engaged the participants to focus on other types of cartographies, like how each person sees maps differently and how it can be a tool to tell stories and connect people. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | 2nd International Congress Development Goals |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Academic actors showcased different presentations on progress regarding the implementation and challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals considering the findings and progress of the URBE Latam project. The space was coordinated by an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the Institución Universitaria Tecnológico de Antioquia and had the participation as quality of speakers from researchers from the Colegio Mayor de Antioquia University Institution, and the Universidad de Antioquia attached to the research project. Engaging with an academic public through an open discussion about the link between the hazards of the high slopes of Medellín and the challenging implementation conditions for the SDG agenda. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Abstracts presented at Academic Integration Week of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The three abstracts sent to the UFRJ Academic Integration Week were accepted and presented at the event. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Community meetings in El Pacífico, Colombia |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A series of community meetings and workshops have been held both in person and online to engage the local community with the project and to provide support to the community's self-empowerment efforts. This includes attending the community-led Community Risk Board, and the Action and Recovery Working Group, which was established to respond to the landslide of September 2020. The working group membership is composed of community leaders, other community members, disaster agencies, NGOs and local universities. The URBE Latam and local university teams serve as advocates for the community interests and brokers in the community's relationship with the local authorities and municipal agencies. Community leaders report that the collaboration with URBE Latam and the project's presence in working group meetings has empowered the community with new knowledge and confidence in dealing with outside agencies. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021 |
| URL | https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/schoolforcross-facultystudies/igsd/urbelatam/news/blog3 |
| Description | Community meetings in Morro do Preventório, Brazil |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A series of community meetings and workshops have been held both in person and online to engage the local community with the project and to provide support to the community's self-empowerment efforts. This includes attending the community-led Community Risk Board, and the Solidarity Committee, which was established to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of the subsequent lockdown. The Solidarity Committee is composed of 60 favela community leaders, 12 cooperatives and 100 volunteers from local universities, social organizations and NGOs, including the project team, and has organised efforts to distribute food and aid to community members during the COVID-19 lockdown. Further details of the impact of the committee are reported under 'Influence on Policy, Practice, Patients & the Public'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021 |
| Description | Cultural exchange between El Pacífico (Medellín) and Preventorio (Niteroi) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | During this space, the treasurer of the Community Action Board of El Pacífico, Nancy Quirós, identified with citizenship card 21697063, had the opportunity to share her experience in relation to processes of popular education and organization of convites with the participants of the community organization Banco do Preventorio, as well as explore the knowledge of this group in relation to topics such as economics solidarity and defense of the territory. The space was coordinated by an interdisciplinary team of researchers and teachers from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and had the additional participation of researchers from the Colegio Mayor de Antioquia, and the Universidad de Antioquia attached to the research project. The interaction between community leaders from Brazil and Colombia, while sharing their knowledge about practices to improve practices for the wellbeing of their respective organizations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Delivery of results for collective construction |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This academic space has been part of the construction of the dialogue of knowledge between public servants, academia and community for the construction of knowledge about the evaluation of the conditions of threat, vulnerability and risk scenarios with the intention of strengthening planning processes at scale community. During this academic space, the researchers attached to the project from the University of Glasgow (United Kingdom), the Colegio Mayor de Antioquia, and the Universidad de Antioquia presented the results of three years of work around the consolidation of participatory cartographies, vulnerability models and threat models carried out in collaboration with the neighborhood's Community Action Board. Impact: The delivery of 21 maps generated with citizen data. These maps accounted for: Vulnerability, hazards, community census, official census, risk perception, basemap. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Engagement with secondary school students in Rio de Janeiro |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Exchange of knowledge between the project team and secondary school students. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | I Seminário Emergências Públicas Comunitárias e suas |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | During this space, academic and community actors from Colombia and Brazil showcased various presentations on community risk management. The space was coordinated by an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and had the participation as speakers of researchers from the Colegio Mayor de Antioquia University Institution and the Universidad de Antioquia attached to the research project. Engaging in discussions with other academic actors in regard to community risk management practices to further improve and refine the methods employed by the URBE Latam project team. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Meeting with CODEMAR - Maricá Economic Development Company |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of the projects that CODEMAR is carrying out, in addition to a brief discussion on solidarity economy and social currencies. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.marica.rj.gov.br/noticia/moeda-social-de-marica-e-demais-politicas-publicas-atraem-pesqu... |
| Description | Meeting with the Niterói mayor and his cabinet |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Discussion on solidary economy, social currencies and public policies. We had the opportunity to briefly present our work and our impact on Morro do Preventório and learn about other initiatives that Niterói City Hall is carrying out. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | http://www.niteroi.rj.gov.br/2023/02/15/prefeito-de-niteroi-recebe-comitiva-de-pesquisadores-para-di... |
| Description | National Volunteer Meeting of TECHO Brazil, October 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of our mapping process in Preventório and quick Q&A about it. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Participatory mapping - El Pacifico, Colombia |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Mapathons with wider UL team: 1 online sessions Attended by community members, students, SIATA 3 co-produced Mapping sessions with the community This includes 'mapathons' for the co-production of maps Post-disaster recovery, disaster risk mitigation for flash floods A series of participatory mapping sessions were held with the community in El Pacifico, (Colombia) to co-produce maps of the local neighbourhood and engage citizens with the aims of the project. One 'mapathon' session with the wider URBE Latam team, community members and members of SIATA (a local disaster early warning organisation) was held online, followed by three smaller mapping sessions, also held virtually. As well as producing accurate maps of the area for the first time, mapping sessions included the co-production of maps for the purposes of post-disaster recovery, and disaster risk mitigation for flash floods. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Participatory mapping - Morro do Preventório, Brazil |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A series of participatory mapping sessions were held with the community in Morro do Preventório (Brazil) to co-produce maps of the local neighbourhood and engage citizens with the aims of the project. One 'mapathon' session with the wider URBE Latam team and community members was held online, followed by five smaller mapping sessions, also held virtually. As well as producing accurate maps of the area for the first time, mapping sessions included the co-production of maps for the prioritisation of needs during the pandemic, and support for processes to identify local skillsets as a basis of value creation within and for the community, as well as work to identify solid waste hotspots to reduce the risk of flash floods and public health hazards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021 |
| URL | https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/schoolforcross-facultystudies/igsd/urbelatam/news/blog2 |
| Description | Presentation at State, Territory and Solidarity Economy Seminar (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | An essay about community mapping in Morro do Preventório. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Presentation at the International Transdisciplinary Conference 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | For this virtual conference hosted by ETH Zürich, Alessandra Figueiredo, Marcos Rodrigo and Philipp Ulbrich presented a pre-recorded video describing the trans-disciplinary and co-creative research approach adopted in WP1 in Morro do Preventório. The presentation received follow-on questions from colleagues. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://api.swiss-academies.ch/site/assets/files/16939/itd_conference_2021_call_for_contributions-1.... |
| Description | Press releases |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Two press releases were produced to publicise the project and emerging impacts around the COVID-19 response in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and the landslide response in Medellín (Colombia). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/1m_to_boost |
| Description | Project blogs |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Three blog posts written for a general audience and focusing on different aspects of the project were published on the project website, and publicised on social media. In total the blogs have been viewed 785 times (data up to 02/03/21). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/schoolforcross-facultystudies/igsd/urbelatam/news/ |
| Description | Recalibrating risk mapping with data citizens |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This academic space has been part of the construction of the dialogue of knowledge between public servants, academia and community for the construction of knowledge around the evaluation of the threat conditions, vulnerability and risk scenarios with the intention of strengthening planning processes at the community level. During this academic space, researchers attached to the project from the University of Glasgow (United Kingdom), the Universidad de Antioquia and the Institución Universitaria Mayor de Antioquia offered the results obtained regarding community management of risks in the urban-rural border of Comuna 8 based on citizen data. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | URBE Latam World Café (Medellín) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | During this space, carried out in the Piloto Public Library of the municipality of Medellín, actors from different sectors (Public, academy, community, NGO) of local, regional, and international character participated in different activities to present technical, academic and social advances around the management processes of the disaster risk in self-constructed communities in the municipality of Medellín (Colombia) and from Niteroi (Brazil). The space was coordinated by an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the Universidad de Antioquia, the Institución Universitaria Colegio Mayor de Antioquia, the University of Warwick (United Kingdom) and the Universidade Federal de Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Engaging in an open dialogue about the goals of URBE Latam as a whole, as well as integrating the different work teams from both countries with the landscape of social actors of Medellín. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2022 |
| URL | https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/schoolforcross-facultystudies/igsd/urbelatam/news/?newsItem=8a1785d87... |
| Description | WP2 and WP1 presentation on Community Data Sovereignty at the Centennial International Geographic Union Conference (Sorbonne, Paris) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on community data sovereignty, based on the insights and activities of WP1 and WP2. The immediate result was feedback regarding the novel concept of community data sovereignty. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.ugiparis2022.org/en/nbsp/4 |
| Description | WP2 paper presentation at the UK Alliance for Disaster Research Conference 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Philipp Ulbrich presented the insights from WP2 to the disaster risk research community, followed by a panel discussion. The presentation triggered several questions about risk data governance, and Dr. Ulbrich was approached to provide input into the concept for a risk data session at the Global Alliance of Disaster Risk Institutes' Annual Conference in Kyoto 2023. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | http://www.ukadr.org/docs/UKADR-conference-2022.pdf |
| Description | WikiFavela: cartography of favelas, October 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | TV interview about the mapping process in Preventório and its connection with community's way of doing science |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaXUQvtv_vE |
| Description | Workshop series Tamo Junto - Dicionário de Favelas Marielle Franco August-October 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This workshop was conducted by the mapping team of URBE Latam in Morro do Preventório with the Collective of Favelas in Rio de Janeiro state. The team was invited by community leaders of six favelas in Rio de Janeiro to present the methods and tools used for community mapping in favelas to community members. The workshop involved sharing the knowledge acquired by the mapping group of Preventorio about the OpenStreetMap and Kobo Collect tools, in addition to the method developed by the team. Workshop participants were afterwards well equipped to conduct mapping in their own communities and to teach other favelas to do the same. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Workshops 'Cartographic Crossroads' at EVEDS - October 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Workshop facilitation at EVEDS : "Cartographic Crossroads" O Encontro Nacional de Engenharia e Desenvolvimento Social (ENEDS or EVEDS) is an important academic annual meeting of the Popular Engineering Network of Brazil. The workshop engaged with university students to reflect on types of cartographies, in addition to sharing the mapping methods used by the project in Preventório. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |