URBE Latam: Understanding Risks and Building Enhanced Capabilities in Latin American cities
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Glasgow
Department Name: School of Social & Political Sciences
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
Publications
Figueiredo A.
(2022)
Mapping the Care of People with URBELatam
Figueiredo A.
(2022)
Encounters that produce affection
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
Rivera Flórez L
(2024)
Community mapping based on Milton Santos as a tool for disaster response and risk management in self-built communities: case study of El Pacífico, Medellín, Colombia
in Cogent Social Sciences
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
Verissimo E.
(2022)
Is an entry made by inviting people?
| 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 |
| Impact Types | Societal |
| 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 11/2025 |
| 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 | "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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 |