This document discusses how "unnatural" disasters caused by inadequate responses to weather events and gentrification have exacerbated socioeconomic inequities globally. The author argues that events like the housing crisis in South Africa and Hurricane Katrina in the US revealed missed opportunities for architects to act as second responders and ensure durable shelter for all citizens impacted. The author describes challenging their students to design renewable and water resistant shelter prototypes to address displacement, drawing inspiration from a cardboard shelter design. The paper aims to promote collaboration between architects, academics, and government agencies to better prepare for and respond to future unnatural disasters.
Prof.dr. halit hami öz sociology-chapter 20-population, urbanization, and the...Prof. Dr. Halit Hami Öz
KAFKAS ÜNİVERSİTESİ/KAFKAS UNIVERSITY
SOCIOLOGY
Course
LECTURE NOTES AND POWER POINT PRESENTATIONS
Prof.Dr. Halit Hami ÖZ
Kars, TURKEY
hamioz@yahoo.com
"Green pretexts: Ecotourism, neoliberal conservation and land grabbing in Tayrona National Natural Park, Colombia" por: Doctora Diana Ojeda
Diana Ojeda holds a PhD in Geography from Clark University. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cultural Studies at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Bogotá, Colombia). Her research interests include political ecology, feminist political geography and tourism studies. Email: diana.ojeda@javeriana.edu.co
Via: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03066150.2012.658777#.U12PkoGSxic
Muchas gracias por sus aportes a la Gestión del Conocimiento.
Applied Eugenics. The basics and foundations of what Eugenics is. For those who have no idea of what Eugenics are and how they came about. Gloucester, Virginia Links and News website. Visit us for incredible content.
#INDG2015 Week 12, November 25 -- Traditional Ecological KnowledgeZoe Todd
12. November 25: Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Braiding Sweetgrass, Chapter 5, “Burning Sweetgrass” (pp.303-340) update: the page numbers don't correspond in all versions of the book so I'll start listing sections instead: Windigo Footprints, The Sacred and the Superfund
McGregor, Deborah. 2006. “Traditional Ecological Knowledge”. Ideas: the Arts and Science Review, vol. 3, no. 1 http://www.silvafor.org/assets/silva/PDF/DebMcGregor.pdf
Berkes, Fikret. 1999. Chapter 1: Context of Traditional Ecological Knowledge, pp. 1-16 in Sacred Ecology: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Natural Resource Management. Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis.
Scott, Colin. 2011 [1989]. “Science for the West, Myth for the Rest? The Case of James Bay Cree Knowledge Construction.” Pp. 175-197 in The Postcolonial Science and Technology Studies Reader edited by Sandra Harding. Durham: Duke University Press.
The Axes of Resilience: The Case of the Earthquakes of September 7 and 19, 2017 in Mexico by Joel F Audefroy* in Advancements in Civil Engineering & Technology
In 2015, The Rockefeller Foundation collaborated with several partners to begin developing incentive-based mechanisms to address competition for freshwater, and to bring human water use back in balance with the water needs of freshwater ecosystems in order to build long-term resilience. The early solutions that emerged, and the wider lessons from the group’s work, are captured in this report.
Sustainability through Informality
Cristina Dreifuss-Serrano
Abstract
In precarious environments, such as squatter settlements, sustainability can be achieved as an economic resource. It is important, however, to start with assuring a sense of belonging in the members of the communities. Through observation in squatter settlements and conversations with their inhabitants, this paper presents a view on informal sustainability through participative
processes. We argue that if we begin by looking at cultural sustainability, people’s sense of belonging becomes a key factor in taking care of the environment. We aim to demonstrate that even if squatter settlements are regarded as areas of conflict in terms of pollution, occupation of the land, and waste disposal, through informal processes people can achieve a degree of awareness that will not only result in sustainable practices, but that can also propose new creative ways to achieve them, with
economical considerations in mind.
Keywords: Cultural sustainability, informality, human development, squatter settlements, identity
Prof.dr. halit hami öz sociology-chapter 20-population, urbanization, and the...Prof. Dr. Halit Hami Öz
KAFKAS ÜNİVERSİTESİ/KAFKAS UNIVERSITY
SOCIOLOGY
Course
LECTURE NOTES AND POWER POINT PRESENTATIONS
Prof.Dr. Halit Hami ÖZ
Kars, TURKEY
hamioz@yahoo.com
"Green pretexts: Ecotourism, neoliberal conservation and land grabbing in Tayrona National Natural Park, Colombia" por: Doctora Diana Ojeda
Diana Ojeda holds a PhD in Geography from Clark University. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cultural Studies at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Bogotá, Colombia). Her research interests include political ecology, feminist political geography and tourism studies. Email: diana.ojeda@javeriana.edu.co
Via: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03066150.2012.658777#.U12PkoGSxic
Muchas gracias por sus aportes a la Gestión del Conocimiento.
Applied Eugenics. The basics and foundations of what Eugenics is. For those who have no idea of what Eugenics are and how they came about. Gloucester, Virginia Links and News website. Visit us for incredible content.
#INDG2015 Week 12, November 25 -- Traditional Ecological KnowledgeZoe Todd
12. November 25: Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Braiding Sweetgrass, Chapter 5, “Burning Sweetgrass” (pp.303-340) update: the page numbers don't correspond in all versions of the book so I'll start listing sections instead: Windigo Footprints, The Sacred and the Superfund
McGregor, Deborah. 2006. “Traditional Ecological Knowledge”. Ideas: the Arts and Science Review, vol. 3, no. 1 http://www.silvafor.org/assets/silva/PDF/DebMcGregor.pdf
Berkes, Fikret. 1999. Chapter 1: Context of Traditional Ecological Knowledge, pp. 1-16 in Sacred Ecology: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Natural Resource Management. Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis.
Scott, Colin. 2011 [1989]. “Science for the West, Myth for the Rest? The Case of James Bay Cree Knowledge Construction.” Pp. 175-197 in The Postcolonial Science and Technology Studies Reader edited by Sandra Harding. Durham: Duke University Press.
The Axes of Resilience: The Case of the Earthquakes of September 7 and 19, 2017 in Mexico by Joel F Audefroy* in Advancements in Civil Engineering & Technology
In 2015, The Rockefeller Foundation collaborated with several partners to begin developing incentive-based mechanisms to address competition for freshwater, and to bring human water use back in balance with the water needs of freshwater ecosystems in order to build long-term resilience. The early solutions that emerged, and the wider lessons from the group’s work, are captured in this report.
Sustainability through Informality
Cristina Dreifuss-Serrano
Abstract
In precarious environments, such as squatter settlements, sustainability can be achieved as an economic resource. It is important, however, to start with assuring a sense of belonging in the members of the communities. Through observation in squatter settlements and conversations with their inhabitants, this paper presents a view on informal sustainability through participative
processes. We argue that if we begin by looking at cultural sustainability, people’s sense of belonging becomes a key factor in taking care of the environment. We aim to demonstrate that even if squatter settlements are regarded as areas of conflict in terms of pollution, occupation of the land, and waste disposal, through informal processes people can achieve a degree of awareness that will not only result in sustainable practices, but that can also propose new creative ways to achieve them, with
economical considerations in mind.
Keywords: Cultural sustainability, informality, human development, squatter settlements, identity
Who are We and What is SingleMommie.com all about?
This website was created to be used as a comprehensive resource for single mom’s everywhere. Packed with current information and upbeat articles on careers, education, grants, scholarships, help with housing, parenting tips, relationships, health, fitness, and finances, you’ll find nothing but quality and current information here.
For more details please visit:-http://www.singlemommie.com/
B6 Shelters for victims of domestic violence: just for living or for empowerm...VSE 2016
(Daniel Cotrim, APAV)
This workshop presents a qualitative analysis of the experiences of living in a shelter for women who have suffered domestic violence. It was analyzed their experiences from five different dimensions: (i) the shelter as an institution ; (ii) the motivations and expectations to be accepted and the first days of sheltering, (iii) feelings of change and prospects for the future; (iv) establishment and quality of interpersonal relationships amongst women and between them and the technical staff; and (v) the importance of organizational empowerment for women in the shelter.
The empowerment and participation of women in shelters, often collides with the need of the organization to maintain order and control. The decision making is only in the hands of the technical staff. It is important to analyze the current models of intervention in these areas and whether they are actually promoting the empowerment and take into account the perceptions of the women who live there.
Part #1 of my thesis project on my way to completing my B.F.A. in Interior Design this poster giving an overview of my thesis would not have been possible without Illustrator and Photoshop
Gender Based Violation & Discrimination
in South Asia
Dr. Vibhuti Patel, Director, PGSR
Professor & Head, Department of Economics,
SNDT Women’s University, Churchgate, Mumbai-400020.
E-mail- vibhuti.np@gmail.com Phone-91-022-26770227, mobile-9321040048
Introduction
Violence against women (VAW) has become a central issue in the discourse of the international women’s movement in the 21st century. Women’s networks in the South Asia have taken up wide range of issues concerning violence against women (VAW) in their personal lives as well as against the systems perpetuating it. “Personal is political”, a slogan popularised by two decades of women’s movement in the last century signifies consistent campaigns against all forms of violence in women’s intimate/personal and public/societal lives. Social construction of masculinity in the region is defined by cultural nationalism, jingoism and militarisation of the economy as well as ethnic/caste/religious chauvinism in the context of worsening economic crisis due to liberalisation, privatisation, globalisation(LPG). Escalating fundamentalist backlash in the South Asian countries takes the most barbaric form in terms of wide range of violence against women at different stages of their lives, from womb to tomb. Moreover, as a result of modernisation and commercialisation of subsistence economies, family-ties have become less supportive. Increasing intra-state, inter-state and cross country migration as well as trafficking of women and girls has a sole purpose of SEXPLOITATION-ferocious and complete control over their sexuality, fertility and labour. Cut throat competition among the nation states have increased work-burden drastically due to shift from just-in-case approach to just-in-time approach to meet the targets of production at the cheapest possible cost.
During the eighties, women’s rights organisations mushroomed in the South Asia in response to varied manifestations of VAWG by the state apparatus and in the civil society in the form of anti-women family laws and customary laws, communal carnage, sexual harassment at workplace and assaults on individual women in the family and in the society. They organised rallies and demonstrations, sit-ins and conventions, seminars and conferences, which culminated into politics of protest movements and petitioning. In the 1990s, the women’s groups consolidated their base by finding their allies in the state apparatus and created their institutional base and shelter homes of women and children victims of violence. Now, it is accepted by all progressive forces that “Women’s rights are human rights”.
Villa Sana EcoResort & Natural Health CenterLuis O Maymí
An Eco Resort & Natural Health Center devoted to natural healing, wellness & beauty.
A place & people dedicated to providing services, facilities, education and research programs that help one learn how and to live long , healthy lives.
This is a final year architectural thesis presentation. The thesis objective was to combine the psychological and physical treatments and solve the spatial problems through architectural planning.
This slide show is in conjunction with my design portfolio. This showcases my Thesis project as a cumulative example of the variation in acquired skills, and practices.
Reciprocity, Altruism, & Need-based Transfers as Potential Resilience Conferr...Keith G. Tidball
Kick-off talk for Disaster section of the Risk, Disasters, and Need-based Transfers Workshop hosted by the Human Generosity Project and the Decision Center for a Desert City, Arizona State University
Humans and the environmentLECTURE 1Environment and P.docxsheronlewthwaite
Humans and the
environment
LECTURE 1
Environment and Policy
Dr Aideen Foley [email protected]
Objective
Explore environmental policy with
an emphasis on the actors and
values that shape it.
Key content
Environmental and social principles
relating to policy-making
Regulatory, market-based and non-
legislative policy tools.
Environmental policy challenges,
successes and failures
Module
overview
1. Humans and the environment
2. Environmental principles
3. Social principles in
environmental policy-making
4. Environmental governance and
participation
5. Fundamentals of sustainability
6. Environmental regulation
7. Environmental issues as market
problems
8. Environment and business
responsibility
9. Climate change policy
10. Climate change ethics
Module
overview
Assessment
2 x 3500 word learning journals.
1 question to consider each week.
Critical thinking is key.
1-5 due by 6pm, November 12th
6-10 due by 6pm, January 14th
Assignment clinics:
Lectures 5 and 10.
Humans and the Environment
How do people ‘value’ the environment?
How do people perceive environmental risk?
Key concepts
▪ Environmental worldviews
▪ Cultural Theory of risk
▪ Political economy of risk
Why does this matter?
If we consider misplaced values and
perceptions as one cause of
environmental problems, we need to
understand theoretical frameworks that
attempt to explain peoples’
relationships with the environment in
order to respond to that.
1. Environmental worldviews
Environmental values, like all psychological and social constructs,
are found ‘within’ human individuals, institutions and societies,
and find expression and representation across all human
activities, relationships, and cultural products.
Reser, J.P. and Bentrupperbäumer, J.M., 2005. What and where are environmental values? Assessing the
impacts of current diversity of use of ‘environmental’and ‘World Heritage’values. Journal of Environmental
Psychology, 25(2), pp.125-146.
Ecocentric
The person is not above or
outside of nature. E.g. Deep
ecology, eco-feminism.
Biocentric
Does not distinguish
between humans and other
life on Earth.
Environmental worldviews
Commonly shared beliefs that give groups of people a sense
of how humans should interact with the environment.
Anthropocentric
Humans should manage
Earth's resources for our
own benefit. E.g. Planetary
management, stewardship,
‘no-problem’.
“…sowing and planting of trees had to
be regarded as a national duty of
every landowner, in order to stop the
destructive over-exploitation of
natural resources…”
John Evelyn (1662), English writer, gardener and diarist
Planetary management
“It is a well-provisioned ship, this on which we
sail through space. If the bread and beef above
decks seem to grow scarce, we but open a
hatch and there is a new supply, of which
before we never dreamed. And very great
command over the services of other ...
Rutherford H. Platt's presentation for
Roundtable - A National Framework for Natural Hazard Risk Reduction and Management: Developing a Research Agenda
This presentation discusses the future of Post Colonial Studies, specifically through the lens of environment/ecology. This was discussed in Ania Loomba's third edition of 'Colonialism/Postcolonialism.'
COLLAPSEThe Communication LandscapeEffective crisis commun.docxmary772
COLLAPSE
The Communication Landscape
Effective crisis communication planning requires having accurate demographic information. What languages are spoken in a particular area? Where do the more vulnerable populations live? Who is responsible for making decisions?
Effective communication strategies are typically rapid, accurate, and involve input from all those in decision-making positions. Understanding the cultural milieu and support systems may be challenging for responders from the area and even more so for responders from outside of the area. Overlay these obstacles with a technological inability to communicate inside or outside the region, and planning for communication before a crisis then takes on added importance. Additionally, without effective communication plans in place, disaster rumors and inaccurate or outdated information can in turn cause great chaos.
Furthermore, vulnerable populations can prove to be the most challenging people to assist after a disaster. As evidenced in the 2010 Haiti earthquake, relief was not immediate because of the existing impoverished pre-disaster conditions. Facilities such as airstrips and roads were in questionable repair, so aid coming in was not readily accessible. Most Haitians are low-income, existing on two U.S. dollars per day, and only 50% of the population is literate and able to read directions in order to find locations for food and water. Factors such as these contributed to difficulties in assisting this vulnerable population in the aftermath of the disaster.
To prepare for this Discussion:
Review Chapter 2 in your course text,
Crisis Intervention Strategies,
paying particular attention to multicultural perspectives and considerations.
Review the article, “Psychological Assessment of Children in Disasters and Emergencies,” and focus on the special issues related to assessing the needs of children and adolescents after a crisis. Also concentrate on the different psychological assessment tools that are appropriate for use with this population after a crisis.
Review the article, “Natural Disasters that Reveal Cracks in Our Social Foundation.” Think about the ways in which a break down in services and communication can be avoided for the elderly population during crises like the 2003 France heat wave.
Review the article, “The Transformation of Traditional Mental Health Service Delivery in Multicultural Society in California, USA That Can Be Replicated Globally,” paying particular attention to the necessity of mental health services as a top priority during crises.
Review the article, “Vulnerable Populations in an American Red Cross Shelter After Hurricane Katrina,” and think about the ways in which the ‘Model of Vulnerable Populations’ helps address crises wherein people suffer from multiple losses in their communities. Also think about appropriate mental health obligations that should be taken into consideration when working with vulnerable populations during and after a c.
Chapter 9Science, Technology, and the Future of African AmJinElias52
Chapter 9
Science, Technology, and the
Future of African Americans
Science
The intellectual and practical activity
encompassing the systematic study of the
structure and behavior of the physical and
natural world through observation and
experiment.
Technology
The application of scientific knowledge for
practical purposes, especially in industry;
Machinery and equipment developed from the
application of scientific knowledge;
The branch or knowledge dealing with
engineering or applied science
Popular Culture is increasingly supplanting
science as the major purveyor of cultural
imagery, values, and interpretations of social
and physical phenomena.
It's not magic, it’s Science!
Science is the process and the body of knowledge that enables us humans
to know nature. So far, it’s the best idea we’ve ever had.
Bill Nye, “The Science Guy,” is an American mechanical engineer, science
communicator, and television presenter
Receiving the Presidential Medal of
Freedom from Barack Obama at the
White House on 12 August 2009
Eddie Redmayne and Stephen Hawking at
the Theory of Everything feature film
premiere at the Odeon, Leicester Square,
in December 2014.
Stephen Hawking floating in a zero-
gravity jet undertaking parabolic dips to
simulate space conditions over the
Atlantic.
The first episode in which theoretical physicist and
cosmologist Stephen Hawking guest-starred as
himself (1999).
Stephen Hawking
The pop idol turned science idol, Professor Brian Edward Cox is a British physicist and professor of particle physics at the
University of Manchester. He is best recognized as the presenter of science programs for the British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC).
After presenting six programmes about physics, Prof Cox and his TV mentor, BBC head of science Andrew Cohen, felt he
was ready to make a blockbuster series of his own. Wonders of the Solar System established his mass appeal in 2010.
Today, after the airing of Wonders of the Universe, Wonders of Life and Human Universe, and countless appearances on
other programmes he is the undisputed heir apparent to David Attenborough as Britain’s premier presenter of science.
Science is too important not to be a part of popular culture.
— Brian Cox
neil
degrasse
tyson
The good thing about science is
that it’s true whether or not
you believe in it
Neil deGrasse Tyson, 2013
Integrating Science and Technology Studies
into African American Studies
S. E. Anderson has taught mathematics, science and Black History courses at Queens College, Sarah Lawrence College, SUNY
at Old Westbury College, Rutgers University and the New School University as well as CCNY & Queens Colleges’ Centers for
Worker Ed. He has also spent many years working within the anti-apartheid movement and for various African Liberation
struggles. He is currently doing national and international education consulting work with a particular focus on developing
Africa Diaspora’ ...
The sociology of social media and crises bahnisch 040411Dr Mark Bahnisch
Presentation at the Eidos Institute and QUT/ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation event, Social Media and Crises, 4 April 2011
Degrowing urban japan: From vacant lots to biocultural cityscapesChristoph Rupprecht
Japan frequently features as a prime example of (involuntary) degrowth. With severe depopulation of about 15% projected for the next 25 years, degrowth seems inevitable rather than utopian, frantic attempts by the Japanese government to boost growth notwithstanding. This trend is strongest in rural areas, but large cities such as Osaka, Kyoto or Sapporo are also expected to shrink by more than 10%. Yet in transitioning to sustainable, non-growth-based lifestyles, rural and coastal Japanese communities are reviving traditional models of landscape stewardship (satoyama and satoumi) that have no urban counterparts.
In this paper, I attempt to envision how such a counterpart for Japanese cities could look like. For this purpose, I draw upon characteristics of the traditional rural models such as biocultural diversity to combine them with key degrowth concepts and recent advances in urban green infrastructure. In particular, I examine what role the vacant lots and other informal green spaces of shrinking cities might play in realizing what Peter Matanle has termed the ‘depopulation dividend’. The aim is an urban landscape stewardship model (satomachi, derived from the Japanese characters for “arable land, home land” and “town, suburb”) that supports both human and non-human livelihood with a high quality of life as well as a functional, diverse ecosystem.
Human Ecology and Our Society’s Carrying CapacityECS 11130 A.docxwellesleyterresa
Human Ecology and Our Society’s Carrying Capacity
ECS 111
30 August 2016
Dr. Olson
Demography
Quantifying populations: numbers, sex ratios, wealth, health, …..
Calculating trends: birth, deaths, and migration
Understanding population transitions: Growth rates; positive and negative, trends with respect to economic development.
Demographic shifts in use of ecological services and the health of ecosystem function.
Homo sapiens populations
Demographic Transitions
From Krise Kronicle 2008
Age and gender structure in society
SHRM Foundation 2012
See futurehrtrends.eiu.com
Unequal Distributions in Demographic Trends
ibid
Population Reference Bureau data
Previous changes
Global issues and Migration:
Migration and its consequences:
Recent News
How do we really analyze these curves?
The literature suggests something rather profound, but it may be more complicated than this.
- What are the technological issues behind these curves? What has lead to the reduction in deaths?
- What are the cultural and economic issues behind these curves?
The variation in time is obvious in both curves.
The onset of changes are different.
The width of the pink area means what?
Population Transitions
14
What is happening here?
Both birth and death rates are declining, but with different starting points based on the measure of economic conditions.
However, since births > deaths human populations are increasing, and at differential rates with respect to economic development.
What factors are hidden in these curves?
Malthus’s Population Dynamics
Population grow in proportion to its size: Change (dN) is related to numbers N.
The rate of change simply is the difference between birth (b) and deaths (d); i.e. (b-d).
Introducing the Newtonian idea of mass action and his calculus then:
dN/dt = (b-d) N.
(1766-1834)
17
The Dilemma
Newton showed that for (b-d)> 0 the population grows to infinity in time (exponential growth) and for (b-d)< 0 the population decays to zero. If only b=d?
When does this happen: Logistic growth and the concept of Carrying Capacity (K).
Under logistic conditions: dN/dt = rN(1-N/K)
This was first derived in about 1832 by Verlhust.
Solution
s to demographic challenges?
Malthus decided: war, plague or famine
The other would be to let b=d and live at the environmental Carrying Capacity (K) where N=K and dN/dt =0; i.e. steady populations.
Now all we have to do is define K.
Reading: Brown Into. and Chapter 1
-What does Brown think determines K?
Problem: Can you derive the logistic equation? Set b=bo-b₁N and d=do+d₁N and then with some algebra define r andK.
Suggested Reading:
What does Brown feel is important?
Water: We know of no life form that can live without it; or at least reproduce without.
Soil: The basis of agriculture
Climate: The temperature and water flow that allows these to be available.
These of course depend on where we are and how many organisms are part ...
Thesis Statement About Sleep
Thesis Statement About Marriage
Thesis Statement On Water Scarcity
A Thesis On Modernism
Thesis For The Great Depression Essay
Thesis Statement : Mary Shelley s Frankenstein
Everyday Use Thesis Statement
Thesis Statement Of Poverty
Thesis Statement On Standardized Testing
Thesis Statement : Early Anxiety Essay
Thesis Statement On Drug Addiction
Thesis For Antigone
Womens Suffrage Movement Thesis
Thesis Statement : Sleep Deprivation
Surgical Technology Research Paper
Thesis Statement On Human Trafficking
Thesis Statement For Teen Suicide
Thesis Statement In Night By Elie Wiesel
Thesis Statement For Mental Health
(2014) History in Canadian High Schools: The Revival of an Endangered Subject...K-12 STUDY CANADA
2014 NCSS Conference presentation by Dr. Paul Bennett (Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, NS)
For supplementary notes on this presentation, see (2014) Supplementary Notes for Dr. Bennett’s PowerPoint Presentation – 11/2014 under the Documents tab.
(2014) History in Canadian High Schools: The Revival of an Endangered Subject...
horn_SOS-board layout
1. ABSTRACT
PART ONE
CONTINUED
CREDIT: TINA HOVSEPIAN
CARDBORIGAMI® FOUNDER
CREDIT: A. MINIFIELD, C. JEFFERSON
STUDENT
CREDIT: S. YARBROUGH, T. GORDON
STUDENTS
CREDIT: Q. BROWN, P. COUCH, J. MCCLAIN
STUDENTS
CREDIT:A.WASHINGTON,R.GHOLSTON,
R.MUHAMMAD-STUDENTS
Since 2005, “unnatural” disasters caused by inadequate response to weather events and
gentrification have unearthed socioeconomic inequities on a global scale. More specifically,
the need for shelter in response to such calamity has been grossly inadequate, and at times
apathetically dissonant.
In this paper, I argue that events like the “informal” housing crisis of Blikkesdorp in
South Africa and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina which disproportionately affected
African Americans, renters, people with low incomes, and the elderly both posed missed
opportunities for architects to act as second responders in hazard response. Essentially,
how then can the practice and pedagogy of architecture protect every citizen’s right to
durable and satisfactory shelter amid widespread destruction of the built environment cased
by conflict or natural disaster?
As a full-time professor of architecture at Tuskegee University, I was inspired by an ingenious
solution by Tina Hovsepian, an alumnus of the University of Southern California, who created
Cardborigami ®, a recyclable cardboard shelter intended to shield displaced citizens from
the elements. In her research, Hovsepian focused on the residents of Los Angeles’ Skid Row
district, characterized by its squalor, drug use, mental and physical health disorders. As
a result, I dove-tailed the theme of displacement with the subsequent fall semester in third-
year design studio.
My students addressed the socioeconomic impact of hazard response through two design
problems. First, I challenged my students to construct full-scale, renewable, and water
resistant shelter prototypes. These prototypes emphasized privacy, atypical of evacuation
shelters. Second, I merged the cap-stone design problem with ongoing research for mass
evacuations by the Alabama Rural and Urban Design Action Team (RUDAT) in the wake of
the North Alabama Tornadoes. In this paper I examine how architectural pedagogy can
supplement governmental initiatives and affect policy making.
Whether a refugee, or evacuee, or displaced resident, theses adjectives describe humans
who are victims of circumstance, and I argue that architects should be driven by a
higher humanitarian calling to provide adequate living conditions for them in the face of
catastrophe. This paper is written to promote collaboration among architects, academics,
planners, and government agencies to be proactive against future “unnatural” disasters.
These guiding principles address the specific needs of internally displaced persons
worldwide.
References
1. Deng, Francis M. “Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.” International Migration Review, Volume 33, Number 2. Summer
1999.
2. Glasgow, Morton & Johnson. (2004).Critical Issues in Rural Health. Rural Food Insecurity and Health. (pp.101-108). Blackwell
Publishing.
3. Kibreab, G. (2003). “Displacement, host governments’ policies, and constraints on the construction of sustainable livelihoods.”
International Social Science Journal, 55: 57–67.
4. Langdon II, James K; Kass, Mark. “Homelessness in America” Looking for the Right to Shelter.” 19 Columbia Journal of Law
and Social Problems 305 (1985).
5. Matheson, Scott. “The Informal Housing Crisis in Cape Town and South Africa.” Honors Research Thesis Presented in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for graduation
6. with honors research distinction in the Department of Geography in the undergraduate colleges of the The Ohio State
University.
7. Pastor, Manuel, Jim Sadd, and John Hipp. 2001. “Which Came First? Toxic Facilities, Minority Move-In, and Environmental
Justice,” Journal of Urban Affairs 23 (1): 1–21.
8. Peacock, Walter Gillis, Betty Hearn Morrow, and Hugh Gladwin, eds. 1997. Hurricane Andrew: Ethnicity, Gender, and the
Sociology of Disasters. London, UK: Routledge.
9. Pelling, Mark. 2003. Vulnerability of Cities: Natural Disasters and Social Resilience. London, UK: Earthscan.
10. People’s Hurricane Relief Fund. n.d. http://www.peopleshurricane.org (accessed June 14, 2007).
11. Powers, Michael P. 2006. “A Matter of Choice: Historical Lessons for Disaster Recovery.” In There Is No Such Thing as a
Natural Disaster: Race, Class, and Hurricane Katrina, edited by Chester Hartman and Gregory D. Squires. New York: Routledge.
12. Rivlin, Gary. 2005. “New Orleans Forms a Panel on Renewal,” New York Times, September 30, A11.
13. Saegart, Susan. 2006. “Building Civic Capacity in Urban Neighborhoods: An Empirically Grounded Anatomy,” Journal of Urban
Affairs 28 (3): 275–294.
14. Sirianni, Carmen, and Lewis Friedland. 2001. Civic Innovation in America: Community Empowerment, Public Policy and the
Movement for Civic Renewal. Berkeley: University of California Press.
15. Townsend, Gregory. “Cardboard Castles: The Fourth Amendment’s Protection of the Homeless’s Makeshift Shelters in Public
Areas.” California Western Law Review, Volume 35, Spring 1999, Number 2.
16. Unified New Orleans Plan (UNOP). 2006. “Citywide Recovery Assessment,” Working Paper #2. Appendix.
17. United Church of Christ. 1987. Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States: A National Report on the Racial and Socio-economic
Characteristics of Communities with Hazardous Waste Sites. New York: Public Data Access.
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SOS:UNNATURAL DISASTERS, THE ARCHITECT, AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT