Place building: Enhancing resilience in Hazard-Prone Public Areas. The case of Arequipa, Peru

Zeballos-Velarde C.; Chevarria-Aredo S. · ZEMCH International Conference (2023)

Resumen

Like in many other cities in developing countries, a large part of Arequipa's peri-urban territory is located in risk areas, particularly due the city's proximity to Misti volcano and to seasonal ravines vulnerable to flooding. This situation results in social and physical fragmentation, leading to the detachment of local communities. For this reason, the authors propose the concept of "Place Building", which is better adapted to the characteristics of urban contexts in cities of the Global South compared to the more ephemeral practice of "Placemaking". Place Building is a tool that proposes the integration of fragmented communities near seasonal ravines through the implementation of evolutive, low-cost and easily implementable urban elements in public spaces. These elements act as catalysts, contributing to risk mitigation by improving the physical conditions of these vulnerable areas, thereby increasing their resilience to face hazardous events. The interventions are conceived from the outset to tackle substantial infrastructure challenges in public spaces, with development taking place in stages. This approach is especially helpful in a Latin American context, where the socio-political environment hinders the implementation of quality public spaces, particularly in peri-urban areas. To achieve this, a pilot area of intervention was selected, which articulates urban, environmental, social, and institutional aspects to enhance community resilience. Subsequently, an easy-to-build, identifiable, small-scale, replicable, and scalable prototype is proposed. This prototype facilitates social exchanges and connections in public spaces, fostering the creation of organized social capital and laying the foundation for permanent projects that address the genuine needs of an organized community. Additionally, these interventions have the potential to improve the physical conditions of public spaces in marginalized communities and attract various stakeholders and investors.

Instituciones: Universidad Católica San Pablo