Papers by Vicente Sandoval
Urban Management, TU-Berlin, 2010
Globalization is a phenomena that has been widely researched from different areas of knowledge. I... more Globalization is a phenomena that has been widely researched from different areas of knowledge. In this paper will analyze the ideas of Brenner (among other) about globalization as reterritorialization process of cities and states. Likewise, it will be analyzed ʻglocalizationʼ as a key element of the globalization process, through which globalization is relatively fixed in immobile infrastructures into specific spaces and territories. Thus, deterritorialization and reterritorialization and also globalization and ʻglocalizationʼ can be described as “two sides of the same coin”. Regarding above, it will review some case-studies from Chile and La Araucania Region about how globalization process push to create and reconfigure public-private institutions as rescaling cities and state.
Revista de Estudios Latinoamericanos sobre Reducción del Riesgo de Desastres REDER, 2024
The following work presents a brief analysis of the nexus between post-colonialism, capitalism, a... more The following work presents a brief analysis of the nexus between post-colonialism, capitalism, and disasters in Chile and Latin America, with the aim of rethinking disaster risk management and reduction in the region for the coming decades. Thus, a radical reimagining of disasters in Latin America should emphasize the empowerment of marginalized voices, proactive disaster risk reduction, inclusive development, community resilience, the resolution of systemic injustices, and international solidarity. By integrating the perspectives and needs of indigenous communities and the urban poor into disaster planning, cities, and territories, prioritizing prevention and preparedness, redefining development to focus on well-being and sustainability, and fostering local initiatives, this approach demands that we address deep inequalities and other underlying factors of risk and maldevelopment. Addressing systemic issues such as land rights and wealth inequality, and promoting international collaboration, this radical reimagining can transform disasters into opportunities for positive social change, paving the way for a more just and equitable future in the region.
International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2023
This study analyzed the international key literature on integrated disaster risk management (IDRM... more This study analyzed the international key literature on integrated disaster risk management (IDRM), considering it a dynamic sociocultural process subjected to the historical process of social formation, offering a closer look at the concept while exploring conceptual elements and ideas to advance IDRM in both national and international contexts. Methodologically, the study adopted a literature review strategy, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach, combined with qualitative content analysis. This article examines the history of IDRM, discusses current challenges for implementation, looks at some experiences, and proposes avenues for further research. Some findings point out the lack of an overarching IDRM approach, which is characterized by a rather disperse set of ideas and experiences concerning what IDRM is and how it should be operationalized, thereby revealing the need for a more comprehensive theory and methodologies to further advance it. Other findings highlight that IDRM encompasses different kinds and levels of "integrations" that go from internal (that is, disaster risk reduction and management domains) to external (that is, all societal processes such as sustainable development), including temporal and spatial integrations. Hence, we are talking about a multidimensional integration of disaster risk management. In this regard, the article proposes four dimensions for integration: sectoral, spatial/hierarchical, temporal, and externally with other cross-cutting societal challenges, especially climate change and sustainable development. These dimensions cover 29 ideas for indicators or "proto-indicators" to guide the discussion, exploration, and analysis of IDRM in specific contexts.
Disaster Research Unit, FU-Berlin, 2023
The Disaster Research Journals List 2023 builds on the Disaster Research Journals Database (DRJ) ... more The Disaster Research Journals List 2023 builds on the Disaster Research Journals Database (DRJ) Database, which encompasses a curated list of journals dedicated to disaster research and science. The primary objective is to serve as a reliable resource for scholars, practitioners, and students navigating the vast and evolving landscape of disaster research literature. While the DRJ List and database can also assist researchers, professionals, and policymakers in identifying relevant publication outlets and consolidated sources of information in the field, they can be tools to track evolving trends and observe the development of the field, which has drastically expanded in the last decades. By August 2023, the DRJ Database contains 39 dimensions (or data points) for 111 journals. These data points range from basics such as ‘name’, ‘International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)’, ‘Uniform Resource Locator (URL)’, ‘publisher’, ‘country’, and ‘language’, to more specific details such as ‘short description’, ‘classification’, ‘COPE ethics guidelines’ signatory, ‘Open Access policy’, ‘Author Processing Charges (APC)’, ‘Copyrights’, ‘Turnaround times’, and ‘Periodicity’ (i.e., issues per year). Additionally, the database includes journal metrics like ‘Journal Impact Factor’, ‘CiteScore’, and ‘Google Scholar Metrics’.
The methodologies for prioritizing populated areas regarding the implementation of risk transfer ... more The methodologies for prioritizing populated areas regarding the implementation of risk transfer schemes are still limited due to the exclusion of social components. This research proposes a methodology for prioritizing territorial areas when implementing Climate Risk Transfer Mechanisms (CRTM) using the differential risk transfer approach and considering three Colombian regions as a case study. In order to achieve this, we carried out a literature review to identify existing related methodologies. We targeted components such as gender, ethnicity, poverty, exposure and governance. Workshops were also conducted to generate a multisectoral agreement concerning the variables to be included in the multicriteria analysis. Subsequently, we produced a ranking system applying the criteria to 12 departments both with and without Climate Change (CC) conditions. The results of our investigations showed that there are no records of methodologies for prioritizing areas that include variables of vulnerability and governance. The CC rankings indicated modifications to the previous rankings. The prioritized departments thus highlighted were La Guajira, Bolívar, Chocó, Magdalena, San Andres and Sucre. This research applied differential risk transfer to successfully improve the accuracy of the risk transfer mechanism and provides a methodological guide for optimizing technical and financial resources in the decision-making process for CRTM. This methodology is especially useful for territorial areas with low technical and economic capacities and can be replicated worldwide since the data is available through open access.
Herausforderungen und Kooperationsmöglichkeiten in den Themenbereichen Klimawandel, Risikomanagem... more Herausforderungen und Kooperationsmöglichkeiten in den Themenbereichen Klimawandel, Risikomanagement und Bevölkerungsschutz sowie Ressourcenmanagement zu bestimmen, war das Ziel der DAAD Alumni Sommerschule 2013 mit dem Titel "Coping with Disasters and Climate Extremes". Die erste Ausgabe von "Integrative Risk and Security Research" präsentiert dem Leser in dem Rahmen dieser Sommerschule entwickelte Perspektiven zu oben gennannten Themen.In facing recent natural and man-made disasters Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaption (CCA) calls for integrative thinking and learning across cultures, disciplines and institutions. In times of increasing complexity, insecurity and uncertainty thinking outside the box becomes essential. This first volume of “Integrative Risk and Security Research” presents related research contributions developed in the context of the 2013 DAAD Alumni Summer School "Coping with Disasters and Climate Extremes - Challenges...
Descentralización territorial y ciencia: una discusión pendiente
Las dimensiones geográficas y territoriales de la ciencia son por lo general aspectos relegadosa ... more Las dimensiones geográficas y territoriales de la ciencia son por lo general aspectos relegadosa un segundo plano cuando se negocian y discuten las políticas públicas que la fomentan. Sin embargo, siempre han existido. La política de reinserción del Capital Humano Avanzado deBecas Chile es un ejemplo, la cual estipula que en caso que los becarios decidan quedarse enla Región Metropolitana al retornar a Chile deben trabajar por el doble de los años queestuvieron fuera. Si trabajan en regiones, el tiempo de retribución es solo la misma cantidad de años que estuvieron formándose en el exterior.
This exploratory work seeks to shed light on disaster governance by looking into potential linkag... more This exploratory work seeks to shed light on disaster governance by looking into potential linkages between the production of vulnerability and disaster governance in Chile. Our point of investigation is the case of post-disaster Chaitén and the Chilean model of Disaster Risk Management. The work begins by situating disaster governance and the production of vulnerability in a broader context of existing governance system that includes a multiplicity of actors and socio-economic, socio-ecological, and political processes. Coming from a multi-scalar perspective, we use the disaster Pressure and Release (PAR) model to enable a differentiated analysis of the multiplicity of actors, rules, and processes related to DRM that participate in the production of disaster vulnerability in the current Chaitén. With this we address the questions as to 'why' the Chilean model of DRM is prominently centralised and 'what' are the effects on the production of disaster vulnerability for...
The goal of this evaluation is to improve the understanding of the Urban Disaster Risk Reduction ... more The goal of this evaluation is to improve the understanding of the Urban Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) programming carried out in Latin America and The Caribbean, and supported by the United States Agency for International Development's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA). The study focused on eight DRR projects awarded by USAID in Colombia, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, and Peru, between FY2012 and FY2016. The projects applied the USAID Neighborhood Approach (NA) to find practical and workable solutions for DRR in densely populated informal urban settlements. Two objectives and specific questions were defined for this evaluation: (1) the effectiveness and (2) the sustainability of the NA. The study comprised an extensive literature review, followed by a mixed research method, including surveys, focus groups, and interviews; disaster risk modeling; georeferencing analysis; and engineering inspections. Finally, an integrative processtriangulationwas used to analyze the data obtained from multiple theoretical positions. The study confirmed that neighborhoods are a living fabric of social, economic, and physical features that provide the residents of a particular territory with an identity, a sense of security, safety, and familiarity. The USAID-NA expands the consideration of DRR interventions beyond individuals and households to a settlement approach, addressing critical disaster risk drivers and development gaps, and encouraging a long-term vision. The study showed the need to balance physical and social interventions to match individual and collective needs, support community cohesion and self-determination, and meet expectations associated with the common good and community resilience. 2. Which aspects of the urban DRR Neighborhood Approach are most effective? Which aspects of the urban DRR Neighborhood Approach are least effective? To address this question, we used two different approaches: 1) Life Satisfaction Analysis (LSA) to measure the level of well-being attributed to the NA projects interventions and 2) Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) to calculate and compare benefits and costs of the specific NA interventions selected. The LSA showed that the categories with the highest impact on life satisfaction improvement were physical works and gains in social mobilization. Neighborhoods that received a community empowerment intervention (social mobilization category) increased their life satisfaction by 0.65 points. Considering that on average, the life satisfaction of all neighborhoods in the study was 2.46, the community empowerment intervention produced an increase in life satisfaction of nearly 27%. Other categories with interventions that significantly impacted life satisfaction were livelihoods and financial mechanisms, and institutional arrangements. The CBA of the DRR interventions revealed that overall, the USAID project interventions had cost-benefit ratios (BCRs) greater than one point, with the access paths being the most cost-beneficial. A BCR of one indicates that the discounted benefit of implementing an intervention equals its cost. The BCR of physical interventions such as access paths ranged from 6.48 in Rímac to 12.16 in Medellin. Using an average value of the statistical cost of life, the BCR for access paths increases to 98.9 and 47.43, respectively, for Medellin and Rímac. The drainage canal in Port-de-Paix, Haiti, yielded a BCR of 13.19, valued for benefits from avoided loss of household assets and increase in productive business days. Sanitation interventions, such as the septic tank in Mixco, obtained a BCR of 1.62. Benefits were projected for certain interventions, such as the land tenure registration effort in Portmore, Jamaica, for which a target has not yet been set. iv 3. To what extent is the Neighborhood Approach effective as compared to more traditional DRR approaches in LAC? We identified six DRR categories to conduct a thorough comparative analysis of the NA with other initiatives: 1) area-based; 2) market-based; 3) system-based; 4) institutional-based; 5) individual/household-based; and 6) operational. Some of the DRR initiatives fall into more than one category. The NA promoted by USAID can be primarily classified as area-based, but it further incorporates other DRR criteria (market-based, systembased, institutional-based, individual/household-based, and operational-based). In addition, the concept of neighborhood used in the NA goes beyond the pure geographical meaning of the area-based category: the neighborhood is a living fabric of social, economic, and physical features that provides the residents of a particular territory with an identity, a sense of security, safety, and familiarity. Our literature review revealed that institutions such as USAID, OXFAM, UNDP, DFID, and the World Bank used area-based approaches to a certain extent, but without emphasis on precariousness, informality, and risk exposure. 4. What factors influence the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of urban DRR programs using the Neighborhood Approach in each country of focus? We considered two categories of influencing factors for the effectiveness of urban DRR programs using the NA: 1) reflecting on internal aspects of each project and their immediate environment and 2) referring to the economic, political and social contexts in a broader sense, that is, outside the projects control. For instance, in the three projects in Lima (Carabayllo, Independencia, and Rímac) we identified several emergencies triggered by El Niño in 2017 in northern Peru that created a window of opportunity to introduce innovative DRR practices at different government levels. We also observed that local governments with a greater capacity in urban development avoided silos, fostered cross-sectorial integration, and tended to mainstream DRR practices within urban development. This was particularly effective and a common feature in Carabayllo, Medellin, Mixco, and Tegucigalpa. Other external factors included the volatile political context in Mixco; turnover of municipal personnel in Lima; organized crime and violence in Medellín; and specific land-tenure issues observed in Portmore. 5. To what extent are communities able to integrate DRR practices and take ownership of the Neighborhood Approach? What barriers to utilization of the Neighborhood Approach exist? We developed a community involvement indicator, using qualitative analysis of focus groups and interviews, to assess four aspects of community involvement: a) active involvement in planning; b) allocation of human and financial resources; c) active involvement in maintenance; and d) social control. In general terms, the communities were able to integrate DRR practices, although only in few cases took ownership of the Neighborhood Approach as a whole. With significant differences among countries, neighbors in Mixco, Medellín, Tegucigalpa, and the three projects in Lima demonstrated appropriation of DRR practices such as better garbage and waste water management for reducing flood impacts and afforestation and gardening to stem the risk of landslides and rockslides. People were more conscious of the risks they face and able to develop mechanisms to cope with and reduce them. In some cases, such as Medellín and Mixco, people achieved a certain level of empowerment as they started to demand more attention and action from local authorities. 6. To what extent are municipal and national authorities incorporating and institutionalizing the urban Neighborhood Approach? What evidence (including, but not limited to, policy or urban planning changes) is there that municipal or national authorities are managing urban risk differently due to USAID/OFDAs urban DRR Neighborhood Approach? A local government involvement indicator was developed using qualitative analysis of interviews and field observations to assess four aspects of local government involvement: a) active involvement in planning; b) v allocation of human and financial resources; c) active involvement in maintenance; and d) regulatory action. In cases like Carabayllo, Independencia, Mixco, Medellín, and Tegucigalpa, the municipalities incorporated new practices, such as the use of GIS and social media for DRR; participatory design and execution of physical works; inter-sectorial working groups for neighborhood development; and inclusion of DRR measures within municipal budget plans. According to our field observations and interviews, the best institutional ownership was achieved in Tegucigalpa, Mixco, and Medellín, primarily due to three factors: 1) the level of municipal autonomy to intervene in DRR; 2) implementers succeeded in creating inter-institutional and inter-sectorial (including private sector) articulations based on agreements and communication, and then translated these into action; and 3) the willingness and commitment of key actors at the highest level of municipal government, such as mayors or municipal managers. On the other hand, factors that limit the institutionalization of the NA were pointed out by the participants from Rímac, Portmore, and Haiti, including: 1) personnel turnover in municipalities; 2) a lack of willingness and commitment from local authorities; and 3) implementers lack of capacity/experience in involving local authorities. 7. What enabling factors and factors impeding success contribute to sustainability of the urban DRR Neighborhood Approach? How sustainable could the targeted Urban DRR programs be without external donor support? Five categories were defined to address the sustainability of the Neighborhood Approach projects: social mobilization, institutional arrangements, physical works, environmental improvements and financial mechanisms. Each of these categories comprised both enabling factors and factors that hinder success. Beyond the enabling and impeding factors mentioned, the study found a circumstance called concatenation. Concatenation refers to the...
Map 1 Greater Cairo Metropolitan Region (GCMR) 17 Map 2 Urbanisation Process in GCMR 20 Map 3 Ezz... more Map 1 Greater Cairo Metropolitan Region (GCMR) 17 Map 2 Urbanisation Process in GCMR 20 Map 3 Ezzbet El Nasr Localisation 28 Map 4 Ezzbet El Nasr area of intervention 28 Map 5 Priority Areas 32 Map 6 Economic Integration 33 Map 7 Provision of waste and sanitation services 35 Map 8 Proposal of street lighting 40 Map 9 Proposal of paving, pedestrian access and greening 41 Map 10 Proposal of Land Development 44 Map 11 Dayer El Nahia Localisation 50 Map 12 Dayer El Nahia 50 Map 13: Actual Situation 51 Map 14 Location of Interviews 51 Map 15 Areas to be further studied for building conditions 57 Map 16 Governorate's Urban Planning Department Street Grid Proposal 61 Map 17 Alternative Proposal Street Grid 62 Map 18 Traffic Concept 62 Map 19 Open spaces and Public Services 63 Map 20 Urban Structure 64 Map 21 Design proposal 73
Riesgos y Desastres en Chile Las Causas De Fondo De La Vulnerabilidad
El objetivo de este ensayo es analizar las decisiones y estrategias adoptadas por el gobierno chi... more El objetivo de este ensayo es analizar las decisiones y estrategias adoptadas por el gobierno chileno para gestionar el desastre del volcán Chaitén el año 2008 y discutir algunas carencias en el área de Gestión de Riesgo y Desastres (GRD) en Chile. Las decisiones adoptadas por los diferentes gobiernos entre el 2008 y el 2014 con respecto a la evacuación, re-localización, sistema de ayudas, y reconstrucción de Chaitén pueden reflejar un patrón en las estrategias de reducción de riesgo de desastres caracterizado por una centralización en la toma decisiones y una baja participación de los actores locales. El caso de Chaitén permite, además, poner en discusión los mecanismos de evaluación de riesgos y vulnerabilidad señalados en el actual Sistema Nacional de Protección Civil (SNPC), permitiendo ampliar nuestra comprensión sobre la generación de riesgos y la vulnerabilidad a partir de entender y estudiar sus causas de fondo.
REDER, 2018
El trabajo busca ofrecer una vista general, actualizada, pero también crítica de los asentamiento... more El trabajo busca ofrecer una vista general, actualizada, pero también crítica de los asentamientos informales en América Latina y el Caribe, e identificar y explorar posibles tendencias entre los diferentes países con respecto a la gobernanza y resiliencia urbana para la reducción del riesgo de desastre en estos asentamientos. Se analizaron datos entregados por 17 países en sus reportes nacionales elaborados durante el proceso preparatorio hacia Habitat III: Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, República Dominicana, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, México, Paraguay, Perú y Uruguay. Se estimaron variables cuantitativas como el acceso al agua potable y alcantarillado junto al análisis cualitativo de contenido tales como referencias al Marco de Sendai y políticas públicas para los asentamientos. Los resultados muestran importantes contrastes en la región, variando significativamente el porcentaje de la población urbana viviendo en condiciones d...
REDER, 2019
Esta breve introducción para el número especial “Resiliencia ante Desastres Socionaturales para e... more Esta breve introducción para el número especial “Resiliencia ante Desastres Socionaturales para el Desarrollo Turístico” (Vol. 3, Núm. 1) busca advertir de la creciente y preocupante relación entre el turismo, riesgos y desastres socionaturales, y establecer la necesidad por ampliar el conocimiento sobre los procesos, condiciones e impactos que subyacen y conectan el desarrollo turístico con la resiliencia y necesidad de reducir el riesgo de desastres. Por la complejidad social, económica, cultural y política/institucional que subyace la reducción del riesgo de desastres en zonas turísticas, tanto la investigación como la planificación en la materia deben ser abordadas desde nuevas perspectivas integradas e interdisciplinarias. Es por ello que este número especial está dedicado exclusivamente a la interrelación entre desastres socionaturales y desarrollo del turismo.
REDER, 2019
This brief editorial introduction for the special issue "Socio-natural Disaster Resilience f... more This brief editorial introduction for the special issue "Socio-natural Disaster Resilience for Tourism Development" (Vol. 3, Issue 1) highlights the relationship between tourism, resilience and socio- natural disasters. It establishes the need to expand our knowledge on the processes, conditions and impacts that connect tourism development with resilience and the need to reduce disaster risks. Due to the social, economic, cultural and political/institutional complexity of tourism development, resilience, and disaster risk reduction, both research and planning must be approached from new integrated and interdisciplinary perspectives. That is why this special issue is dedicated exclusively to the interrelation between socio-natural disasters and tourism development.
A tres años del terremoto y maremoto: Las "causas raíz" de los desastres
Los grandes cataclismos capturan nuestras fantasías y temores al dejar en evidencia lo vulnerable... more Los grandes cataclismos capturan nuestras fantasías y temores al dejar en evidencia lo vulnerables que somos. Pero hay cientos de pequeñas amenazas cotidianas con las que nos hemos acostumbrado a vivir, que provocan más muertos y más daño que las mega-tragedias naturales explotadas por el cine y la TV. En esta interesante columna, Vicente Sandoval, candidato a doctor en Planificación del Desarrollo, muestra además, que en la raíz de los desastres -grandes y cotidianos- no hay sólo fuerzas naturales incontrolables frente a las cuales somos impotentes, sino políticas públicas que se hacen o se dejan de hacer, que asisten a los ciudadanos o los dejan desprotegidos. Así lo muestra la ciudad de Chaité, evacuada por la erupción de un volcán; y los muertos por problemas cardiovasculares en Temuco.
Una revista científica para los estudios sobre el riesgo de desastres
La presente información se ha extraido de una presentación realizada el día 15 de Enero de 2016, ... more La presente información se ha extraido de una presentación realizada el día 15 de Enero de 2016, en el marco del 3er Encuentro Científico Nacional Reducción Riesgos de Desastres, de la REDULAC-Chile (Red de Universitarios de Latinoamerica y el Caribe para la Reducción de Riesgos de Emergencias y Desastres, Chile), ocurrido en la ciudad de La Serena, Chile.
The Progression of Vulnerability: A Multi-Scalar Perspective on Disasters. The Case of Chaiten in Chile
This paper discusses single-scale studies on disaster risk and vulnerability – i.e. urban risk an... more This paper discusses single-scale studies on disaster risk and vulnerability – i.e. urban risk and physical vulnerability – by formulating the progression of vulnerability proposed in the Pressure and Release Model (PAR) as a multi-scalar phenomenon. Disaster and vulnerability studies are often conceived within single-scale units, self-enclosed and delimited into specific spatial foci – urban studies, regional studies – hence, studies tend to neglect the geographical complexity of socio-economic and political processes involved in the production of vulnerability and risk at multiple scales. Attempts for integrating multi-scalar factors and processes – such as the effects of policies or institutional forms – into risk and vulnerability studies are rare, possibly due to the aforementioned complexities. Nevertheless, the implication of macro-processes – e.g. economic models or political regimes – on the causation of disasters is hardly questioned. So, this paper employs recent findings on studies of scale in order to better understand vulnerability as a process produced throughout varied scales. The case of Chaiten, a remote Volcano eruption’s disaster in southern Chile in 2008, is devised in order to illustrate how specific multi-scalar processes, such as institutional forms for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Disaster Risk Management (DRM), are unfolded from major to minor geographical scales. The actions and inactions of national, regional and local officials, as related to DRR and DRM during 2008 and 2013, have largely contributed to the current situation of Chaiten. The unforeseen effects of policies that are unjustly distributed and the population’s uneven exposure to hazards have split the city in two. In summary, this paper seeks to discuss that although hazards, vulnerability and risk are often evident at minor geographical scales – e.g. physical vulnerability, hazard mapping – the causation of disaster and risk production should no be longer considered as single-scale phenomenon, but rather as multi-scalar.
Becas Chile: ¿Volver o devolver? El impacto del talento chileno una vez finalizado sus estudios de posgrado en el extranjero
Actualmente, el mercado laboral de los investigadores nacionales con doctorado es muy reducido. U... more Actualmente, el mercado laboral de los investigadores nacionales con doctorado es muy reducido. Un 90% de ellos trabaja en la academia. Al considerar que se espera que en menos de una década Chile duplique la cantidad de doctores, muchos becarios tienen dudas sobre la capacidad del mercado del país para absorber, de forma repentina, el importante incremento de profesionales altamente calificados. Uno de los datos más relevantes, que arrojó la encuesta, es que la mitad de los 178 participantes manifestó haber tenido la oportunidad de quedarse a trabajar en el país donde cursa su especialización.
A Potential Relationship Between Resilience and Environmental Justice: The Case of Chaiten, Chile
In May 2008, the city of Chaitén was completely evacuated due to the probability of a volcanic er... more In May 2008, the city of Chaitén was completely evacuated due to the probability of a volcanic eruption. Few days later, the eruption caused severe flooding that almost destroyed the entire city. In the following months, the state developed plans for the relocation of Chaitén, and strategies to promote resilience and the recovery of population. However, plans and strategies resulted in unexpected results impacting people’s ability to resist, adapt to, and recover from future disasters. This paper explores a potential asymmetric relationship in the distribution of environmental risks and resilience within Chaitén. Such relationship can be partially explained by the volcanic eruption, but more importantly, by unforeseen effects of decision making and policies implemented for the recovery of the affected population. Effects of the implemented benefit schemes and decision making related to the inhabitability/relocation of Chaitén can offer some explanation about the current situation of Chaitén; a highly segregated and environmentally unjust city where public policies’ outputs are unevenly distributed. In this sense, this paper examines how plans and policies developed towards increasing resilience among population may, inversely, impact negatively on environmental justice, that is, on the distribution of environmental risks, exposure and disaster impacts.
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Papers by Vicente Sandoval