The Community Architect Program: Implementing participation-in-design to improve housing conditions in Cuba

Valladares, Arturo

doi:10.1016/j.habitatint.2012.09.004

Cited by 13 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…Plans for disaster risk reduction and mitigation existed in many Latin American countries before the introduction of resilience frameworks. Many of these plans, including the Cuban model of disaster risk reduction, were (and still are) highly effective (Lizarralde et al , 2015b; Valladares, 2013). But scholars in Latin America have quickly adopted the terms used by their counterparts in the North.…”

Section: Discussion – a Tale Of Conflicting Narrativesmentioning

confidence: 99%

We said, they said: the politics of conceptual frameworks in disasters and climate change in Colombia and Latin America

Lizarralde

Páez

López

et al. 2020

DPM

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PurposeFew people living in informal settlements in the Global South spontaneously claim that they are “resilient” or “adapting” to disaster risk or climate change. Surely, they often overcome multiple challenges, including natural hazards exacerbated by climate change. Yet their actions are increasingly examined through the framework of resilience, a notion developed in the North, and increasingly adopted in the South. To what extent eliminate’ do these initiatives correspond to the concepts that scholars and authorities place under the resilience framework?Design/methodology/approachThree longitudinal case studies in Yumbo, Salgar and San Andrés (Colombia) serve to investigate narratives of disaster risks and responses to them. Methods include narrative analysis from policy and project documents, presentations, five workshops, six focus groups and 24 interviews.FindingsThe discourse adopted by most international scholars and local authorities differs greatly from that used by citizens to explain risk and masks the politics involved in disaster reduction and the search for social justice. Besides, narratives of social change, aspirations and social status are increasingly masked in disaster risk explanations. Tensions are also concealed, including those regarding the winners and losers of interventions and the responsibilities for disaster risk reduction.Originality/valueOur findings confirm previous results that have shown that the resilience framework contributes to “depoliticize” the analysis of risk and serves to mask and dilute the responsibility of political and economic elites in disaster risk creation. But they also show that resilience fails to explain the type of socioeconomic change that is required to reduce vulnerabilities in Latin America.

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Section: Discussion – a Tale Of Conflicting Narrativesmentioning

confidence: 99%

We said, they said: the politics of conceptual frameworks in disasters and climate change in Colombia and Latin America

Lizarralde

Páez

López

et al. 2020

DPM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Different cultures have different traditions regarding settlement patterns, construction materials, design, shape, form, and size of buildings, all of which must be considered when designing housing, alongside local skills, techniques, and building technology. Many researchers have recommended a participatory approach to this nature, including Choguill [38], Nix et al [9] and Valladares [39]. User-centred design and participatory design are two separate approaches used in the design industry [40].…”

Section: Design Brief Design Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing Sustainable Housing Using a User-Centred Approach: Paipe Case Study

Abbakyari,

Abuzeinab,

Adefila

et al. 2023

Buildings

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This paper presents a user-centred design method for developing prototype housing designs in the Paipe community of Abuja, Nigeria, addressing the challenges posed by rapid urbanisation in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). UCD is a qualitative methodology that prioritises end users in the design process. This study employs qualitative methods to collect data through interviews, field surveys, and site analysis using a single case study. The UCD approach was used to develop a profile of residents and identify their needs and preferences. Thematic analysis of the data led to the creation of design specifications and prototype designs. Two design options were developed: a cluster design based on field survey observations and an enclosed modern design based on residents’ preferences. This study contends that user-centred design (UCD) is essential for sustainable housing provision in LMICs, aligning with the United Nations’ adequate-housing programme.

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“…An early one is from Cuba, where the Community Architect Program was created in 1994 to support self-help housing. More than a thousand community architects used participatory techniques to provide technical advice to residents who build, expand, or renovate their homes [70]. Another example is the Technical Training Resource Centre (TTRC) in Karachi, Pakistan, which was set up to support better quality housing in informal settlements of Karachi, with the help of architects and engineers [71].…”

Section: The Role Of Community Architectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Significance of Community Training Centers in Building Affordable Housing and Developing Settlements

2020

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This paper examines the visions and the roles of community training centers (CTCs) in community development and housing provision in developing countries from the perspective of assisted self-help housing. It reviews a Korean community center that contributed to community-led self-help housing for low-income groups in the 1970s. It also reviews a few notable CTCs from India, Uganda, Nepal, and three countries in Central America to examine the functions and contributions of the CTCs. It was found that CTCs play a central role in community empowerment and the production of affordable building materials receiving technical or financial assistance from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and governments. The paper makes a compelling case for CTCs by drawing on these exemplary cases to provide a development model that has the potential to facilitate the improvement of the living environment in developing countries.Sustainability 2020, 12, 2952 2 of 22 problem for low-income households in emerging cities with greater effect when it matches with appropriate external assistances.The hypothesis of this paper is that a community center has a significant role in self-help housing and the effect through this is boosted when this is assisted by external organizations in terms of building technic and finance. This paper examines the functions of a community center in community development and housing provision from the perspective of assisted self-help housing from housing development practices. This paper also investigates how low-cost housing production can be supported by the establishment of a community center, more specifically a community training center, (CTC) focusing on the relationship with NGOs and governments in technical, organizational, and financial assistance through this center. We use CTCs as a place or space for communal use, such as meetings and workshops, the function of which can be extended to a place for training or production for self-help housing.Park et al.[5] suggested a comprehensive community center that has multiple functions as follows. A CTC can play a central role in involving the residents of settlements or development areas, both in upgrading and streamlining collective housing and home-renovation processes. It may also engage in the provision of temporary 'transit houses' for those who are waiting for a new or renovated house, and/or are participating in a mutual house building or renovation process. A CTC can also have evolving and dynamic functions. Initially, it can operate as a community space for group meetings, such as education and training seminars held by NGOs, and then it can move on to function as a normal community center or neighborhood facility. The presence of a CTC can stimulate households to participate in neighborhood development and the construction of safe affordable homes. The sense of "belonging" or ownership over communal facilities and the houses can grow, and this is beneficial for future owners and residents. A production unit to build materials and transit homes...

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The Community Architect Program: Implementing participation-in-design to improve housing conditions in Cuba

Cited by 13 publications

References 30 publications

We said, they said: the politics of conceptual frameworks in disasters and climate change in Colombia and Latin America

We said, they said: the politics of conceptual frameworks in disasters and climate change in Colombia and Latin America

Designing Sustainable Housing Using a User-Centred Approach: Paipe Case Study

The Significance of Community Training Centers in Building Affordable Housing and Developing Settlements

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