the cultural imprint on reconstruction
TRANSCRIPT
The Cultural Imprint onReconstruction After Disaster
David AlexanderUniversity College London
Proposition 1: Human culture offersopportunities and constraints to disaster risk reduction (DRR). Working with it, much can be achieved; working against it, even valid projects will fail because
they are not culturally compatible.
Proposition 2: Culture can be changedto make it more amenable to DRR – butonly very slowly and with much effort.
Sardinia, 17 Nov. 2013 - 16 dead in floods
Although Italy has a disaster responsecapability of unparalleled excellence,
its political, administrative, religious andsocial cultures are currently not amenable
to planned disaster risk reduction.
A model of culture
Organisationalsystems:management
Socialsystems:behaviour
Naturalsystems:function
Technicalsystems:
malfunction
VulnerabilityHazard
Resilienc
e
Politicalsystems:decisions
Diffusion of information
Perceptual filter
Cultural filter
Emergency not decoded
Emergency decoded
Ignorance
Imagesof reality
Symbolicconstructions
Enlightenment
Long term
Short term
Emic components
Etic components
METAMORPHOSISOF CULTURE
Experiences of culture[mass-media and consumer culture]
Accumulated cultural traits and beliefs
Inherited cultural background
Ideological(non-scientific)interpretations
of disaster
Learned(scientific)
interpretationsof disaster
Retribution Judgement Portent
DISASTERMEANING ACCEPTANCE
Retrospectiveinterpretation
Predictiveinterpretation
Traditional view of disaster - modern parallels?
Symbolisminherent in
technologicalculture
Traditionalsymbolism
and portent
Event
Interpretation
Dynamic culturalmetamorphosis
Valuesystem
Familyculture
Workculture
Peergroupculture
Personalculture
National culture
Regional culture
Riskamplification
factors
Riskmitigationfactors
Totalvulnerability
Risk perceptionfactors- +
positivenegative
DIALECTIC
Filter
Perception
Culture
Decision
Action
Result
Positive Negative
Risk
Accurate Inaccurate
On government
Externalhazards
Technological,economic andsocial issues
Operational andpolicy risks
Stewardshiprole
Regulatoryrole
Managementrole
GOVERNMENT
Policyadoption
Risk assessment• hazard• vulnerability• exposure
Policy assessment• costs• benefits• consequences
Disaster
Expectedlosses
Risk PolicyAssessment
Recoveryafter disaster
Physical recoveryBuildings, infrastructure, transport, agriculture, etc.
Reducing post-traumatic stress
Re-establishingproduction and
economic activities
The recovery triangle
Political,cultural andenvironmental
context.
• revitalisation of city centres
• contraction of city spaces
• improvement of public transport
• making urban areas safer
• stimulating community and occupation.
Disaster as opportunity
Negative: livelihoods and homes need rehabilitating as quickly as possible.
Positive: time gives opportunityfor consultation and allows problems
to be solved as they appear, not at the end when all is done.
The importance of time in reconstruction
Varying context:• political• economic• social
STAGNATION RECONSTRUCTION
EMERGENCYRESPONSE
SHORT-TERMRECOVERY
MEDIUM-TERMRECOVERY
LONG-TERMRECOVERY
IMPACT
P E S
P E S
P E S
CULTURALCONTEXT
On resilience
Causes of disasternatural geophysical,technological, social
Historysingle andcumulativeimpactof pastdisasters
Humancultures
constraintsand
opportunitiesIMPACTS
Adaptationto risk
RESILIENCE
physicalenvironmental
socialeconomic
health-relatedcultural
educationalinfrastructuralinstitutional
RESILIENCECOPING
VULNERABILITYFRAGILITY
SUSCEPTIBILITYOrganisation:• public admin.• private sector• civil society
Community
Individual
Resilience: facets...
...and relationships
BENIGN (healthy)at the service of the people
MALIGN (corrupt)at the service of vested interests
interplay dialectic
Justification Development
[spiritual, cultural, political, economic]
IDEOLOGY CULTURE
Lisbon,post 1755:monumental
reconstruction
A monument not wanted.
Kesennuma City
Cultural conflict betweenthe desire to commemorateand the desire to forget.
Town of Gibellina,Belice Valley, Sicilyafter the 1968earthquake (Italy)
An ambitious"social engineering"project to createa sophisticatedpost-modern townout of anagriculturalsettlement.
Conclusions
CREATIONOF A NEWCULTUREOF CIVIL
PROTECTIONPOTENTIALTO BE
EXPLOITED
DEMAND
NEEDS
SUPPLY
Resilientculture
Culture ofresilience
INSTRUMENTS OFDISSEMINATION
• mass media• targeted campaign• social networks
• internet
Augmentation
MASSEDUCATIONPROGRAMME
SOCIALCAPITAL
HABIT
CULTURE
The creation of a culture of civil protection
• 'window of opportunity' for bad things
• disaster reveals socio-economic ills
• amplifies corruption and inequality
• hope was at the bottom of the box.
"Pandora's box" model of disaster
• disaster acts as a mirror of whatis generally wrong with society
THE PILLARS OF MODERN LIFE
idealismprinciplebelieffaith
fanaticismultranationalismauthoritarianism
backlash
virtuecharityservicedefence of principles
unscrupulousnesscorruption
opportunismcensure
capital availabilitywealth diffusionfinancial security
financial repressiondebt burdenconsumerism
ingegnuitypragmatismtechnological progress
crass materialismgalloping consumption
pollution and wastetechnological hegemony
Ideocentrism
Morality
Luchrocentrism
Technocentrism
SPI
RIT
FLESH
PHILOSOPH
ICAL
MECHANISTIC
Positive Negative
...culturally conditioned.
Ideocentrism+ ideal: effective disaster mitigation- fanaticism: politicization of humanitariam relief
Morality+ virtue: untiring application of mitigation measures- corruption: failure to observe building codes
Luchrocentrism+ financial security: monetary reserves vs. disaster- financial repression: poverty --> vulnerability
Technocentrism+ ingenuity: new hazard monitoring systems- technological hegemony: unfair distribution of
mitigation benefits
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Thank you for your attention!
Ishinomaki