Perceiving Urban Resilience Within Post-quake Recovering Processes. An Experimental Approach for Emergency Housing in Emilia Romagna, Italy

Abstract

Traumas do not only erase but also produce. Opportunities could be tackled in order to examine the city systems and modify it within the reconstruction process. This mind shift shall take place starting from the recovering phase in order to fulfill one vision of transformation that gained consensus of different stakeholders. This intention protects it from deviation or deformation within an atmosphere of uncertainty. Emergency housing installed after disasters create temporary environments fertile for examining new transformation visions and evaluating its pragmatism, opening up chances for people to participate in the reconstruction phase through modifying, evaluating, or proposing integrated ideas. In this sense, the recovering phase would be an effective action guaranteeing the sustainability and durability of the proposed transformation plan. The article proposes an alternative scenario for emergency housing urban environment, through methodological strategies and practical applications, responding to the short- and long-term social and physical needs of the city. The proposal tackles challenges related to food security and distribution, mobility and transportation, temporary housing construction, energy production, scarcity of building materials, risks of post-disaster’s social fragmentations. The study is experimentation for both the design as well as the recyclability of the proposed temporary environment during and after natural disasters that will be practiced in Finale Emilia town after Emilia Romagna earthquake in 2012.