The Geo-Social Model: A Transdisciplinary Approach to Flow-Type Landslide Analysis and Prevention

Abstract

Landslide disaster risks increase worldwide, particularly in urban areas. To design and implement more effective and democratic risk reduction programs, calls for transdisciplinary approaches have recently increased. However, little attention has been paid to the actual articulation of transdisciplinary methods and their associated challenges. To fill this gap, we draw on the case of the 1993 Quebrada de Macul disaster, Chile, to propose what we label as the Geo-Social Model. This experimental methodology aims at integrating recursive interactions between geological and social factors configuring landslide for more robust and inclusive analyses and interventions. It builds upon three analytical blocks or site-specific environments in constant co-determination: (1) The geology and geomorphology of the study area; (2) the built environment, encompassing infrastructural, urban, and planning conditions; and (3) the sociocultural environment, which includes community memory, risk perceptions, and territorial organizing. Our results are summarized in a geo-social map that systematizes the complex interactions between the three environments that facilitated the Quebrada de Macul flow-type landslide. While our results are specific to this event, we argue that the Geo-Social Model can be applied to other territories. In our conclusions, we suggest, first, that landslides in urban contexts are often the result of anthropogenic disruptions of natural balances and systems, often related to the lack of place-sensitive urban planning. Second, that transdisciplinary approaches are critical for sustaining robust and politically effective landslide risk prevention plans. Finally, that inter- and trans-disciplinary approaches to landslide risk prevention need to be integrated into municipal-level planning for a better understanding of—and prevention of—socio-natural hazards.

Interruptions: imagining an analytical otherwise for disaster studies in Latin America

“…Quebrada de Macul is a case in point. A piedmont area in south-eastern Santiago, Quebrada de Macul is a landslide-prone area and was declared a restriction zone after the 1993 flooding, one of the worst disasters ever occurred in Santiago (Acuña et al , 2021a). In 2019, hundreds of local and migrant families, unable to access formal housing, occupied the Quebrada de Macul's basin, giving birth to Toma Dignidad , as today the informal settlement is known.…”

“…The flood forced the construction of new mitigation infrastructures in Quebrada de Macul, particularly as the area is still today exposed to future disruptive floods due to high climate variability (Acuña et al , 2021a). However, mitigation measures and disaster planning have not seriously considered what we, in our collaborations with diverse collectives from Quebrada de Macul, have termed as the geographic memory of the place : a grounded memory that shapes habitation and sociomaterial practices.…”

“…3. See Acuña et al, 2021a andMolina et al, (2018). For more examples of these forms of collective creativity see Tironi (2018) in Interruption #2 and the ethnographic reflections of the authors in Interruption #4.…”

Escalas espacio-temporales y la persistencia de 'un desastre' en la precordillera de Santiago, Chile

“…Estas preguntas implican reflexionar sobre los espacios donde ocurren lo que llamamos desastres, considerando los factores que los explican, e incorporando diferentes puntos de vista y herramientas de investigación. Tal mirada requiere por ejemplo una perspectiva trans-disciplinar (Acuña et al, 2021a), o también una aproximación inspirada en la agenda de investigación sobre estudios críticos de desastres (Horowitz y Remes, 2021;Oliver-Smith, 2022). Esta perspectiva busca alejarse de la visión predominante que ve los desastres como algo 'objetivo', para entender sus factores históricos y políticos mediante una aproximación contextualizada, comparada y multiescalar (Horowitz y Remes, 2021).…”

Introductory Chapter: Updates in Volcanology - Transdisciplinary Nature of Volcano Science

“…Transdisciplinary approach of science appeared in recent years, partially as a result of the urgent need to deal with global and planetary changes [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Transdisciplinary science is to answer and solve environmental science questions and problems became the foundation of sustainable development, nature conservation and various environmental science education including geoeducation [13][14][15][16][17].…”