From threat to growth

Abstract

This thesis begins with a description of the social, political and natural phenomena related with the human settlements at the slopes of the Galeras Volcano. Subsequently, a state-of-the-art is provided in order to understand the relevance of addressing the underlying conflict at this point in time, from a regional planning perspective. Based on this preliminary analysis, a hypothesis regarding regional development as a risk management strategy for the community at the Galeras region is provided. With reference to this hypothesis, the general approach of this Master’s thesis is outlined by, integrating concepts of participation, risk management, regional planning and urban design. The regional strategy compresses several urban and regional projects at lower scales. These provide both safety in case of volcanic eruptions, and growth opportunities for the urban communities settled on this territory. Specifically, a set of four premises will be the core of the decisions: Land has a social value higher than its economic value; Life preservation is a shared goal for all parts involved; there is a local culture that has evolved in this specific territory and needs to be preserved; and there is a constitutional and democratic framework that can provide useful tools for this specific case. From these premises, two regional conclusions are key outcomes of this thesis: A preliminary risk analysis as a proposed further step from the current Volcanic Threat Map (INGEOMINAS 1997) and a regional development strategy for the Galeras Region (Pasto, Nariño and Florida). Furthermore, one project has been chosen to detail to evaluate the effectiveness of the regional development strategy: The proposal of a piecemeal growth strategy for the village of Genoy as an alternative to the human resettlement policy proposed by the government (part the emergency measures outlined in 2003). In this case, community blames the national government’s emergency measures as the main cause of social conflict and impoverishment at the local community. The methodology implemented combines the methodology suggested by the Design as Politics 2012-2013 studio, and urban planning techniques such as stakeholder analysis, spatial analysis and research by design. At the end, an evaluation model to assess these proposals, together with a reflection on how the goals set at the beginning of the project were achieved.