Emergency urban landscape in Valdivia, Chile: contributions to the post -disaster planning and urban design processes within a restoration context

Abstract

The characteristics of landscape have a powerful effect on people and affect the way individuals use these features to restore its emotional state within the context of extreme situations. The latter becomes relevant in the case of Chilean cities exposed to natural disturbances that modify the landscape. The perception study that explores the urban landscape of Valdivia —conducted according to the principles of natural perception— revealed the emergence of a series of relationships between physical and social aspects during the post-earthquake emergency period. The presence or absence of water, vegetation, street furniture and architecture defined different categories of urban landscapes related to different uses such as shelter or evacuation, as well as different dimensions such as legibility and containment — which affect the way people inhabit a city during a state of emergency. The outcomes of this study were used to develop a conceptual model for the emergency urban landscape of Valdivia. Such a model reveals the latent role of the open space in cities exposed to severe disturbances and suggests different strategies intended to complement the planning and urban design processes in cities prone to natural disasters.